How is original sin fair?

Question

Explain to me how it is fair that someone is punished for a sin they did not commit themselves?

Explain how it is fair that the ONLY way many Christians think that you can get into heaven is to not only believe in a god, but their version.

Explain how if you are not a Christian, then it does not matter how good of a person you are.

I am not trying to be rude, but this doctrine does not makes any sense, nor does it seem fair.

Pretend for one moment that you are an atheist. Would this still make sense? I am an atheist and plenty of things in certain religions make sense to me. I can understand them, but I don't agree with them. This is not one of those things.

If you are an atheist, does this doctrine seem fair to you?

The reason why I asked the other questions is because they are related to original sin. Many people believe that Jesus enabled people to be saved from this if they are Christian.

Answer 1

These are great questions, I will try my best to answer them as completely as I can.

"Explain to me how it is fair that someone is punished for a sin they did not commit themselves?"

I don't understand what you are referring to here - we aren't punished for sins we don't commit. Original sin is an attitude of the heart, part of our nature that we inherit from our parents - it's in our DNA if you will... Individual sins such as lying, cheating, stealing etc. are merely symptoms of the underlying disease of Original Sin. Original sin is our predisposition to disregard God and make our own decisions without regard to the instructions of God. It is our rebellious nature that we inherit - the sins we then commit flow our of our rebellious nature, and it is those sins we committ of our own free will for which we are punished...

"Explain how it is fair that the ONLY way many Christians think that you can get into heaven is to not only believe in a god, but their version."

Jesus said the most important commandment was this: "Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one" - meaning that there is only one God: the God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob. So you may believe in some other type of god, but if you do not trust what God has revealed about himself in the bible, through his prophets, and through his son Jesus, then you are not worshipping the true God, but a god of your own imagining. That is the sin of idolatry. The bible says that God is jealous for the worship and love of his people - he will not tolerate the worship of anything but him... Jesus said "I and the Father are one" and "No one comes to the Father except through me" - so if you have a problem with the exclusivity of Christianity, your problem is with the bible's teachings, and not with Christians per se.

"Explain how if you are not a Christian, then it does not matter how good of a person you are."

It certainly does matter - especially if you are not a Christian because you will be judged based on how you lived your life. Take a look at Revelation 22 - people who are not Chrisitan are judged based on the works or deeds that they committed during their lifetime, both good and bad. The "book of deeds" is opened, and they are called to task for even every word that they have spoken during their lives. There is another book, the book of life - your name can be recorded in this book if you admit that you have done wrong, and accept Christ's death as the payment for your sins. Then you are not judged based on your own performance, but on Jesus's - because you admit that you do not measure up to God's standards.

I hope that helps?

Answer 2

I'll start by saying that this is from an Atheist who lives in a strong Christian environment.

"Explain to me how it is fair that someone is punished for a sin they did not commit themselves?"

I don't believe it's fair, and I also don't believe that it's right to say Adam and Eve sinned. Before they ate from the tree or knowledge, they had no distiction of good or evil. How could anyone say they sinned if there was no sin at the time? Only after Eve ate the fruit was there sin. Eve simply did as she what she was told, not knowing it was bad because there was no "bad" at the time.

"Explain how it is fair that the ONLY way many Christians think that you can get into heaven is to not only believe in a god, but their version."

I believe it's part of fear control. They are afraid of Hell, therefore one reason they believe is an attempt to live happily ever after. They preach their version Heaven and Hell to people to get more people to join in; a domino effect for those who can't think for themselves.

"Explain how if you are not a Christian, then it does not matter how good of a person you are."

I honestly don't know. This answer is different from Christian to Christian. Some believe that simply believing in God and saying you're a Christian will save anyone, regardless of the horrible crimes they've comitted. They also say that the greatest and most humanitarian of Atheists will go to hell for not believing in their all-mighty God. Others believe that you if you simply repent, or say sorry, to God or Jesus, that he'll forgive anyone and send you ro heaven.

"I am not trying to be rude, but this doctrine does not makes any sense, nor does it seem fair."

I agree.

"If you are an atheist, does this doctrine seem fair to you?"

Not at all.

Seriously, if there was a God so evil and sadistic to send all of his creations to Hell for his own fault, I'd be questioning his Holiness.

What a day it will be if I ever get judged in front of God. I can go on forever about that guy. >_>

Answer 3

Is original sin fair? Not from our perspective. It's not our fault, but it WAS Adam's fault. He was perfect and he sinned and ruined it for the rest of us. Does the seeming unfairness of original sin that mean God hasn't provided a means to rid us of original sin in the future? No. It will be done away with soon.

As to your second question, heaven is for those who will be ruling over the earth. Those who live forever on the earth receive that gift not merely by BELIEVING in God. The demons believe. It takes acting on our belief.

"Being good" doesn't matter as much as having a good heart condition...and only God sees that.

Answer 4

The concept of original sin is uniquely christian, very problematic, and not biblical. God states that even in the most grievous instances, the sins of the father are only visited on descendents to 3 or 4 generations. Thus...humanity has long since outlived any responsibility for Adam's sin.

Answer 5

I'll only attempt to answer your first quesiton (I was going to give up when I saw you were asking other questions as well, but decided to concentrate on the first).
The Bible doesn't use the term "original sin". However it does refer to Adam's sin as being imputed to all of mankind. It was like a test. Adam was our representative. He failed. Now was that fair for him to be our representative? The suggestion has been made that if all of mankind got together to choose a representative of their choice, they would not choose anyone else but Adam. The reason is that Adam was created sinless.
The proof that it is fair is that every one of us has sinned since then. In our minds and in our actions and in our neglect. So I don't really think we have much to complain about on that account.

Answer 6

Adam's sin justly affects us. When Cain killed Abel and God asked him where Abel was, he replied "am I my brother's keeper?" The reason this was included was (1) it was said (2) to make the point that, yes, you are your brother's keeper, you are responsible for one another. Whether we like it or not we are all connected to one another and bc of this spiritual connection we are affected by each other's sin. So, Adam and Eve's sin affects us today.

The reason it doesn't matter how good we are is bc if you have one sin, you're impure, and only those who are pure can enter heaven. Doing good works doesn't remove your sin, just as adding pure gold to 23K gold doesn't purify it. You have to refine out the impurities, and the only way to refine out sin is by following Christ.

Frankly, as a Christian, it doesn't matter if it seems fair to me, it's God's house and He makes the rules on who gets in and why. If He decided to reverse Himself and say, anyone who followed my son doesn't get in , He can. He won't, bc it would contradict His nature, and He can't do that, but God makes the rules on who gets into heaven.

The problem is ppl think that doing more good things than bad makes you a good person, but it doesn't in God's eyes. If you do one evil thing your heart is evil. So, until you remove that sin, you're not getting into heaven. That's why Christ is the only way into heaven, bc He provides the only way to remove sin.

Answer 7

If your father was a billionaire, and due to some mistake on his part, lost all his money, wouldn't everyone in your family be affected, and for generations to come?

Adam made a bad decision, rejecting God, and thowing in with Satan, the enemy of God.

Then Adam became a slave to Satan, sin, and death.

The offspring of slaves are slaves as well, so all men were reduced to being permanent bond servants of the evil one.

Without supernatural assistance from God, all men would still be trapped in their sins, and destined for the same fate as their master, which is hell.

Baptism allows one to reject Satan, and embrace the grace and power of God, which Satan cannot withstand ... resulting in freedom, peace, and forgiveness of all sins ... original and otherwise.

The kingdom of he-who-has-no-sin, is heaven, and that is the eternal destiny of the baptized, who claim Christ, as their master.

Nothing unfair about it!

Answer 8

YOUR Q1. YOU ARE GUILTY BECAUSE YOU ARE FLESH OF THE ORIGINAL FLESH - ADAM - THE FIRST MAN AND GUILTY OF THE SIN WHICH IS RECORDEDED HERE : GENESIS 2:1 : 8 The LORD God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed. 9 Out of the ground the LORD God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
10 Now a river flowed out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it divided and became four rivers. 11 The name of the first is Pishon; it flows around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 The gold of that land is good; the bdellium and the onyx stone are there. 13 The name of the second river is Gihon; it flows around the whole land of Cush. 14 The name of the third river is Tigris; it flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.
15 Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. 16 The LORD God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; 17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”

GENESIS 3:11 Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” AND AFTER THIS MAN WAS FORCED TO LEAVE THE PARADISE AND EARN HIS KEEP BY THE SWEAT OF HIS BROW WHICH WE STILL DO TODAY

Explain how it is fair that the ONLY way many Christians think that you can get into heaven is to not only believe in a god, but their version. - WHAT IS "their version" that you are referring to? The Way to heaven is told to us by GOD Himself... try reading the bible - its great for your soul !

GOOD WORKS MATTER BUT DONT GET YOU INTO HEAVEN BECAUSE THERE IS NO SCALE TO JUDGE - IF YOU GIVE MORE TO THE POOR THAN I DO, IF YOU FEED MORE PEOPLE THAN I DO - WHERE IS THE SCALE THAT RATES THE PERFORMANCE ? WHO IS THE ONE THAT DECIDES THE RATING ? BEING A GOOD PERSON IS A FRUIT THAT SHOWS YOUR CHARACTER AND THATS A GOOD THING BUT IT DOESNT EARN YOU ETERNAL LIFE.. ONLY FAITH IN CHRIST AS YOUR REPLACEMENT FOR YOUR ORIGINAL SIN THAT HE BORE YOUR SIN ON THE CROSS AS YOUR PENALTY FOR YOUR SINS - IT IS FAIR BECAUSE YOU ARE A SINNER AND GOD IS SA HOLY GOD WHO CANNOT TOLERATE SIN IN HEAVEN - YOU NEED TO READ THE BIBLE IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND - DONT BE AFRAID - IT WILL BE THE BEST THING YOU EVER DID IN YOUR WHOLE LIFE ...!!

Answer 9

What's important is only what God says. Everyone has access to God to hear God personally. You don't need opinions of others for that. Christians believe that the Bible is God's Word. It says that we are EACH sinners and that we EACH are saved the same way - God's way. There's no discrimination. Either we agree with God or we don't.

Answer 10

i visit hearken to no undesirable be conscious approximately my #a million ever, Jimi Hendrix, yet "all" he did became take a uncomplicated latest Blues shape and integrate it with technologies that became "new" interior the day (albeit brilliantly). the place might he have been with out the impacts of mutually with B.B. King, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Albert King and Elmore James, rhythm and blues and soul guitarists Curtis Mayfield, Steve Cropper, besides as via funk and a few modern-day jazz? And who inspired his "impacts"- Robert Johnson, massive bill Broonzy, etc etc? And who inspired them? i've got faith it rather is a Latin asserting- Nihil Sub Sole Novum- which sort of interprets as "no longer something new under the sunlight", and on condition that there are basically maximum of Musical Notes something is largely a spinoff of yet another. So, MQ2, no longer something rather.