If we had the ability to sin all along, what is so special about "original sin"?

Question

Christians make a big deal about original sin. They make it seem like it was what set evil in motion and that if Adam and Eve had listened to God then the world would be a perfect place. It's BS though. If Adam and Eve hadn't sinned at that particular moment, they would have just done it later. If not them, then their offspring would have done it. It's really a dumb story and it's hard to believe people actually believe it word for word.

Visual Cliff, it would be nice to think that most Christians just took Adam and Even and Noah's Ark as fables with a moral, but I really don't believe that is the case. Catholics are the only ones who don't take stories like this literally. Protestants actually do.

Answer 1

Catholic dogma states a definite belief in Adam and Eve, their personal culpability for sin, and the lasting nature of that "original sin" which essentially marks every one of Adam's descendants as a slave to Satan, sin, and death.

However you care to look at it, if original sin didn't exist, than Christ didn't need to come and redeem mankind.

He did, so it does.

Answer 2

See, the thing about Original Sin was that it was indeed, the -Original- Sin. It was the first time Mankind consciously decided to disobey God. When that happened, the very nature of the world was corrupted into what we know today, what with the pestilence and death and birth defects and all that fun stuff. The "Original Sin" were the single most pivitol point in man's relation to God up until the coming of Christ. It made the world what we know it today.

Was it inevitable? Probably. Was the Tsunami that destroyed millions upon millions of lives along the pacific rim inevitable? Again, most likely. Does that mean that we should shrug off either events? Are unavoidable catastrophies any less catastrohpic because they're "destined" to happen? Or does the weight of an event have more to do with the effects of that event, rather than the possibility of avoiding it?

Answer 3

What you refer to as the "ability to sin" is free will. In that, we have a choice to make for every action. Christians teach that God made man to express his love and so that they would love him back. The problem is that it is impossible to love without free will. God did not create a bunch of robots to do what he wanted them to do and say what he wanted them to say. He made man with the ability to actually choose his own actions and words with full knowledge that this intoduced the risk of rebellion and rejection of him. You can't have the possibility of one wihtout the other.

The "original sin" was significant because it introduced man into a life wihtout God. It didn't introduce God to a man who sins. God is not bound by time, like I said before. He was not stuck there on that time line. He is still there and here too because He is not in time at all. So he was not suprised.

I think some "Christians" may think that Adam screwed everything up, and he did in a sense, but you may be right, maybe this action was inevitable. It just seems to me that if I was in the same situation and had no reason to disobey God with such a perfect life, why not just listen to 1 rule? It was the "sin" of Satan that started the mess, Adam just got duped.

Anyway, no matter what your views are, why wouldn't it be significant. If a man is 40 years old when he has sex for the first time, is that of no less significance due to the fact that he had this ability to have sex for 30 years?

Your question is meaningless and your overspoken opinions have no real wieght in reality or reason. Good luck trying to be smart.

Answer 4

If you thought you had the answer, why did you ask the question?

BTW, most Christians DO NOT make a big deal about original sin. All sin is sin in the eyes of a Holy God. He doesn't see any sin as more significant than another. WE, as humans, have a need to see justice, to measure it and to judge others (and ourselves). We are the only ones who make one sin worse than another.

The Bible says that ALL have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

So, there's NOTHING special about original sin. Man is a sinful creature. We have been since Adam & Eve first decided to disobey God (through pride mostly). That's why God sent His Son, Jesus, to redeem us. It's a gift we don't deserve, but have only to accept to be saved. What a great bit of news for ALL of us -- no matter what sin we have committed.

BTW, that's the reason that Christmas is the biggest holiday in the world -- because Jesus offers the gift of salvation threw faith.

Even though I think you were looking for a debate, rather than an answer, I'm glad to have had the opportunity to answer your query.

Answer 5

4 and 6

Answer 6

This is if one would be assuming that original sin was sex. This is a TITLE that was made by man. For what ever reason he chose to call original sin sex.

God and Jesus many many times in the bible tell people 'to be fruitful and multiply' mean to (get married) have sex and have lots of baby's.

Would God and/or Jesus tell people or anyone for that matter it they considered it a sin.

If one wanted to find an 'Original Sin' (meaning the first sin) then one could say that arrogance was an original sin. Adam and Eve thought they could know more then God by eating from the tree of Knowledge.

Answer 7

The Adam and Eve story, is considered a story by most believers, its just way of getting some valid points accrossed, in concept "original sin" is just explaining that it did not exist previous to a decision to defy God, I would not bash you for your beliefs so try and keep it civil, you may learn something about the human condition

Answer 8

The Adam and Eve story is not literal. Human being were created to be like unto God. That means we have the ability to be, not God, but like God in many ways. We have great potential. But we have fallen short of our potential. It is like a kid who has an IQ of 160 and gets C's or even D's. That kid is not taking his ability seriously, or even mocking it. It is the same way with original sin. Sin is separation. Original sin is separation from God and not being who and what we were created to be. Instead of being aware of God's presence we are not. Instead of growing into the likeness that is within us, we don't. That is what original sin is all about, it is the condition of the whole human race. Personal sin is what each of us do to seperate ourself from God, others and ourself.

Answer 9

Shalom Tonks,

You are in the right direction in regards to sin. Definitely steps ahead of the elementary Christian doctrine about this concept. The Adam and Eve story is a allegorical event that occurred in our own minds. And when properly understood is used as the key of knowledge which you must turn within yourself to began your journey back to the Edenic kingdom. The story of Adam depicts the eating of the tree of duality(tree of good and evil). This was needed because duality presented experimental knowledge which is needed to evolve the mind from alpha(unknowing) to omega(knowledge). It was impossible to evolve the twelve spheres of mind without immersing ourselves into duality. But this becomes a quagmire for most because they are unable to merge the paradoxial concepts and often from life to life spend their time moving from one paradoxial opposite to another in a attempt to evolve into completion.

The tree of life represents a complete tree of good and evil and the twelve spheres of mind evolved to the state of completion. From the soul perspective this whole world is a allegory and your a expression of your soul. And if you fail to bring about soul birth while your in the flesh, death will take you away and you will be absorb into the soul. Either strengthening or weakening it. And the soul will be thrown into this element again in a attempt to bring about completion so you can know God.

So Tonks was partially correct when she said that sin separates us from God. To a degree it does because it makes man to continuously live as a animal in form of a man, which makes him become more alienated from his soul self which is in the mind of god. And since he doesn't know himself he can't know God. But this is good, everything is good from the soul perspective. Sometimes souls make greater sacrifices in order to make greater leaps in the progression for completion.

The Christian original sin originates from Emperor Constantine and pagan Rome. Constantine used a Christianity to give himself greater power and to become a symbol of the religion. And this past on and since the majority of man was spiritually disenfranchised in general they were unable to interpret what the scriptures meant. A lot of the original sin also originates from Martin Luther. He didn't understand what was going on so he guessed that Adam/Eve is the cause of man being disconnected from God. This concept has become foundation in modern Christianity that gives them the excuse to live how ever they want without having to change their mindset and lifestyle in accordance to the pattern Jesus presented to us. But as Jesus gave those who call out lord lord with their lips won't be saved. Your faith is justified with the truth you live in thought, word, desire and deed.

Peace

Aza

Answer 10

I'm curious really I don't mean anything disrespectful, Are you an
atheist or other faith that thinks that the whole thing is dumb or a Christian who has a problem with the concept. If you don't want
to answer that's fine.