Jeffrey Tiel

Why Did Adam Fall? and other Unasked-for Sermons Jeffrey Tiel

The Christian revelation has provided a goldmine of enrichment to our understanding. But it has also led many of us to ponder, not just straightforward difficulties, but curiosities whose solution enhances our grasp of the divine mission of transforming selfish shadows into loving persons. As a medium, the sermon provides a remarkable platform for peering deeply into these matters, but in a way that never separates the theory from the heartfelt need and practice that confronts us in our daily lives. The tongue-in-cheek title suggests that we actually wonder about much more than we are comfortable disclosing, not only the sorts of questions illustrated by the title essay on why Adam fell, but many other challenges: how to retain hope in the midst of great loss, how divine forgiveness squares with our understanding of justice, what being creatures uniquely made in the divine image means for our lives, the value of grand-parenting and its inherent link to sainthood, and many other fascinating problems.