Original Sin?

Question

What are YOUR beliefs regarding "Original Sin?"

Are we BORN bad, or do we BECOME bad?

Please don't copy and paste answers from websites. I want YOUR beliefs about this. If you want to back it up with Scripture from the Bible or the Qu'ran, that's great... just don't load me up with someone else's opinion. I want YOURS.

Thanks. :)

Answer 1

There is some obvious evidence to indicate "predestination" -- we do see kids who grow up to be just as bad if not worse as they were as a kid.

There's a term called the "terrible two's" Not every kid goes through this.

It is possible, as they say, God has a plan. It is also possible that God forgives these people or gives them a get out of jail free card, because free will is not allowed in their case.

For some people free will is not an issue. We call them "loonies" or "criminals" and I watched a friend of mine's kid be this way from age 4 right up to reform school! Love, care and understanding didn't help. The kid had a problem from day one and one day that kid will rob a store at gun point. That is a part of his nature!

For most, however, it is free will.

Jesus said we have to be like little children.

As to becoming bad, in the case of free will that's a relative term. We accept questionable behavior to be acceptable behavior.

Sex is one of the big areas. For a guy it's about "bagging the babe." It's considered "abnormal" for a guy NOT to "bag the babe."

What, you're not a man? You didn't get a piece?

Guys say anything, do anything and try anything to get their hands up a blouse or down the pants.

Of course when guys grow up, get married, have daughters, this whole concept changes. Then it becomes, not with my littler girl you don't!

15% of the current Catholic Priests have charges pending over molestation of children under the age of 18, mostly boys.

When a minister or priest gets caught with their hands in the cookie jar they always use that famous statement:

I'm only human!

They spend their entire lives tell all of us not to yeld and not to be human and then they fall prey themselves!

Then they fall back on the "forgive and forget" part.

Then we get to the Jesus saves part. All our sins are gone as a result of Jesus and all one needs to do is beleive.

Is it that simple?

Is it a get out of jail free card?

Does that give us a license to become bad?

Those with clarity of mind and full benefits of free will are supposed to know better, especially if they partake in religion.

How many men marry women without ever seeing their bodies in advance? These days most guys won't marry until they've "tried her out" to see if she's acceptable. Is that BAD or WISE?

Does a guy marry a girl, a person, or the body for the gratification?

Is the girl who goes along with this program bad?

We run into the quandary. Hiding the body is a byproduct of the original sin. God made us in the raw, we walked around in the raw, we sinned and took upon ourselves the knowledge of Good and Evil, saw our bodies and decided it was EVIL to be naked.

Therefore, how can it be bad for a girl to show a man her body before marriage. Eve was seen by Adam before God married them! Of course, he didn't know GOOD from EVIL at that point and couldn't decide of her body was GOOD or BAD.

How many men who finally see the girl's body decide they now don't want to marry them because their body isn't GOOD!

Is that bad?

Is that evil?

This is how the original sin screwed us up and Jesus said to shed this we must be like little children.

Answer 2

There is nothing like Original Sin. You are born a human being. It is destined as to what you will be come, a lawyer, a priest, or a teacher, etc. Also you may be born as a girl or boy. Now, if we keep worrying about our sins, one man's sin is another man's relief. Hence it is better to do your duty for what ever you are destined. You are a soldier, you fight a war while fighting a war, you kill your enemies. Do you call this sin ? So do your duty and leave everything else to the God and the holy spirit. Every thing said and done, what ever religion you follow, please firmly believe that everything is being controlled by a super power and it is only we think that we are doing this and we are doing that. Bible and Quran or any other scriptures are made by human being and it is only 2000 odd years old. Do you think there is no sins committed before this period ? If you have answer please let me know.

Answer 3

I refuse to believe that any child is born bad. We don't know right from wrong when we are born so we cannot be be responsible for being "good" or "bad". We are (hopefully) taught the difference between good and bad as we grow and until we know the difference we have no choice about being "sinful" or not. The thought that a benevolent God has imposed a burden of sin on us irrespective of how good or innocent we are is, frankly, utterly stupid.

Original sin is a clever trick of Christianity which ensures that, in effect, you're in debt to God (ie. the Church!!) from the moment you are born. This is just brain-washing - one of many con-tricks used by organised religions to control the masses.

Answer 4

Is it original sin or the application of free will ?

What I have always believed to be called original sin was Eve's choosing to eat from the Tree of Knowledge. Yes, she was tempted to do so. She knew that she shouldn't, and told the snake so. If Eve were truly using her free will, she would not have needed the snake to egg her on to eating it. The Tree was always there. She or Adam could have eaten from it at any time. It took temptation to convince her to use her free will.

So, in answer to the second question, people aren't born bad. Nor do we become bad. Some people make bad choices based on temptation.

Answer 5

IMO neither are correct. We are not born bad nor do we become bad. Many do bad things, yes, but the word 'sin' originally meant to miss the mark. Missing a mark or making a mistake does not make a person bad. Mistakes can be our greatest teachers. We learn, we do better, we move on. If we are created in God's image, as it reads in the Bible, saying we are bad would be saying what about him? We have the potential to achieve a state of relative perfection. It simply will take us awhile to get there. :-)

Answer 6

Personally I do believe in original sin, though not in the same way some do. The bible does tell us that it exists, and I do tend to believe the bible. But I do not believe in it the same way many do. I think it is something we have, and are born with, and are "punished" for in this life. By that I mean like one of eve's punishment was painful childbirth. And obviously child birth is pretty darn painful.

I do not however believe that children are automatically born sinners. Well, not in the way like if they are not baptized they will not go to heaven if they (God forbid) die of say sids. The bible tells us that children are innocent.

To me, original sin more means that we are born with the ability, and probability to sin. I think personaly, that it is absurd that ppl will think that a child that dies without being baptized is going to go to hell. There is no, to my knowledge, biblical backing for this, other then original sin.


I do know that some believe that we pay also for the sins of our ancestors going back 7 generations. Like say if you had a relative two generations ago that murdered somebody, but didn't repent, YOU would have that "tarnishing" your record so to speak.

Answer 7

NOPE I don't believe in that concept. As a child I was told about it and that's why Jesus had come to die.

As I grew older I found that this concept made no sense to me in Biblical reference. Also God said that no one will die for the sins of others. That's why I believe that Jesus came to guide us in spirit and truth. That is where our Salvation lies.

Jesus was the embodiment of God's word thus Salvation through Jesus means Salvation through the word of God.

If original sin was true then Jesus would also have been a sinner. But catholics then came up with the "immaculate conception of Mary"( Mary was apparently sinless). Again Mary was not concieved immaculately, she admitted that she needed a savior.

Also, Jews don't even believe in "original sin". If there is "original sin" then how can we have free will?

We become sinners when we choose bad over good NOT because of Adam and Eve mistake.

We are responsible for our own actions and we should grow in spiritual understanding and accept that!

Answer 8

Original sin as written in the Bible is just a metaphorical explanation for evil in the world. Nature is neither good nor evil, things do what they do by their nature, not by willfulness.

The same is true of humans, we all do good and evil, but those are human concepts. We are just following our nature. For some reason we feel we have to label these actions as good or evil, but they really are not.

The biblical story is meant to take the blame for evil away from God, who could not create something not perfect, by definition. So all the blame gets laid on mankind (which is what "Adam" means). As far as I am concerned, God created Adam and Eve to be capable of disobedience. If a car manufacturer makes a defective car, we hold the manufacture liable, not the owner of the car. So God has to take responsibility for man's evil.

Answer 9

I believe that we are all born into sin because of what Adam and Eve did in the garden of Eden. Because of that, even if you followed the whole law down to the last tittle you still would need a Savior. The only one is Jesus.

The bible says, "There is none righteous, no not one."

I believe what the bible says.

I believe I can do what it says I can do.

"The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever." Is 40:8

Answer 10

A Christian friend once told me that all I had to do is to look at a child to see that we are born evil. I was dumfounded! What he meant is that all children go through the "no" and "mine" stages.

Anyone who can make a statement like that obviously doesn't have both feet on the ground.

I believe we are given free will; each choice we make determines who we are. Making right choices leads us straight toward God. Making bad choices leads us away from God. Right choices keep us on the path; bad choices lead us further from the path.

Choose Life!

Shalom

“It has been told you, O mortal, what is good, and what the Eternal requires of you – Only this: to do justly, and love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:1