Winner on the Sin Round of the 2015 ITT

Last updated on: July 7, 2015 at 4:38 pm by Leah Libresco

Winner on the Sin Round of the 2015 ITT 2015-07-07T16:38:28-04:00 Leah Libresco

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The answers are up, and now the votes have been tallied for the first question in the Christian round of the 2015 Ideological Turing Test. Here’s the faux-Christian response to “What sin, if any, lies at the root of all sin” that real Christians found the most convincing:

The root of all sin is man’s sinful nature, but if I had to identify a particular *sin* that lies at the root of all others, it would be pride. The first step away from sin is recognizing our own fallenness and our desperate need of Christ in guiding us away from it. That humility opens a door for Christ in our hearts. His is a painful, blinding, searing light, which is why we turn away from it. We see the pale reflection of that light in ourselves and convince ourselves that we have no need for the true light, of that painful healing. Pride leaves us to wallow in our depravity, denying ourselves salvation and creating misery for ourselves and others.

That answer was the most convincing overall (78% percent of Christians thought it was probably the real deal). The real Christian answers all came next in the rankings, and then the other non-Christians followed. (Real Christians are solid shaded, non-Christians are faded)

Our perceptive non-Christian winner describes himself this way:

27 years old, white, male, Brazilian, tutor, writer and translator. Graduated from Yale with a BA in English. Consistent INFP with a tendency for depression. Not great at understanding symbolic systems, quick to grasp fuzzy concepts. Bad at willpower. Non-Christian.

He was the most believable faker in the eyes of the non-Christians, too, coming in second overall:

All the real Christians passed muster with both groups. The least convincing fake-Christian entry in the eyes of both groups belonged to Danielle Muscato, former comms manager for American Atheists:

The Fall of Man is the root of all sin. God very clearly told Adam and Eve that they could eat of any tree in the garden except the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Eve sinned and for that sin all humanity deserves Hell, but we can be saved from Hell by following Jesus as our Lord and Savior. God loves us and wants us to be in Heaven with Him, that is why he sent Jesus to prepare the way for us and wash away our sins if we accept him.

But, as always, I wonder whether the folks judging are rejecting this as unconvincingly Christian or unconvincing Christian-that-reads-my-blog.

This is part of the 2015 Ideological Turing Test series, where Christians and non-Christians test how well they understand one another. You can find all posts about the 2015 Ideological Turing Test here. And you can see all answers to this prompt (and who wrote them) here.

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