Where is the justice in punishing us for Adam's sin?

Question

1. Where is the justice in punishing us for Adam's sin? The Bible itself says that children will not be punished for the parents' sins (Deuteronomy 24:16).Furthermore, if God really created Adam not knowing either good or evil (Genesis 3:22), how could such a harsh and enduring punishment as death for Adam and all his descendants possibly be just? Our secular courts are more just than God when they show mercy on people who cannot distinguish between right and wrong, such as children and the mentally handicapped. And why isn't this doctrine of original sin found anywhere in the Bible except in Paul's writings?
2. Where is the justice in punishing Jesus for our sins? If our courts of law were to accept the punishment of someone else in the place of the criminal, we would not say that justice has been done, but that injustice has been added to injustice. Would the church have me believe that two wrongs make a right?
If Grace still consider the only option for salvation, then this means the man-made law is far Just and Worthy than God's law. I am talking about accountability here.

Answer 1

One of the 3 fundamental issues that Islam and Christianity disagree about is the original sin of Adam. The Quran describes the event of the creation of Adam, his sin and its outcome in various places in the Quran.

Adam Sins.

Adam's sin, and its outcome is depicted in the following verse of the Quran:

"O Adam dwell with your wife in the Garden and enjoy as you wish but approach not this tree or you run into harm and transgression. Then Satan whispered to them in order to reveal to them their shame that was hidden from them and he said:

'Your Lord only forbade you this tree lest you become angels or such beings as live forever.'

And he swore to them both that he was their sincere adviser. So by deceit he brought them to their fall: when they tasted the tree their shame became manifest to them and they began to sew together the leaves of the Garden over their bodies. And their Lord called unto them:

'Did I not forbid you that tree and tell you that Satan was your avowed enemy?' " (Quran 7:19-22).


Adam and Eve Repent and God Accepts.

When Adam and Eve realized that they have disobeyed God by eating the fruit they called:

"They said:

'Our Lord we have wronged ourselves souls. If You forgive us not and bestow not upon us Your Mercy, we shall certainly be of the losers' " (Quran 7:23)

And God accepts their plea:

".. Thus did Adam disobey his Lord, so he went Astray. Then his Lord chose him, and turned to him with forgiveness, and gave him guidance." (Quran 20:121-122)


The Outcome.

Adam and Eve were instructed not to eat from a certain tree. Satan deceitfully tricked them into disobeying their Lord and as a result:

"(God) said:

'Get down (from the Garden), one of you an enemy to the other [i.e. Adam, Eve, and Satan]. On earth will be a dwelling-place for you and an enjoyment -- for a short time'. He (God) said:

'Therein you shall live, and therein you shall die, and from it you shall be brought out [i.e. resurrected].' "
(Quran 7:24-25).

Adam and Eve were ordered to leave the Garden which they where in and descend to earth where they and their children will live and die, and where Satan will also be.


The Sin in the Bible.

The Judeo-Christian conception of the creation of Adam and Eve is narrated in detail in Genesis 2:4-3:24. God prohibited both of them from eating the fruits of the forbidden tree. The serpent seduced Eve to eat from it and Eve, in turn, seduced Adam to eat with her. When God rebuked Adam for what he did, he put all the blame on Eve:
"The woman you put here with me she gave me some fruit from the tree and I ate it." Consequently, God said to Eve:

" I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband and he will rule over you."

To Adam He said:

"Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree .... Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life..."

In Islam (as depicted by the Quranic verses above) Adam doesn't blame Eve for their fault. Both share the responsibility and both receive blame, equally. Furthermore, God doesn't curse Eve for her mistake by "increasing her pains in childbearing". This concept was a contributing factor for the unequal treatment of women in early Christianity (for more info follow this link ). Most importantly, God does not curse Adam for committing a sin and that sin in not inherited by the whole world.


Every Person is Responsible for Their Action.

This is what Islam preaches. This is what people throughout the world preach. We consider fair that no person be held accountable or responsible for someone else's mistake. That if blame is due, then it is due on who deserves it. That if punishment is to be made, it ought to be on the one who wronged. We consider that to be fair.
The Quran states:

"That no burdened person (with sins) shall bear the burden (sins) of another. And that man can have nothing but what he does (of good and bad). And that his deeds will be seen, Then he will be recompensed with a full and the best recompense [fair] " (Quran 53:38-41)

The Quranic message is: whatever it is that you do, you are alone will be held responsible for, not your brother, not your father, not your children. This is only fair, and God is Fair. Adam sinned, we agree. But why do his children have to bear something they took no part in? Why is a sacrifice needed to please a Most Merciful God? A Muslim will answer there is no need for any of that.

This is the first of the three fundamental issues that Muslims and Christians disagree upon nmely,

1. Adam and the Original Sin.

2. The Crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

3. The Divinity of Jesus Christ

For further details please visit:

Answer 2

Adam was the first. That was his only rule .God said DO NOT EAT THE FORBIDDEN FRUIT FROM THE TREE OF GOOD AND EVIL. Well? He did.So god knew how mankind was gonna turn out. Jesus died for our sins so we could be saved. He who believeith in Me and My Father and the Holy Ghost shall be saved. Jesus died for the sins of mankind. He suffered the pain, humiliation, The brutal torture, Starvation. Every pain any man could suffer through, he felt. And this is why Jesus took away the sins of the world. So we, us, Every single person in the world would have the same chance at everlasting life. Sort of evening out the playing field. He just gave us, a free will. To do our own bidding in the world. So we are not being punished for the sins of Adam. Jesus made sure of this. We are being punished for our own sins. And bye the way? You keep bringing up a comparison between our courts and the will of God. Shame on you... That's like comparing apples and oranges. One deals with spiritual law.(unflawed) And the other, man made laws. (flawed)

Answer 3

1 - That's the point - no one is punished for Adam's sin but Adam...
Gen 3:17-19 says the earth wouldn't give up its bounty and that Adam had to work the land. That was Adam's punishment, only for him.

What a lot of people get confused is when God made Adam and Eve leave the garden. They left not because they sinned, they were already punished for eating the fruit. They had to leave for fear of eating from the tree of life, living forever, and still being disobedient.

Imagine parents having a pair of children that stop aging at 5 years old and the children never learn to be polite or behave. It would be a nightmare for the parents. Same thing for God. He had to show Adam and Eve how to be obedient, something they never quite learned because they taught their sons Cain and Able wrong.

So, by banning Adam and Eve from the garden, it was mercy on God's half because mankind would never learn from its mistakes.

And original sin was created by the Catholic church in order to keep its people under rule and thumb. By creating a situation of original sin, the common people could never be sinless. By keeping the people in sin keeps the Church in business.

2 - There is no justice in punishing someone for someone else's sins. And Torah even states that a person is accountable for only one's own sins. But Yeshua offered up his life on behalf of the Jewish people, he volunteered, he wasn't forced to. Justice doesn't always agree with the satisfaction of the penalty of law.

Answer 4

We are punished for our own sins, not anything Adam did. Adam's action of eating the fruit wasn't really a sin - and had he not done it, he and Eve would be unable to obey the commandment to multiply and replenish the earth. God gave them a CHOICE (free agency) and did not force them, but they chose correctly by eating the fruit, even though God warned it would make them subject to death. They DID become subject then to physical and spiritual death (God no longer was with them). Christ came to reverse that, and did so. He is able to resurrect us as He did himself (reversing physical death) and is our intermediary to help us back to God (reversing spiritual death). A mere man could not do that, thus, Christ came as man, but with godly powers. As for the "original sin", there is no such thing - that is a fallacy started by early churches. Children are born innocent and nobody is punished for Adam's sin - we simply inherited death from Adam (necessary to progress) and eternal life from Christ. We are all accountable for our own sins and lives and grace is given on condition of REPENTANCE and CHANGE.

Answer 5

Can I answer your question by pointing the fact that we are to look at the whole Bible as an entity, detailing God's perspectives on issues that we struggle each day, including our personal doubts and queries. The Bible defines sin, outlines its origin / causes and its remedy. First, when Adam disobeyed God's commnand, we, too, figuratively failed (in Adam). Remember we are Adam's descendants. When Adam was condemned, we (entire human race) was condemned. It's like the Federal Goverment of Australia which represents and acts on our behalf ( hopeful!) When Adam disobeyed God's command, it was like us (his generation ) sinned too.
Similarly, when Jesus was punished, he was punished for us. In Adam, we sinned. In Jesus ( when we believe in Jesus), we are saved from the consequences of sin.

Why was he punished for us. The Bible states that it was God's choice to punish Jesus for our sins. Jesus had no choice in the matter since it was God's perfect will for Jesus to suffer for our sins. We need to remember that Jesus was also the 'perfect' sacrifice. No human being coud pay for his/her sin. Only Jesus could since he was the one appointed by God to die on the cross for our sins.

Both men - Adam and Jesus (God-man) represented us one (Adam) enslaving us in sin and the other (Jesus) saving us from sin by taking our spot on the cross.

The above may seem an easy plot; but, reflects God's will. Through Adam we became sinners, through Jesus we can become saints ( delivered from the power and consequences of sin).

Hope this is helpful; otherwise, talk to a minister / pastor or find the answers in a systematic theology book.

Answer 6

1.Our Secular courts are a JOKE
the Justice is Blind thing is full of dung as far as I'm concerned
Man had to be punished
the cause of Sin is Death
but the Death does not last for ever

2.Jesus knew what had to be done
if not who is to say that you or I would be typing now
God could have just Destroyed the Life as we know it and be done.......but no......He gave us a second chance
Don't blow it

Answer 7

that's understandable, for those who know not of the gospel will be judged accordingly that is why it is written better not to know than to know. for any who knows the gospel of our lord Jesus Christ will be judged by that which they have denied. The sin which follows us has been reconciled for men are evil from birth, no matter what we do we do wrong. whether it rains money or the lord make you a king we still sin against him. the sin follows us not for Adams mistake but because we are just evil, that is why Jesus died for us.

Answer 8

Humanity suffers from the continuing consequences of Adam's sin, for which Jesus Christ is the antidote.

Answer 9

1. Adam knew he had a choice to obey or disobey God, and he chose to disobey. God told him and Eve that the consequences for disobedience would be death. Adam broke God's command, so he had to face the consequences that God made clear to him. The verse you refer to in Deuteronomy 24 reads, "Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor children put to death for their fathers; each is to die for his own sin." This does not say that either the children or their fathers will be without sin. The concept of original sin would be unfair only if God didn't give people a way to be absolved of their sin. But He offers forgiveness for sin to all who will ask for Christ to act as their mediator with God (1 Timothy 2:5). So I'm not sure what the problem is since God has provided a way out for us. For that matter, if God has provided a way out of our sin, does it matter if Paul is the only one to touch upon the notion of original sin? Again, God has provided a solution to our problem, so how can we justify our complaints about original sin if God has provided a way out for us?

2. Jesus made a voluntary payment for our sins. John 10 and 1 John 3 say that Jesus laid down His life for us by His own choice. And to think of this in the legal sense of one person being held accountable isn't the way to see this. Rather, Jesus paid our sin debt to the Father by being our perfect sacrifice for sin, so that Jesus both satisfied the Father's demand for full payment for sin and became our mediator between us and the Father. Jesus paid the price to the Father on our behalf because we couldn't. It is up to us to either accept Jesus' perfect and complete payment to the Father on our behalf, or else we can pay God ourselves for our sin debt to Him--but we fall far short of being able to satisfy Him, nor should we think we would have to since Jesus has already done this for us. When Jesus cried "It is finished" in John 19:30, the Greek word "tetelestai" literally means "it has been paid in full." So if He has indeed paid the full price for our sin, salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone is our only option. The accountability issue is resolved by our decision to accept or reject God's provision for payment for our sin. And since Jesus has already paid the debt on our behalf, there's no need for any other mediator because Jesus finished the job.

Answer 10

We are not punished for Adams transgressions. Yeah we die, but because of Christ all will be partakers of the ressurrection. Everyone, even sinners. Grace is applied to those who accept Christ's atonement and apply it into their lives and believe in him. For those who don't then they will pay the price. It's really quite simple.

Answer 11

I'm sorry, I guess I missed it...how are we punished ? There needs be opposition in ALL things. If it weren't for Adam disobeying God, would we even be here? And even if we were...we wouldn't know what "joy" is. You have to have bitter to know joy. I thank God for Adam and Eve.