You fool!
I guess most of us have ready definitions for many things, including theological things, things like sin. So, for example, we might say: sin is rebellion; sin is lawbreaking; sin is falling short; and so on.
How often, I wonder, do we think of sin as folly? Not the Way It’s Supposed to Be is a fresh take on several aspects of what sin is and what sin does. The author, who rejoices in the name of Cornelius Plantinga Jr, points out that “not all folly is sin, but all sin is folly. Sin is both wrong and dumb.” We do some things which are just plain stupid, things we wish we hadn’t done – like getting a particular haircut or getting lost when driving – but these things are hardly sinful. So, “not all folly is sin.”
On the other hand, “all sin is folly”. Why? The opposite of folly is wisdom, and “Wisdom … is a reality-based phenomenon. To be wise is to know reality, to discern it.” God is part of reality: the God who made us and gave us everything we have, who is all-knowing, all-good and all-powerful. So, to disobey him really is not only wrong but also dumb. As Plantinga memorably puts it, “To rebel against God is to saw off the branch that supports us.” Sin is “outrageous folly: it’s like pulling the plug on your own rescuscitator.” It might just be the way back to sanity for us to say to ourselves – when we’re tempted to sin or when we’ve fallen into sin – “You fool!”