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Are We Broken? and other Christian cliches

 There are two types of broken. A machine can be broken because a part of it is damaged or worn out and it no longer functions. 

A piece of glass or ceramic can be broken into pieces. 

Since humans are not machines (see below), we fit into the second type of broken. 

Maybe. 

We are fractured, fragile, and fragmented. 

A fractured glass vase is no longer usable for its purpose. It is weak. It is in pieces that cannot fit back together. 

There is an art form in Japan where pieces of ceramics are rejoined with gold, called Kintsugi. It is a beautiful picture of redemption. 

But are we really broken? I have argued elsewhere that the word implies an actor outside ourselves responsible for the broken state. Who broke us?  Is that theologically correct? And does the Bible use that term? And is it also attractive to nonbelievers to say "you are broken"? We would be more Biblical to say we are sick--"by his stripes we are healed." Or really, "dead."

Another Christian cliche is "we are wired." Again, we are not machines.  Designed and created, but not "hard-wired."  

Third for this post, something about the Prodigal Son. An associate pastor said today that the Prodigal Son's brother was not accepted by the Father, or "didn't end up with him." That is not how the story ends. "You are with me always, but your brother who was dead is alive again."  We have gotten too hard on the older brother. His sin was jealousy, not rejection of the Father's love. Let's not overdo here to make our own points. 




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