Sinful Structures

• Sinful structures result in suffering that goes against God's desire for wholeness
• A sinful structure involves multiple individuals and sinful actions.

Genesis of Sinful Structures

• Imagine a pure government agency
• An agent, Agent A, accepts a bribe from a client to expedite their request, setting a precedent
• Agent A benefits from disrespecting the process and begins to expect bribes, making it a habit
• Agent B, seeing Agent A's success, imitates the behavior, and other agents follow suit
• Many agents begin to collaborate in accepting bribes and disregarding procedures
• Bribery becomes ingrained as a culture and structure within the agency
• Even if the original agents leave, the culture of bribery persists
• The culture and structure of bribery develop a self-sustaining "life of its own"

Examples of Genesis of Sinful Structures

• Individual sinful acts lead to a culture and structure of corruption E.g., bribery in a government office starts with isolated incidents.
• Sinful social structures reinforce each other
• Present sinful structures arise from previous ones E.g., colonialism's contribution to current governmental issues. E.g., colonialism and neocolonialism leading to poverty in third-world countries.
• Present sinful structures reinforce one another E.g., cyber-prostitution is made possible by poverty, corrupt governments, dysfunctional education, neocolonialism, sexism, and capitalism, which in turn reinforces these issues

Dynamics of Sinful Structures

• Employees in corrupt agencies are likely influenced by the culture of bribery, known as socialization
• Participation in the system leads to benefits (incentivization)
• Attempts to correct the culture face resistance from those benefiting from bribery (restriction)
• Socialization, incentivization, and restriction perpetuate bribery

Examples of Sinful Structures

• Sinful structures socialize people to sinful values, like patriarchy, racism, and consumerism
• Sinful structures incentivize sin, such as acquitting corrupt officials and cronyism
• Sinful structures restrict what promotes wholeness, e.g., dysfunctional labor laws and red-tagging.
• Sinful structures enable sin, which includes injustice, oppression, etc

Original Sin

• Original Sin is the accumulation and synergy of all sinful actions by all human beings, starting from the very first
• Original sin comes from the first act of pride, selfishness, and disregarding boundaries
• Original sin is against God's will of wholeness and causes suffering in the world

Slavery to Sin

• Historical evil affects people before they can act freely
• People are deeply influenced by their environment

Brokenness of the World

• The brokenness of the world impacts individuals through genes, body (pollution and unhealthy diet), and psyche (generational trauma and collective trauma)
• Choices are affected, such as limited access to education and ethical products due to corruption
• It is difficult to choose the good in a broken world

Oppression and Slavery in Canaanite City-States and in Egypt

• Slavery during that time was a sinful structure
• It was a manifestation of the world's brokenness
• Slavery was part of the social order justified by their religion

Tamed Gods

• The gods legitimized the oppressive social order.
• Egyptian and Canaanite gods maintained order in society
• Each god has specific roles, such as marriage, farming, and war
• The gods are limited by their roles, influencing the perception of society as similarly limited

YHWH

• YHWH doesn't have a specific role or form
• YHWH is beyond classification and definition
• YHWH acts independently and according to his own purposes

God Who Disturbs Order

• God, unlike the gods of Canaan and Egypt, disturbs oppressive social orders
• Exodus embodies the experiences of refugees from oppressive societies
• Through Exodus, people have come to know YHWH amidst oppression
• Throughout the ages, YHWH disturbs oppressive social orders through liberation, equality, justice, and wholeness

YHWH's Alternative

• God's law dismantles oppression and exploitation
• A significant portion of the Torah is social and ecological
• The Torah protects resident aliens, widows, orphans, and the poor
• It prohibits charging interest on loans to the poor
• It mandates returning a neighbor's cloak taken as pawn before sunset
• Justice must be provided to the poor
• Every seventh year, the land must be left uncultivated for the poor and the wild animals to eat

The Year of Jubilee

• Every fiftieth year, liberty is proclaimed throughout the land
• Personal liberty is restored: slaves are freed
• Property is restored: debts are forgiven and sold properties are returned

Torah

• Torah is about economic equality, politics of justice, and freedom
• Torah is also about God's freedom, compassion, and fidelity

Fidelity to God's Law (Torah) and Peace

• Following God's laws will bring rain in due season, fertile land, and secure living
• God will grant peace, remove dangerous animals, and prevent war in the land