By Mike Leno

Things are not what they are supposed to be. The truth, which we all recognize in one way or another, is that human beings are in a predicament. Even if you subscribe to the “this is all there is” sort of belief, life continues to present what we call “big questions” regarding our nature and function.

In the previous article I utilized concepts from computer function, genetics, and brain theory to illustrate ways of understanding human nature (See “What Did Jesus Have to Prove? http://mikeleno.net). I also applied these concepts to the nature of Christ in order to show how difficult it is to be specific and meaningful about the effects of sin on humans generally and the person of Jesus specifically. I concluded that regardless of how or to what extent we as humans suffer from the effects of sin that Jesus’ life was in no way a competition with ours. It was, rather, part of a rescue operation in which God does for us what we cannot do for ourselves.

Such an explanation, however, raises more questions than it answers; which I hasten to add is not a bad thing. But in answering the big questions of human nature, we inevitably find ourselves attempting to go beyond what we know. All knowledge progresses beyond what is already known. But the questions regarding human nature have proven particularly resistant to definition. All I can hope to do here is attempt some sort of introduction to thinking about the problem.