The moment we are born, we commit an ORIGINAL SIN. Is this divine justice? Is this how merciful God is?

Question

God has not yet forgiven Adam and Eve. Even their decendants inherit their sin.

Answer 1

I have to be pretty humble when trying to answer this because I haven't read about it and thought about it enough. I do wish to speak up, though, as best I can.

Your question seems to imply the Western Christian concept of Original Sin. "Eastern Christianity" has a different concept. I will need a few sentences to explain:

"Western Christian" includes both Roman Catholicism and the various Protestantisms. There is another part of Christianity that many people in the USA do not know about -- Eastern Christianity, which includes but is not limited to Eastern Orthodoxy. Christianity started in the Holy Land, in the eastern part of the Roman Empire. As time went on the church spread, the Roman Empire split, and (around the year 1000) the one Christian church split, with Roman Catholicism on the western side, and Eastern Christianity in the Holy Land, Greece, Eastern Europe, Russia, Armenia, Egypt, Ethiopia, even in India (when the Portuguese landed in India around 1522 they found a centuries-old Christian church already there). Today there are perhaps 200 to 300 million Eastern Christians; such numbers are quite fuzzy but there's a lot of us. It wasn't until the 1500s, in Western Europe, that Western Christianity split into Protestantisms and Roman Catholicism.

Eastern Orthodoxy's concept of original sin is like this: "The original (or "first") sin was committed by Adam and Eve (see Book of Genesis Chapter 3). Orthodoxy believes that, while everyone bears the consequences of the first sin, the foremost of which is physical death (in this world), only Adam and Eve are guilty of that sin (see Book of Ezekiel Chapter 18). Roman Catholicism teaches that everyone bears not only the consequence, but also the guilt, of that sin." (Quoting from OrthodoxWiki)

I do *not* want to focus on the differences for their own sake, or criticize my Roman Catholic sisters and brothers. What I *do* want to do is bring to your attention a millenia-old Christian teaching on original sin that avoids some of the difficult and awkward features that gave rise to your question.

Our teaching is that "Original sin does not carry guilt ..., for a person is guilty only of his or her own sins, not those of Adam." (Orthodox Study Bible glossary) This certainly does not deny that we all sin and need redemption and that redemption can occur only as a gift from God, a gift that cannot be earned.

So I am answering your question by saying that Eastern Christianity gently denies that each of us starts out guilty of original sin. In order to say that, I needed to give background and hence my answer is long, and I apologize. To learn more, please check out one or more of the links below.

Answer 2

Being born is not a sin. We are born into sin...much as we are born into a particular race i.e. Puerto Rican, Anglo etc.

How do you know that God has not forgiven ADam & Eve? Were you there when they stood before the judgement seat of God and he said either welcome in to heaven or depart into hell?

The concept of original sin is indicitave of a result of a choice that was made therefore altering what was meant to be. Much like if we pluck a dandelion in an open field and blow it...the seeds will spread in that field making it a dandelion field...(over simplified I know but you get the picture).

The point I am making is that Adam & Eve's choice to eat the apple permanently altered the face of the world that was given to man, it changed the playing field which is where the term born into sin comes in.

Divine Justice was conquered by Divine GRace when JEsus went to the cross to become the atoning sacrifice for all future generations. His blood shed forever washed away all sin for whoever would CHOOSE to accept it. Grace made a way to erase the sin...JUSTICE made it so we have to ask for it and LOVE makes it that it is FREE we don't have to earn it.

Answer 3

We don't commit "an original sin" the moment we are born. At the moment we were conceived we were victims of THE original sin! The consequences of Adam and Eve's sin was death (exactly what God said it was). They became mortal beings in that instant and as their descendants, we share their nature...every human is fated from the moment of conception to die eventually.

Of course we inherited the consequences of their sin...we weren't created the way God created them...we are created using the human method (far less efficient than God's method)...and that method caused death to be handed down as a common trait to all generations!

This is how merciful God is...we are all fated to die and nothing we can do can allow us to reclaim what our ancestors threw away when they walked away from God. God loves us enough to send his son to die so that all of us could have a chance at eternal life with him.

Divine justice would be judging a creation/invention on the basis of its merits...on its ability to do the job the creator designed it to do. God is far more merciful than that...he gives everybody a chance to avoid death no matter how badly they have messed up in the past!

Answer 4

when we are born, we don't COMMIT a sin, we are born into sin that already exists.

Who ever said God didn't forgive Adam and Eve? When they rebelled, they knew exactly what they had done. And God knew that what they had done gave Satan dominion over the earth. He then set his plan of salvation into motion...
But nowhere does it say that He didn't forgive Adam and Eve. As a matter of fact, I have no problem believing that both of them will be in heaven and I can't wait to talk with them.

blessings :)

Answer 5

The original sin is one of the ten commandments. Thou shalt not want what your neighbor has. The ability to deceive ourselves into thinking we can be or do something that we cannot. Satan used just the right words to convince the freewill of Adam and Eve and using that freewill chose not to believe God. That maybe there was something that they were mssing out on. They were thinking...Is it possible that God lied to us?..is someone not telling us the whole truth and we could be like God? Isnt that what happened to Satan when he tried to start his own Army against God and was tossed out of heaven to control the earth??
Everyone thinks God causes bad things to happen when in reality the BiBle clearly states that this is Satan's world to rule and he is control of everything. Its our freewill of choice that determine wether or not we want to be involved with the fleshy systen of things.

I think of the government and any one else that trys to control and brainwash people into thinking their way..Which will never work even with good intentions and great organizations that want to change for good. We need a Gods government and until that happens the world will always be in contraversy and people will continue to die of starvation while expensive cars are bought and sold, space needs more million dollar satelittes, neighbors lusting neighbors and people killing for a thrill and a 3 dollar cigarette

Answer 6

Where did you learn that idea that we commit original sin after born? We inherit the sinful nature not their sin so we are accountable for by Jesus then. The question of divine justice is not applicable here and God is merciful that's why He gave His only Son in our place to die in the calvary instead of us.
=)

Answer 7

We are born with a flawed, fallen nature. Committing sins is the natural result of having this nature. This nature has been inherited from our ancestors. Moreover, this nature is destined to die because it is not perfect by its own choosing. But get this, God in His mercy has made it possible to obtain a new, perfect nature which greatly surpasses the old one. By coming to Christ, we agree with God regarding the need to dispense with the old nature and by faith receive a new nature. This New Creation is not simply a repaired version of the old one, but something much greater. It is the nature of God's own Son. Receive it and live today!

Blessings,

Jack

Answer 8

i will grant this my suited shot with the concentration on the choose for a blood sacrifice. while Adam and Eve disobeyed God interior the backyard of Eden (unique sin), with the help of the Serpent (devil) they succumbed to the two a actual death and a non secular death. It became into devil, the serpent that first bridged the divide between religious to the actual, for this reason the sin ended in the two a non secular and actual death. consequently, with the intention to repair this hollow, a divine being ought to take actual style and this became into Jesus Christ. Christ, a divine being in human style, served as this blood sacrifice conquering death and offering people who have confidence with eternal existence. the reply to Why did he do this's modern in John 3:sixteen "For God so enjoyed the international that he gave his in basic terms begotten Son". we are God's creation, and that i don't be attentive to roughly you yet you like and look after those issues which you created.

Answer 9

The moment we were born we aren't sinners. If you look at adam and eve, they knew no wrong until the whole apple incident. As a result, they were kicked out of Eden,snakes no longer have legs, and we know both now good and evil. Whereas before the incident we knew only good. So, I don't think we are born sinners becuase we know both good and evil, I think we are sinners based upon our actions, becuase we have freewill to do as we please. But its our choice to do what is good or what is evil. What's your choice? But then again, many say god help those who helps themselves. man has not yet to prove his worth. Man has polluted the earth, misunderstood Gods message, done everything but love his neighbor, yet we expect miracles. If God plays a part, then we play a part as well.

Answer 10

This is NOT true. This is a false doctrine. We are NOT blamed for what Adam and Eve did. However, we do have a sinful nature. We are attracted to sin. But, this is a different story.

GOD bless