A Blameless Person?

Is it possible for a man to live on earth with no sin? Surely not, or so say many modern Christians.

Genesis 6:9 reads:

Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless man living in the region at that time, and he walked in close fellowship with God.

How is that possible? After all, Romans 3:23 tells us that

every single person has sinned and fallen short of God's glorious standards.

I see a contradiction between these two verses. "To sin" means "to miss the mark." It was originally a term in archery to refer to the act of an arrow missing its target. In this context, it refers to falling short of the standards set. Logically, then, if some person "missed the mark," he would be with blame, and any person who is blameless must be without sin. It is quite clear, then, that one of these two verse must be wrong, thereby negating sola scriptura. That leaves two possibilities to reconcile the Bible:

1. Noah was not blameless. This is not likely, because it quite clearly states that he was blameless, without sin. Also, his story was written by a third party who has no motive to lie.
2. Paul was wrong. This is fairly likely. After all, Paul was a man attempting to justify his own shortcomings. There is indeed a motive to stretch the truth.

Many churches teach that Jesus is the only perfect person, but their own book contradicts them. This does not mean Jesus' life was insignificant, but it does indicate that many teachings about him need to be reevaluated.

Another proof that Noah was a sinless man living after the Fall is his apparent close fellowship with God. Allegedly, God abhors sin and cannot be in its presence. However, Noah fellowshipped and walked with God, therefore he must have lived without sin.

Noah was not the only sinless person in the Bible apart from Jesus, either. In fact, the Old Testament is riddled with perfection. Enoch and Job are just two other examples to speak of...

How would you reconcile these seemingly opposing verses?

Natural Talent

You know, I'm a little bit tired of all the quotes I'm hearing along the lines of "all that matters is if you try. If you try, you will succeed. Period." Honestly, I'm not sure I completely agree with that.

Sure, dedication is good. Don't misconstrue my words.However, I feel that there is an undue emphasis placed on determination and perseverance.Sometimes, you need skill. Sometimes, you need talent. I say this, because I know some people are getting the idea that skill and ability (and, therefore, preparation) are meaningless.

I walk a fine line now. Doubtless, there are some readers who feel I hit the nail on the head, but there are likely others who feel like I am telling them not to try. That is quite the opposite of what I wish to convey. The emphasis placed on perseverance is often inside the proverbial ring. How often do we hear - really hear - about the dedication oustide the ring? We generally see it in the movies, but people have a way of blocking out what movies tell us. But think about who the most famous "dedicated" people, real or fictional, are. Who came to your mind? Rocky? Stephen Hawking?

Let's look at Stephen Hawking. Yes, he has ALS, which is a severe setback, and, yes, he did persevere through that. However, much of his dedication and perseverance was unrelated to his disease. He was born intelligent, and he cultivated his intelligence throughout his childhood, long before he became paralyzed.

I highly doubt the average Joe, stricken with ALS, would suddenly become a genius.

The notable exception to the "preparation breeds success" maxim is Harry Potter, and J.K. Rowling might be to blame. He was the Chosen One, yes, but did he take anyone up on the offer? Well, he became successful, or, at least, we attribute successful deeds to him. But what did he do? Take the first movie, for instance. How did Harry, Ron, and Hermione reach the end? Ron played the chess match; Hermione solved the subsequent puzzle. What was Harry's job? He went to the final room, where Professor Quirrell nearly killed him. That is the result of poor preparation and an overconfidence in one's own natural abilities - perseverance inside the ring. The only thing that saved Harry's life was a recurring series of lucky incidents in which every good wizard in the hemisphere suddenly realized that he needed help and came to his rescue.