Pastor Paul's Ponderings

February 13, 2026

 

  Mr. Stoltz, my eight grade social studies teacher at Arundel Jr. High, who was like ten feet tall, and walked with a serious limp he acquired in Vietnam, one day started class with one challenging question for us to answer:

  “Are humans basically good, or basically bad?”

  He sat back to listen, encouraging the full class to engage in discussion. I remember him only asking a few questions more from time to time to help us dig deeper into the discussion that lasted the whole class and a class or two more.

  I also remember my view and how vehemently I defended it.

  I’m not exactly sure why, but as a kid I had wanted to be a journalist like Walter Cronkite. The combination of History and Current Events always fascinated me and of course there was the space race (also with Mr. Cronkite) to see live on snowy black and white TV. As a child I was also witnessing the fall of segregation (and living it!) as well as living near and often visiting a University campus (Florida State) where there were lots of vibrant, intelligent, young adults, many of whom were protesting war and promoting peace.

  To me, I could see us, humanity, slowly and certainly evolving: From the Revolutionary War, and what it meant to humanity, to the Civil War, to World War II, each doing away with an injustice, fault or problem of society and progressing us to a better society.

  And who knew what advances our ventures into science and space would bring? It had already brought us Tang and Velcro!!! So, what else might be coming in the future?

  All this to say that I was convinced that we were on an arch of advancement, and that one day we would achieve the perfect society. We were intelligent, creative and resourceful. We would think of, and develop, an operating system, a society, which would overcome all our faults and abundantly provide for everyone so that no one needed or wanted to be selfish and greedy. We would one day reach the Promised Land. We, humans, were basically good!

  I would not listen to arguments about the prevalence of violence, the terribleness of wars, the greed and cruelty of humans. I was convinced that we would one day form a society that would overcome all that.

  Well, what can I say? That was in my naive early days. I was full of youthful optimism. And I had no idea that the question could also be a foundational theological question.

  In my life time I have seen some intellectually sound ideas of advancement of society fail. Completely. I have seen scientific advancements be used for weapons and war first before being released for use and profit. I have witnessed our cruelty and greed, even in those who have too much. I have witnessed really good people mess up and do really evil things.

  Now, I am convinced that while we are good, we all are faulty. Broken. I mean, if there is one who claims to never have sinned –they are sinning by lying.

  I do still believe that all humans have goodness in them. All are in the image of God. All have the capability to be good, and have some good within them. Some call that a divine spark that all humans have. But we’re not in and of ourselves good and especially we are not totally good.

  We find full goodness in Jesus. By faith. We gain forgiveness. (We should also give forgiveness too as we have found it). And we have the knowledge that indeed we will one day be fully reunited with God and one another in perfection, in total goodness.

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Grace and Peace,

Pastor Paul