Sin's Damage to the Human Mind

Fallen man's mind has been damaged by sin.
The intelligent sinner's mind has been damaged.
And the not especially intelligent sinner's mind is also damaged.

In this thread I will document what forms this manifests itself according to the Bible.

Firstly, the spiritual enemy of God and man Satan, has blinded the thoughts of those who do not believe the Gospel.

"In whom the god of this world has BLINDED THE THOUGHTS of the unbelievers that the illumination of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. might not shine on them." (2 Cor. 4:4)

Unbelievers often simply cannot think right about Christ because of a blinded thinking process. Paul says the blinded thoughts cause a "veil" like covering over their spiritual eyes.

"And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled in those who are perishing, In whom the god of this age has blinded the thoughts of the unbelievers ..." (v.3,4a)

Man has physical eyes. But man has inward spiritual eyes as well. The "god of this world" is the evil spirit of Satan, invisible, deceptive, rebellious against God to the uttermost, has BLINDED the thinking of people.

You can see that some simply cannot discern the divine glory of Christ because their thinking about Jesus has been blinded.

The blindness upon the spiritual eyes of unbelievers causes a spiritual darkness and an alienation from "the life of God".

"This therefore I say and testify in the Lord, that you no longer walk as the Gentiles also walk in the vanity of their mind.

Being DARKENED in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance which is in them." (Eph. 4:18)

When you hear clever rationalizing to distance one's self from God it is a sign that the understanding is "darkened". Illumination is lacking and darkness is present, especially in the conscience.

The man "darkened" in understanding doesn't realize his state. He does not perceive his own wickedness. So he sees no need for an encounter with "the life of God" .

Some unbelievers in this darkened state attempt to be guides of other people spiritually. Yet Jesus said that this was the tragedy of the blind leading the blind.

About the Pharisees and scribes who were vehemently opposing Jesus, Jesus said -

"Let them be. They are blind guides of the blind; and of a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit." (Matt. 15:14)

So some people fighting against the Gospel preached by Jesus are leading other people as the blind leading the blind. The pit the guides fall into is also the pit those whom they are leading will fall into.

It is not funny to see the blind leading the blind. It is most tragic.
And this has nothing to do with one's intelligence or ability to reason.

In the same section Jesus explains that "evil reasoning" pouring out of the heart of man can defile him.

The corrupted things that come out of the mouth first come out of the heart of man. And they manifest defilement and corruption as well as blindness and darkness.

"But the things which proceed out of the mouth come out of the heart, and these defile the man.

For out of the heart come EVIL REASONINGS, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witnessings, blasphemies.

These are the things which defile the man ..." (Matt. 15:18-20a)

Many adulteries and fornications followed rationalizations and evil reasonings. Sinners do not often stop and ask themselves "Just WHAT am I reasoning here?"

Evil reasonings manifest the damage of sin upon the mind of fallen human beings.

In the time of Noah, the damage upon the human mind became so rampant that every imagination of the thoughts of men were only evil continually.

This was a time of no government. This was a time when God gave space to see what would happen to fallen man if he just allowed himself to be led only by his conscience.

Eventually the wickedness filled the whole earth and violence was wide spread. Men's imagination was like many of the video games of today - only one violent imaginative thing after another after another for entertainment.

"And Jehovah saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." (Genesis 6:5)

Fallen man's mind is darkened. Left alone it can grow worse and worse.
The X Rated movies of 50 years ago are the Prime Time TV shows of today in the US.

The imagination of the thoughts of men are growing in more and more continual commitment to wickedness. This reveals the damage upon the mind of sinners that needs to be healed by God's salvation.

The Flood story of Noah's day was also a warning to us that human society CAN actually degrade to such a level. That is imaginations proceeding from one evil thing to the next evil thing.

Such people cannot discern their own condition.
And they cannot discern the condition of others.

Paul says men can delight in others who are so wicked and approve of them. This too is a kind of blindness in the thinking inflicted upon fallen man.

" ... those who practice such things are worthy of death, not only do them, but also have fellow delight in those who practice them." (Rom. 1:12b)

So we need a salvation in our spirit and a salvation of the mind.

A good example of a very damaged mind is sonhouse. 😏

For some damaged minds it is hard to work up the will to read the Bible.

For some people to read the Bible is hard.
Yet to watch TV is very easy.

Did you ever ask "Why is it so difficult for me to decide to read the Bible, but so very easy for me to spend so much time to watch TV? "

That a man is so easily repelled away from a book communicating the things of God yet he gravitates so easily to fleshy entertainment exposes a mind that is damaged by sin.

The basic constituents of the fallen world are:

1.) The lust of the flesh,
2.) The lust of the eyes.
3.) The vainglory of life, the vain pride of life.

"Do not love the world nor the things of the world, If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him.

Because all that is in the world, the list of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the vainglory of life, is not of the Father but is of the world."


God has created many things for man to have and enjoy. But none of these should usurp and replace God Himself. He is the Father. He is the Source of the eternal life through Jesus Christ.

The fallen world is out to completely replace God and make idols out of everything. Idols are instead of God as the top devotion.

John continues to warn that the Godless world of idols, usurping our affection for the heavenly Father, passing away. Those who do the will of God putting God before all other things will abide forever.

"And the world is passing away, and its lust, but he who does the will of God abides forever." (v.17)

The vain devotion to the world that is passing away also reveals a mind harmed by sin. We may own and enjoy many things which are legitimate. When they take the place of the eternal God they are idols and vanity.

Any mind devoted to idols is not a healthy mind.

Originally posted by RJHinds
A good example of a very damaged mind is sonhouse. 😏

I heard this saying once...

"Those that live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones"

Matthew 15:14-16 talks about the blind leading the blind.

"Isaiah 59:9b-10 talks about the sinners groping around as in the dark. God spoke of the society of Israel groping around seeking justice in their culture which alluded them.

"Therefore justice is far from us, And righteousness does not overtake us; We look eagerly for light, but ah, darkness. For brightness, but we walk in gloom.

We grope like blind men at the wall; We grope like those without eyes.; We stumble at midday as we would at dusk;

Among the prospering we are like dead men." (Isaiah 59:9,10)

There is no need to go to the movies to see a Night of the Living Dead. There is no need to imagine zombies.

Spiritually blinded sinners are like dead men groping and seeking light, seeking justice and righteousness. This scene describes too much of modern culture.

A healing of the minds is needed in God's salvation through Jesus Christ. Men and women grope but don't know what they are searching for.
They also often do not know who to blame for the chaos.

If you put a lot of grumpy blind people in a room they will pump up against each other. The groping in darkness causes people to not know who or why they are stumbling around and colliding with each other.

Fallen man, in spite of great educational advances, needs a healing of the mind and recovery of thinking that acknowledges God.

Originally posted by sonship
You can see that some simply cannot discern the divine glory of Christ because their thinking about Jesus has been blinded.

The danger of such a claim, is I can now turn it around and state that it is your mind that is damaged causing you to 'discern the divine glory of Christ'. And you cannot give any rational argument to defend yourself. Its merely one mad mans claim against another's. Welcome to the asylum.

Originally posted by sonship
If you put a lot of grumpy blind people in a room they will pump up against each other. The groping in darkness causes people to not know who or why they are stumbling around and colliding with each other.

The groping in darkness causes people to not know who or why they are stumbling around and colliding with each other.

Maybe because they are blind? 🙄

Originally posted by twhitehead
The danger of such a claim, is I can now turn it around and state that it is your mind that is damaged causing you to 'discern the divine glory of Christ'. And you cannot give any rational argument to defend yourself. Its merely one mad mans claim against another's. Welcome to the asylum.

The danger of such a claim, is I can now turn it around and state that it is your mind that is damaged causing you to 'discern the divine glory of Christ'. And you cannot give any rational argument to defend yourself. Its merely one mad mans claim against another's. Welcome to the asylum.

To the Christians the Apostle Paul says that we too need the transformation through the renewing of the MIND.

" And do not be fashioned according to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and well pleasing and perfect." (Romans 12:2)

The healthy human mind is the mind given more and more to the will of God. If a man reasons his way against the will of God these are "evil reasonings". It doesn't matter how good he is at it. It is unhealthy to the mind as God created it.

My mind has also been damaged by the fall and sin also.
The thread's title concerned "Sin's Damage to the Human Mind"

Some people receive mercy to see that they need God's saving.
As they grow spiritually, they also see to what extent sin has inflicted twisting and warping of our thinking.

Albert Einstein had a what we all would call a brilliant mind. When it came to being faithful to his first wife, his brilliant intellect was could not help him. No formulas or equations helped him to remain faithful to his.

He REASONED his way into unfaithfulness.
The same is true with Betrand Russell.

Both men needed the transformation through the renewing of the mind from salvation in Jesus Christ.

The damage of sin upon the fallen man's mind also manifests itself in making things upside down. The damaged mind of a sinner can call sweet bitter and call bitter sweet. The damaged mind can take moral light for darkness and moral darkness of light.

God says many who are wise in their own eyes turn things upside down -

" Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness. Who put bitter for sweet,
and sweet for bitter!

Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! " (Isaiah 5:20)

If you over trust in your own mind apart from God's enlightenment you may even boast in a clever ability to flip reality around.

Originally posted by wolfgang59
The groping in darkness causes people to not know who or why they are stumbling around and colliding with each other.

Maybe because they are blind? 🙄

There are degrees of this blindness. It is not always absolute.

There are degrees to the blindness of the mind because of sin.

The man or woman moving towards the way of God is having also the light in the mind growing brighter.

Proverbs 4:18

King James Bible
But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, shining brighter and brighter until midday.

God is wanting to begin to work in the sinner's conscience to convict the sinner of the need for salvation. As the heart turns more toward God it is like the dawning of the sun. The blindness in darkness can be decreased because God is granting the inner man more light of truth.

The way of the righteous therefore is the way of blindness gradually decreasing and the light of wisdom from God increasing.

Originally posted by sonship
To the Christians the Apostle Paul says that we too need the transformation through the renewing of the MIND.

As I already pointed out, you simply cannot give a rational argument for your stance. You have lost before you start. Your position is indefensible.

As they grow spiritually, they also see to what extent sin has inflicted twisting and warping of our thinking.
No, they just continue to be mad. I repeat: you cannot rationally show that you are the sane one and I am the mad one. You have no way of demonstrating it. Anything you say is just symptoms of your madness.

Originally posted by sonship
There are degrees of this blindness. It is not always absolute.

I have to agree. I am certainly less blind than you are.