ABSTRACT
Christian beliefs held by people from all nations, denominations, and ethnicities reflect and elaborate upon scripture to a greater or lesser degree, including those passages in scripture about Christ’s redemption of humankind from sin. Original sin may better be seen in terms of personal ontogeny than in terms of the pseudo-phylogeny offered up by traditional Christian theology. Empirical studies have shown that the moral emotional style of parents as well their parenting styles has various effects on the way guilt and shame develops in their children. There exist visual images of the type “Throne of Grace” or “Mercyseat Trinity” in which God sits enthroned with a crucified Christ upon his lap. Such images encourage the venerator to believe that the horror of crucifixion cannot overwhelm the greatness of God, for the cruciform picture of masochism is nestled within the larger, more imposing picture of a reigning God.
