Wounded but not Lost: The Psychological Effects of Original Sin and the Healing Power of Christ

Why do we struggle — even when we try to do good?

Dr. Gladys M. Sweeney, Ph.D. brought this question to one of the most significant interdisciplinary conferences on original sin in recent decades — a gathering in Rome of philosophers, theologians, and psychologists that produced remarkable convergence: the deepest explanation of human psychological struggle is not found in neuroscience or developmental models alone. It is found in the truth of original sin.

But not the caricature. Not a guilt trip. Not a legal sentence. A rupture of relationality. A broken bond between the human person and God, between persons and one another, between the self and its own truth.

In this three-lesson course, Dr. Sweeney walks through the four fundamental questions every fallen human being must answer: Who am I? Am I free? What does my life mean? Will I be loved unconditionally? She examines the psychological wounds that make these questions so difficult and points toward the only adequate answer: the healing power of Christ and the destination of becoming another Christ for others.