We live in a culture confused about sin. In the prevailing spirit of tolerance and religious pluralism, all beliefs must receive equal weight - that is, unless such beliefs result in "obvious" evil like terrorist attacks on innocent people, inhumane treatment of prisoners, and defrauding stockholders of their rightful earnings.

In a culture that scorns absolutes, yet apparently reserves the right to have them, how do we effectively communicate the reality of sin and the good news of the gospel?

Harry Lee Poe suggests that we must understand sin as more than a violation of God's laws. It is also a violation of the relationship between God and people that results in an ever widening gulf between the two. Salvation through Jesus restores a relationship with God, closes the distance, and enables people to understand God as goodness itself - and to reflect His goodness in the world.

Poe (Designer Universe), the Charles Colson professor of faith and culture at Union University in Jackson, Tenn., starts with a worthy premise-that sin was a lost concept among non-Christians until 9/11; that modern philosophy cannot explain sin; and that Christians have misdefined it-but redundancy and a lack of focus keep the book from fulfilling its promise. In an engaging first chapter, Poe notes that everyone has values, suggesting "some external point of reference." God is the reference point; at the same time, people justify their behavior by deceiving themselves about God. Poe soon arrives at a crucial question: What is sin? It is not mere rule-breaking, since that standard passed away with the Old Testament law. Instead, "sin is ultimately a matter of one's relationship with God and the fact that we turn every one to our own way." Since this departs from historic doctrine, as Poe points out, it merits thorough explanation. But the book does not explicate the scriptures used to support the legal definition of sin, instead detouring into values and the root cause of sin. Furthermore, the excessive anecdotes obscure some points rather than illuminating them, such as an extended discussion of darkness and light. This is a timely book with interesting ideas, but they are not fleshed out. (Nov.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

http://www.christianbook.com/evil-the-existence-sin-age-relativism/harry-poe/9780825433719/pd/33719

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