Sin, Satan and the Flesh, By Brett Burrowes

Title: Sin, Satan and the Flesh
Speaker: Brett Burrowes
CD: One disc.

For Brett Burrowes, what began as a personal quest for answers, taking him through seminary and the writing of a PhD dissertation, became a radical discovery of how early church theology changed significantly in the early 5th century. This affects how we interpret Paul in modern translations today.

Brett presents the main points of his dissertation on Romans 7 and 8 in a clear, easy to follow manner. He delves into the original language of the Bible to unravel the truth about Sin, Satan and the Flesh. Brett discusses questions such as: What is the identity of sin? What is the meaning of the word flesh and the phrase “old man”? How does Christ redeem us from the power of Sin? And what does the indwelling of the Spirit mean for the believer?

Brett hones in on the views of one particular early church father—St. Augustine. All of western Christian theology, Catholic and Protestant, is based on Augustine’s interpretation of the Bible. Brett builds a compelling case to show that until Augustine, the early church fathers believed that sin was an evil spirit that expressed itself through human beings. Augustine reinterpreted sin as a corruption of human nature which had profound effects on Christian theology thereafter.