In Becoming a Monster Pt.1, I presented this idea.

Sin is the thing that, if left unchecked, will ultimately lead to your dehumanization.

If this idea is new to you, check out that first article. In this post, I’d like to work through a biblical text that will help us understand this concept from a theological view.

Becoming Non-human

In the book of Daniel, there is so much going on. Those less familiar with the writing at least know about a guy named Daniel. They know about either his friends in a furnace or an encounter with some lions. Those who know the writing well focus on its prophetic voice. They try to understand how the prophecies apply to us today. I want to focus on a specific story. Most readers have glossed over it. But, it has big implications for our discussion here. Daniel chapter four.

Let’s recap. The nation of Israel was conquered by the Babylonian Empire led by King Nebuchadnezzar. They sacked Jerusalem, destroyed the temple, and took the best of Israel’s people to Babylon.

Upon their arrival, Daniel and his peers were forced to assimilate into the local culture. Daniel, notable for his dream interpretation skills, quickly rose to prominence in the royal palace. Following the episode of the fiery furnace, we encounter the fourth chapter of Daniel’s story, uniquely composed in Aramaic and from the first person perspective of King Nebuchadnezzar, who proclaims the works of the Most High God. Alarmed by a troubling dream, he consults Daniel, referred to by his Babylonian name, Belteshazzar. Daniel deciphers the dream, but it spells ominous tidings for the king, heralding an ordeal designed to teach him that it is God who reigns supreme.

We pick up the story at Daniel 4:28. One year has passed since the dream and its interpretation. We find the King on the roof of his palace. He says to himself. Looking out upon his Kingdom.

“Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?”

The King is feeling good about himself. Notice the emphasized statements. Nebuchadnezzar takes the blessings and generosity of the creator and makes them about himself. Okay, full stop. Did the King have a role in the growth and prosperity of the kingdom? Yes, however, the flaw is in the belief that he alone did it.

Let’s run it back a little further. Well, a lot further. In the beginning. In Genesis 3, we are told a story of the first humans and their encounter with a serpent. In this story, it has been previously established that they were to co-rule God’s new world. But the first humans decide to take matters into their own hands. This results in the downfall of all humanity. When we think we can go it alone, we move away from the identity and vocation set out for us by the creator. Which is to live as co-regents in God’s good creation. What we see in the King’s actions is the repeatable flaw seen in all humans. When we decide to go it alone, it never works out well.

Almost immediately, the King hears a voice from heaven informing him that he will be sent out and away from humans. He will live with the animals and eat like them, like an ox in the field. This will last for seven years, and in vs. 33, we read a powerful description of the state of Nebuchadnezzar’s being.

“He was driven away from people and ate grass like the ox. His body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird.”

The King has become an animal. He has been driven out of human society to live out his existence as an animal, a beast, maybe even a monster — something non-human.

The Risk of Becoming an Animal

This story has a cause and effect that serves more than a simple tragedy of a King in an ancient Kingdom. This is about what happens to those who remove themselves from the creator’s purpose for humans. When we say to ourselves and to God, I don’t need you anymore. We become something else. We become something that can no longer be recognized as human. This is the tragedy of the human condition, called sin. Sin is the things we do that lead us to a place of non-human existence.

Let me connect this concept to a moment with Jesus in the New Testament. In Matthew 7:21–23 Jesus talks about those who will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. At this point, he addresses people who think they are doing God’s will but who are not. Even though these people think they do God’s work, something in their hearts has disqualified them from God’s Kingdom. Jesus says over these people. “I never knew you.” Dang, that’s harsh. How is it that God doesn’t know them? Can God not know someone? Or is the Lord revealing something more profound? The word “Knew” in the Greek γινώσκω means to perceive or recognize. The Lord says I don’t recognize you. Only those who resemble the creator’s image and walk in partnership with Him co-ruling can be with God.

Are you seeing the connection yet? Like Nebuchadnezzar, when we separate ourselves from the image and vocation of the creator, we can’t claim to be human. We are something else. An animal or monster. As we continue down this path of sinning, we risk becoming something even God doesn’t recognize. That’s a scary thought indeed.

In Pt.3 of Becoming a Monster, I will conclude this discussion of sin with what Jesus has to do with all of this.