An Overview of the "Sin Nature" and Its Solution

 What Evangelicals call the "sin nature," Paul called "hamartia," and the ancient Hebrew authors called "khata'," is actually the improper growth of certain small parts of the human brain to a larger size than was intended, in particular the human amygdala, also affecting the hypothalamus as the amygdala controls how the hypothalamus is activated. This is a result of our ancient ancestors consuming a piece of fruit containing a toxin which altered our genetics involving this part of the brain, causing it to grow larger than theirs originally had been.

     The enlargement of the human amygdala caused the human brain to enter into an overactive or nearly constant survival response, treating everything as either a survival threat or a survival necessity whether it was a physical survival threat or not, something which is unknown among other animals. The constant sub-conscious survival or panic response drowned out the immaterial consciousness' natural connection to God, the Source, so that the "necessities" or "threats" were instead constantly being reinforced in the human mind and the human mind then latched on to them, forming a pseudo self-identity based on what it "liked," those things it believed were necessities, and what it "didn't like," those things it believed were threats. Those things it liked, the survival necessities, were deemed beneficial or "good," and those things it didn't like, the survival threats, were deemed malevolent or "bad." These effects can be seen in very young children from nearly the time they have learned to talk. From two years old or earlier, a young child has determined that those things it likes are "good" and it must have more of them, and those things it doesn't like are "bad," and it must eliminate them or be removed from them immediately. This is the foundation of human moral development as it moves from self-centric morality to black and white rules based morality, those rules the child agrees with, to a more nuanced, philosophically based morality. But the foundation of all of them is whether or not the person agrees with, likes, or disagrees with, doesn't like, the thing or rule in question.

     This is also the reason why animals do not appear to have a concept of morality. Compassion and empathy, yes, but not a sense of arbitrary "good" or "bad." Their survival response mechanisms are still working as intended and are applied only to actual perceived physical threats.

     Because of this relatively minor alteration from the human brain's original configuration, an enlargement of the amygdala, human beings are nearly constantly ruled by fear, aggression, and bodily cravings which are only kept in check by human society with a somewhat functional empathy, the ability to feel what the other person is feeling and its accompanying compassion, and whatever rules and punishments are agreed upon in order to constrain harmful human behavior. But those rules and punishments, because they operate from the same survival response system's psychology which is the problem, cannot actually solve the malfunctioning behavior, and at times can actually make it worse.

     This is the reason why this whole system must be bypassed as a source of human behavior, and the original connection by the consciousness to its Source must be allowed to operate freely. This is the reason for Jesus Christ, His birth as a virgin born human being, His life and teachings, and His death, burial, and resurrection. The re-connection afforded by our union with Him in His death, burial, and resurrection allows for the malfunctioning parts of our brain to be bypassed so that His Consciousness may then return to its appropriate function within the human psyche, thus producing non-harmful and beneficial behaviors in synchronization with the character and Person of the Source, that is, God.