Which is correct?

Question

On the one hand, atheists complain that original sin doesn't seem fair. "Why blame us for something people did centuries ago?"

On the other hand, atheists seem to hold all living Christians responsible for the Crusades, which occured centuries ago.

Which point of view is right and which is wrong?

Adam T: Well, I asked a question. I didn't make a statement. Therefore I didn't present any logic at all yet. Personally, I'd argue that Western civilization as a whole, both atheist and believer, still feel the effects, both good and bad, of the crusades.

Answer 1

Good point. You can't have it both ways. It's either fair or it isn't. And if it isn't fair, then you shouldn't hold others to it.

Answer 2

Neither. It does not seem fair that we are "blamed" for something people did centuries ago. Yet, we can be cleansed of original sin and all sin by accepting the sacrifice that Jesus made and asking forgiveness and allowing him to be Lord of our life. Also, man has been given the freedom to make choices and there are results that occur from these choices. Sometimes we make choices that bring good into the lives of men and sometimes we make choices that bring bad things to our life or to the lives of others. We are accountable for the decisions that we make. One day everything will be weighed and balanced. We will not be able to play the blame game but will be responsible for the decisions made with our free will.

Answer 3

OVER ALL. Christians say we are responsible for original sin, but they are not responsible for the crusades. You can not have it both ways. You see, you need to watch how you try to use logic, because it can be turned on you.

I do not hold Christians responsible for the crusades, only what they do as an individual. I hold the organization of Christianity, the religion itself responsible.

I do not blame the German citizens for the holocaust. But I do blame the Nazi party. If the Nazis were around today, I would hold them responsible. OR if you are correct, and organizations are not responsible for their past actions, then the Nazis are just swell, and should come back to rule Germany. Should we give al qaeda another chance, because 911 was in the past? NO. We all need to learn from our mistakes. If the organization is not held accountable, then what is there to stop it from repeating its mistakes?

Have you ever heard the saying "screw me once, shame on you. Screw me twice, shame on me"? When there is a pattern of violence, and killing, that should give you a hint as to what will happen. (ex: the sun has risen for as long as the sun and earth have existed. So it is reasonable to say that it will rise again tomorrow.)

And as for bigez3804. I am an atheist. I say tomorrow the earth will still exist. If what you say is true, then tomorrow, the earth will not exist.

Answer 4

"Original sin" IS A LIE!!

Ezekiel 18 teaches this plainly.

When you realize this, you understand that the doctrine of "immaculate conception" and infant baptism are both meaningless. No one is born with the guilt of sin. Since everyone is born innocent, there is no need to figure out some way for Jesus to be born without guilt for Adam's sin.

Ezekiel 18:1 A message came to me from the LORD. He said, 2 “You people have a proverb about the land of Israel. What do you mean by it? It says, “‘The parents eat sour grapes. But the children have a bitter taste in their mouths.’

--> 3 “You will not use that proverb in Israel anymore,” announces the LORD and King. “And that is just as sure as I am alive. 4 Everyone belongs to me. Father and son alike belong to me.
--> People will die because of their own sins.

[ God presents a hypothetical family of alternating good and evil fathers to explain this teaching:]

5 “Suppose a godly man does what is fair and right.
...
9 He follows my rules. He is faithful in keeping my laws. He always does what is right. You can be sure he will live,” announces the LORD and King. 10 “But suppose he has a mean son who harms other people. The son commits murder. Or he does some other things that are wrong.
...14 “But suppose that son has a son of his own. And the son sees all of the sins his father commits. He sees them, but he does not do them.
...17 ... He will not die because of his father’s sin. You can be sure he will live. 18 But his father will die because of his own sin. He got rich by cheating others. He robbed his relatives. He also did what was wrong among his people.

--> 19 “But you still ask, ‘Is the son guilty along with his father?’ No! The son did what was fair and right. He was careful to keep all of my rules. So you can be sure he will live.

Read the whole chapter and you will see I have not lifted the passage out of its context. I just skipped sections that elaborate on what they did or did not do.

Answer 5

Obvious both are crap, especially the crusade deal, those weren't Christians. Christians following God's word have always been peaceable folk who have laid down their lives for the faith, not picked up the sword. And certainly Constantine wasn't a christian, he mixed every pagan tradition he could find with fake christianity and really made a mess.

Answer 6

Atheists don't believe in the original sin nonsense, otherwise we wouldn't be athiests would we?

We believe in the crusades because we know that they happened, as have countless other excuses for christians to use their so-called God's name as an excuse for murder and bloodhsed.

Answer 7

As an atheist, original sin is a meaningless concept to me, and I don't blame people for things that happened hundreds of years ago.

Answer 8

Actually, my problem with Original Sin is if we are to be held accountable for the sins of Adam and Eve, shouldn't we reap the rewards of that sin as well? Don't try and tell me we have a collective knowledge about what is good and what is evil, if we did, there would be no debate about stem-cell research, or abortion, or the death penalty etc...

Answer 9

I do not hold christians in general responsible for the crusades, I hold the religion and the concept of god responsible.

Answer 10

christians are not generally at fault for any one thing.. though religion itself (especially christianity) has waged many wars and killed millions. I do not really hear of atheists complaining about much, other than why christians keep bugging them lol