Do you believe in the concept of original sin?

Question

Eze 18:20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.


Why do Christians believe in the concept of original sin, even though according to this verse the son isn't responsible for the sins of his father?


It wasn't like they came and asked me whether they should eat from the tree. Why should I be responsible?


Does this mean the children shouldn't be babtized anymore?

Sorry, if there are any spelling errors.

Answer 1

No, I don't believe in original sin. The verse you used was very instrumental to my leaving Christianity.

Answer 2

Original sin is a nature. It's a sin nature that is passed on , apparently through the father. That's why Jesus had to be born of a virgin. This verse(Ezekial 18:20) is talking about specific sins. You're not going to be held responsible for your fathers sins although we are indeed effected by our fathers sins( as in 'crack babies'). Ezekial 18:20 has nothing to do with original sin. Adam had in him the potential for a sin nature but that potential could only become actual if Adam sinned. You say it's not fair. The bible does not tell us why that is so. If it doesn't say why then anything I say would be useless speculation. Somethings just are, whether you think they are fair or not. It's not fair that a crack baby should be born addicted to crack just because it's father was a crack addict. That's just the way the world is. But God has given us a way to eventually be free of that sin nature. Just turn your life over to Christ and ask Him into your heart and eventually when you pass on you will be given a ressurrection body that is without a sin nature. As far as babies being baptized, nowhere in the bible does it say to baptize babies. Baptism is a outward sign that you have asked Christ into your life. Only someone who has reached the age of accountability can do that. Baptizing babies is what I call ritual without reality.

Answer 3

Hi DBznut. Part of your answer can be found in Ezekiel 18:19:

"Yet say ye, Why? doth not the son bear the iniquity of the father? When the son hath done that which is lawful and right, and hath kept all my statutes, and hath done them, he shall surely live."

God is telling us in Ezekiel 18:19-20, that we all will responsible for our own sins. But, there are some cases where God will save whole families because of one person being a true child of God.

God tells us sin entered the world by one man in Romans 5:12:

"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned."

But, God gives us Good News about sinners in I Corinthians 15:22:

"For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive."

We are all miserable, rotting sinners, including me, but we all have hope of Salvation through Jesus Christ. God tells us this is true in Isaiah 53:6:

"All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all."

Answer 4

Yes and here is why: 1. Romans 5:19 "For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners.." The reference is to Adam.
2. 1 Cor 15:22 "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." 3. Psalm 5:15 "Behold I was shapen in iniquity and in sin did my mother conceive me."

Sin is both a deed and a principle. Sin is properly defined as an offense to God.
God being absolute holiness can have nothing to do with sin. Why do you think that there will be a new heaven and a new earth? The former was tainted with sin. If you have a sinful mother and father, and "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." You have come in contact with sin. This does not mean that God is arbitrary or that He holds you accountable for things you personally did not commit. As far as deeds you commit on your own--you alone are accountable. However, because Adam and Eve are the original parents; and they both sinned--any progeny springing forth from them is tainted with sin, in that they have come forth from sinful parents. The solution is still the same--the sacrifice of Christ. "The lamb that taketh away the sin of the world. NOTE: Sin is in the singular---therefore it does not connote an individual deed---but is obviously referring to a principle.

Answer 5

When Adam sinned, He chose to believe the lie of the devil, who is God's enemy, instead of God. That's when sin entered the world. If we were there, we probably would have done the same thing. We inherited a nature that is prone to sin from Adam.
We are all born sinners, rebellious to God.
God gave the 10 commandments to show us our sin.
He also had mercy on us and gave us His Son to die for our sins. But one must admit to being a sinner and believe that only the Shed blood of Jesus can pay for our eternal punishment . He was the only one without sin.

Answer 6

Adam and Eve paid for their sin only. But their sin also infected the future generations by making us sinful people. God's creation and men suffer from Adam's sin. It is not that God punishes us.
Think of it this way: The wrong choices parent makes may cause children to suffer. The child is not punished, but the parent is punished by seeing the effects of the wrong choice. Same like America dropping the atomic bomb in Japan. Only the Japanese military attacked America, but the bomb killed innocent people.
But Jesus saves. No sin is greater than Him for He overcame sin through His death. Alleluia.

Answer 7

The original sin is the sin of Adam and Eve. We inherited it from them. It stained all of humanity. That is the reason Catholics baptize an infant, to wash away the stain of original sin

Answer 8

Not all churches see the necessity of infant baptism. I don't necessarily believe it, but I do believe that we are born in a fallen state due to Adam and Eve's sin. Because of our fallen state we will sin, I don't worry too much about Adam and Eve's sin as I have enough of my own as it is.

Answer 9

There is no absolute evil in man, just wildness, that can be converted into under our control for better use as fuel to commit good deeds, by tanning and training.
Prayers, 5 times a day, fasting and paying Zakat etc. can convert our evil desires into good ones. like we can tann a wild horse to use it for our benefit.
Instead of our evil desires control us we should have full command over it.

Answer 10

In my personal theory, I call it the Original Influence. Cumulative knowledge is something that humans have relied on heavily to get to the today’s level of technological advancement. Not only cumulative knowledge but the chain of influence as well. There is a distinct difference between the two.

The work of scientists, can be and regularly is influenced by the previous work of others. So influence leads to cumulative knowledge. But, as is stated above, cumulative knowledge can also lead to influence. So the chain goes; cumulative knowledge leads to influence, influence leads to new concept, new concept then goes back into cumulative knowledge. But before cumulative knowledge came the original influence. Some idea or thought process led to the first steps along a path that would eventually lead to a metaphysical separation between us and the animal kingdom.