Concept of original sin in Christianity..... what are your feelings and how is it in other religions?

Question

I always wonder about the fact that in Christianity there is the 'original sin', the fact that a brand new baby is born into this world with the sins of his for fathers upon him/her.
Can some one please explain to me how an innocent brand new baby can carry the mistakes and sins of his/her ancestors on it's tiny innocent head?
Also, i'm curious to learn what other religions think of original sin!
This is a serious question, so serious answers would be appreciated!

Answer 1

When you talk about God punishing children for the sins of their parents, I assume you are referring to the passage where God says, " I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me" (Exodus 20:5). This can be a difficult passage, to be sure.
In my experiece, sadly, many children follow in the footsteps of their parents when it comes to living in sin. In the Bible, we have the story of King Hezekiah. God told him that he was about to die, and He warned Hezekiah to repent. Sadly, Hezekiah did not repent; and his son, Manaseh, took over as king and was a godless and violent man for much of his life.
Sin has a ripple effect. If we don't keep ourselves pure, we will reap the consequences---but possibly others close to us will as well. I believe this is a hint of what God is talking about in Exodus 20:5. God is a righteous and just God. Each man gives an account to God for his/her actions--not the actions of another. Let's take a closer look at the last part of Exodus 20:5: "I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation OF THOSE WHO HATE ME." Clearly, the people God is referring to in this passage DO NOT follow Him. The next verse offers us comfort and encouragement: "but showing love to a thousand {generations} of those who love me and keep my commandments" (Exodus 20:6).
Now, as to your reference to "original sin", Exodus 20:5-6 is not talking about original sin; not is this what the Bible means when it says we are born in sin.
Adam and Eve were created sinless. The Scriptures say that Adam was created in the image of God (see Genesis 1:27). When Adam and Eve sinned, sin entered into the human race (see Roman 5:12). In Psalm 51, David says, "in sin did my mother conceive me" (Psalm 51:5). David's not saying he was conceived out of wedlock. He's saying the sinful nature was passed down to him at conception like a gene. The Scriptures also reference this in Genesis. Remember how in Genesis 2 the Bible says man was made in the image of God, and then man sinned in Genesis 3? Then when Adam and Eve started having children look at what the Bible says, "When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth" (Genesis 5:3). Do you see the difference? Once sin entered the world man started reproducing children with the sin nature.
This certainly does not imply that if a young child dies they die condemned. I am sure God made provision for such situations at the cross; Scripture even makes it clear that little children go to heaven when they die. All that I have pointed out is that the Bible teaches that each and every person is born with a sin nature and thus has the ability to sin. Hope this helps.

Answer 2

I've responded to this same question before and my take on this is that the doctrine of 'Original Sin' is merely an INVENTION of the Roman Catholic Church. It is not Biblically supported by any means, as well as many other FALSE DOCTRINES of the RC Church... sorry to say.

I do believe that ALL CHILDREN ARE INNOCENT and GUILTLESS OF ANY SIN whatsoever until they reach the Age of Reason [or Accountability, for some Christians]. But by teaching such a doctrine --which imposes the Mosaic laws that WE are all guilty of the "sins of our fathers"--it gives the Church the lattitude to IMMEDIATELY BAPTIZE the newborn infant into the registry of the Church... thus increasing its membership automatically from each family of members.

This doctrine or teaching is WRONG since the person being baptized has had NO CHANCE of being indoctrinated about the teachings of the Church, first of all, nor is the infant given the FREE WILL to choose whether or not to join the Church at all. It is up to the child's parents to make such a decision... ad infinitum.

I am an ex-Catholic and an ex-Seminarian...

Peace be with you.

Answer 3

Sin is not imputed where there is no law. A baby has no sin because it has no law. When a child has grown and begins to act out the sin nature then the sins that are carried by the father are passed on to them. It is then that the conscience begins to be heard by the child and with the proper training the child can overcome the sin passed down to him or her. In any case the child will know right from wrong and will learn that they must accept the leading of their conscience on their own. They are not governed by the sins of the father any more than by the sins of any other person that they come in contact with. It is the choice of the child to sin or not. And when he or she does sin, as we all do, it is their choice, if they do hear the word of God, whether or not they will obey his voice.

Answer 4

Islam has different views concerning:
1. Someone carrying someone's sins (the original sin)
2. someone dying to wash away someone's sins (the concept of Jesus's death on the cross for the sins of Christians)

Islam believes in accountability. Everyone is accountable for the sins they commit only, no more and no less. No one can wash away my sins other than my repentance and the mercy of Allah. Also I am not to be blamed or punished for a sin someone other than myself committed.

Peace

Answer 5

I just yesterday wrote a doctoral exam on this question. Let me quote you a paragraph that explain the foundations of St. Augustine's doctrine of original sin.

"Augustine, given his writings against the Donatists, had plenty of reason to be reading Cyprian. It was from this late bishop of Carthage (right up the road from Hippo) that Augustine absorbed the idea that there is no salvation outside the church. This was originally intended as a warning to schismatics in the context of the Novatianist and (later) Donatist controversies, but Augustine saw this observation as a hard and fast rule even to people who had no contact at all with the ministry of the church. Augustine wondered at the fact that, since damnation was simply punishment for a wicked life, a hypothetical person that managed to live a perfect life of good works would be able to earn salvation without the intervention of the church. Augustine couldn’t believe that at all, since there is no salvation outside the church. To reconcile this theological quandary, Augustine posited that no one can do good without the help of Christ and his Church. That hypothetical person does not exist, because a good life cannot be lived outside the church. This inability to do good without divine help became, in Augustine’s thought, original sin, the belief that people are born carrying actual guilt that comes from the sin of Adam and Eve, who, through their disobedience, demonstrated that their love for God had been completely eclipsed by love for self. This sin was apparent in pride and in disordered sexuality, and was in fact passed on to children through sexual intercourse. Upon birth, all children bore this guilt, and needed baptism in order to erase this taint."

So, the doctrine of original sin is a result of Augustine's conviction that outside the church there can be no salvation. IF, then you posit that a person living a perfect life could, in fact, gain admission to heaven without Christ or the church, the doctrine of original sin loses its founation. What do you think?

Answer 6

Sorry to be extremely blunt, but the assertion that a newborn baby has sin is a bunch of crap. It just another ancient ritual to ensure that people remain scared and tied to the church (through baptism). That's even a bigger joke - that one can just wash away one's transgressions -- another hook from the church that's been around for centuries to keep people subserviant. If a particular religion has legs to stand on, it wouldn't need to use scare tactics to keep followers (e.g., you'll burn in hell for all eternity if you do not do x, y, and z)

Answer 7

Im a Muslim, i dont believe a person is responsible for sin until he/she reaches the age of understanding the right and wrong. A baby has no sin, and why would it has sin? Its very illogical to me.
Thanks for asking,its good to see Christians opinions about that. :)

Answer 8

Another word for it is the sin nature of man.

It isn't that the baby carries the responsibiliy for the sin of his forebearers. It is that like his genes have certain blueprints, his spirit does as well.

Answer 9

I am christian but I don't follow a specific church simply because it has been proven that the bible has been rewritten, translated, and most likely tampered with by King James...

I think that "Tabula Rasa" is more down to earth... how great could a god be that in his holiness saw you instantly as being evil? Especially when we are his own creation... doesn't make sense to me.

ciao!

Answer 10

There is NO concept of Original Sin in the early Christianity. There is no concept of Original sin as well as Trinity in the Old Testament (OT). Prove?

#Yet you say, ‘Why should the son not bear the guilt of the father?’ Because the son has done what is lawful and right, and has kept all My statutes and observed them, he shall surely live.# - Ezekiel 18:19
#The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.# - Ezekiel 18:20

In these verses, the Old Testament told us that sin is not inherited. So, there is no concept of Original Sin in OT.

If there is no concept of Original Sin, so why did Jesus died? To answer it, u have to read my answer to the last words. To enter heaven is to believe God through Jesus peace be upon him, but not through his death. Prove?

#But if a wicked man turns from all his sins which he has committed, keeps all My statutes, and does what is lawful and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die.# - Ezekiel 18:21
#None of the transgressions which he has committed shall be remembered against him; because of the righteousness which he has done, he shall live.# Ezekiel 18:22

In these verses, if u want eternal life in the Garden of Eden, repent, turn away from do sins. No where it is mentioned that if u want eternal life, just believed that Jesus peace be upon him was made as the scapegoat, believe he died for u, and u shall enter heaven. No where in the OT.

#Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways,” says the Lord GOD. “Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin.# - Ezekiel 18:30
#Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel?# - Ezekiel 18:31
#For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies,” says the Lord GOD. “Therefore turn and live!”# - Ezekiel 18:32

Again, the God told us that the only way obtained salvation is do rightenous and avoid wickedness.

If u show these verses to the priests, they will tell u, sin can't be inherited. They'll explained to u that the sin is not inherited, but the Nature of Sins is inherited. We do sins because we inherited the nature, the tendency to sin. That is what the Origin of Sin is all about. We inherited the tendecy to do sins from Adam peace be upon him. Yet, if u challenged the priests to give u some quotation from the Bible to validate their claims, they can't. The Christians claimed that to break the Nature of Sin, is by believing that Jesus (peace be upon him) died for mankind. I sincerely didn't believe in that. Because, everybody do sins, whether u are Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim or whatever, u still do sins. Human made mistakes. In US for example, u can see that the statistic of rape, murder, adultery, and so on still happening in the Christian society. Proving that even if a Christian believe in the crucifixion of Jesus, (supposely that the Nature, the desire, the lust to do sins is taken away by believing in Jesus death for mankind). there are chances that that Chrisitian will do sins, right? For example, a few years ago, we were shock by the news that numerous cases of rape and molest by priest were reported. Those priests, I believe, are sincerely, truly believe in Jesus death, yet they still do sins.
Therefore, believing in Jesus death DID NOT break the Nature of Sin.