Lincoln's Christianity by Michael Burkhimer

[My Name Is Kate]

I periodically go through a "dark night of the soul" when I am overwhelmed by doubts and questions, and this is one of those times. So I can certainly understand some of the reservations skeptics have, and why Lincoln was tormented by doubts.

FWIW, here are some of the questions I can't get out of my mind.

The Bible tells us that sin entered this world as a result of human action, and that death (for humans, at least) entered the world through sin. How is that possible, given that our bodies age and wear out, and can sustain serious and even mortal injuries due to accidents, etc.? Are we to believe that the human body was indestructible prior to the Fall?

Evolutionary theory obviously further complicates things. If humans evolved from "lower" life forms, at what point were they considered by God to be human and not animal, and therefore subject to God's moral code?

Apparently, death existed in the animal kingdom even before sin entered this world, and it was not due to any "sin" on their part. Nature is in fact a virtual slaughterhouse, with predators continually preying on other animals and often eating them alive (I've watched enough wildlife documentaries on YouTube to know that even the most efficient predators, such as lions, don't always make clean kills). I have difficulty understanding how a loving God could create such a world and observe "that it was good."