Universal Brokenness and Social Sin

Abstract

We are a wounded and fragmented humanity. Sin, understood as excessive
selfishness is at the center of human and cosmic brokenness. But humanity is radically
one. The world as created by God is an integrated reality, consisting of complex
interconnectedness and interdependencies, now disrupted by human selfishness. In order
to be re-assembled and made whole again by God’s transforming grace, we need to rise
beyond our historical woundedness which emanates from such tragedies as the slave trade,
Hitler’s Nazi totalitarian regime, oppressive and exploitative colonial structures, trade and
economic imbalances and dependencies, multinational companies’ exploitative systems, and
the widespread vice of corruption. We must be converted in order to uncover and rectify the
dehumanizing elements in our social structures. However, no individual person or country
can bring this about alone. There will be no real change until we accept co-responsibility in
the creation of sinful social structures and together seek healing through conversion.