Fall of man and pride of life.
EFLECTION PAPER INSTRUCTIONS
For this assignment, you must compose a 3-page double-spaced paper that addresses how the principles
that you have learned throughout this course have changed your understanding of what it means to be a
Christian.
You must follow the format of Praxis: Beyond Theory when completing your papers. The format is:
- An explanation of the topic/doctrine
- Scriptural basis for the doctrine
- Practical application of the doctrine to the life of the student
NOTE: Students should write on topics which are not specifically addressed in the Praxis: Beyond Theory
text.
As you respond to the prompt, reflect on the concepts that you have learned throughout the course, and
apply them to your specific topic. Be sure to integrate the information that you learned through the
textbook readings, the assigned article readings, the lecture videos, and any other related content that
you may have encountered during the course. Your paper should also:
- Describe the course concepts that are related to your topic, demonstrating your reflection and analysis.
Do not simply summarize what was presented in the course. - Demonstrate real ownership of the ideas that you present by providing unique insight as evidence of
your careful consideration of the topic.
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- Provide a logical link between the description of the concepts from the course, and the conclusions or
implications that you draw in your reflection. In other words, your conclusion should be logically derived
from the application of the course concepts to the description of your topic. - Demonstrate learning initiative by exploring conclusions and implications beyond the boundaries of our
classroom discussion. - Focus on depth of understanding, rather than breadth of coverage.
Introduction
It is essential for Christians to reflect on the various topics that touch on their lives. This
paper focuses on the reflections of the fall of man and pride of life. In the reflections, the
theological definitions are given as well as the Biblical foundation. Practical application of the
two is also give. The fall of man as well as pride of life are theologically based in the sense that,
they are found in the Bible in a bid to give direction to the way of life of man like the other
Biblical teachings. There is therefore, theological background of these two topics in the sense
that they are oriented to Gods will for the world. It is crucial to always orient theological
reflections to the practical application. This way, the reflections become useful in guiding the
way of life. It is on those bases that the practical application of the two topics has been given.
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Fall of man
The fall of man is a theological concept emanating from the story of creation whereby,
the first parents were tempted by the devil in form of a serpent to revolt from the will of God.
This resulted to the sin and mystery that befell the first parents, Adam and Eve as well as their
subsequent generations. On theological grounds, it is crucial that; Christians believe in the story
as a true story because it forms the foundation for the revelation of Gods will to human beings,
otherwise, it will be difficult to comprehend the rest of the parts of the Bible.
The fall of man is based on the Biblical teachings in Genesis chapter 2 and 3. When the
Adam and Eve were placed in the Garden of Eden, they were instructed not to eat of the fruits of
the centre tree. The devil in the form of a serpent lied to them and they ended up eating the fruit
of the centre tree. This resulted to sin and mystery for the first parents and their generation.
Fretheim (2010) note that; this explains the origin of sin as well as the mystery that ails the
human beings. The temptation of man compounded with his human weaknesses resulted to the
fall of man.
The application of this to life would be that; human beings should acknowledge the origin
of sin and that everyone is a sinner. We should therefore seek to leave the sinful ways and seek
for the forgiveness and light of God. Fretheim (2010) acknowledge that; it is crucial that we seek
the fellowship of God whenever we fall so as to get a reunion with Him. This is because; sin,
like in the fall of man, detaches us from the fellowship with our creator.
Pride of life
Pride of life is a theologically oriented concept in the sense that; God does not will for
human beings to exert pride of life in this world. God wills that human beings should live in
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humility just like His only son humbled himself to the point of giving out His innocent life for
the sake of the redemption of the world. It is therefore against theological teachings to display
pride of life in the deliberations of one’s life. Instead, human beings should strive to be humbled
and to seek pride in the heavenly things.
The Bible has teachings against pride of the world. 1 John 2:16 tells us that…pride of life
…is not of the Father but of the World. This means that God does not will for human beings to
have pride in their life. Those that have pride in life belong to the world and not to the father. As
children of God, we are therefore called to avoid pride of life, but rather to humble ourselves to
God because He is the giver of life.
Choi & Jina (2009) propose that; it is crucial that Christians live a life that denotes lack
of pride in Life. They should show humility in the face of hardship and even plenty. When one
has been blessed with, say wealth, or good grades in exams they should not take pride in that
because, that way, they will belong to the world, rather than to God. Even in hardships, there
should be no pride that we are able to redeem ourselves. This Biblical verse calls for us to always
be humble and not take pride in life because life belongs to God.
Conclusion
Reflections on the concepts of the fall of man and pride of life as Christian and
theological concepts have given substantial direction in the way of life. These have also
increased the dimension of the thoughts concerning Christian life. There has been much interest
for the alignment of those theological concepts and Christian thoughts to life so as to live a
Christian life that is interesting to the creator. It is also crucial to note that the articulation of the
Christian thoughts in one’s life guide the other people in the ways of pleasing God.
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References
Choi, N. G., & Jina, J. (2009). Life regrets and pride among low-income older adults:
Relationships with depressive symptoms, current life stressors and coping resources.
Aging & Mental Health, 13(2), 213-225.
