Is there a difference between having the iniquities of your father visited upon you...?

Question

and inheriting your father's sins?

My understanding is that having your father's iniquities visited upon you simply means having to live with the consequences of your father's actions, such as having a father that is a drunkard means having to deal with the issues that arise from your father's drunkenness. That may mean a poor lifestyle, constant bickering in your father's house, being labled the child of a drunkard, etc. But that does not mean that you inherit his drunkard ways, or will become a drunkard yourself.

From my understanding, you can't inherit sins, you can only make your own. You may have exemplary examples of "sinfulness" in your life, but only you can commit the sins you are accountable for. Therefore, there could be no such thing as "original sin" being transmitted to children. That would explain why Jews don't believe in original sin. Christianity says otherwise. Can someone explain how it is possible to inherit sin. Not a tendency to sin, but sin itself.

Mike, my parents were Christian, I am a Gentile. When you learn the difference, you'll understand why I can't accept Christ.

Answer 1

I think you have it right.

I don't believe we inherit sins at all. Yes we do suffer the consequences at times from the actions of others but we do not inherit it. That would be silly.

That could explain that we suffer from the consequences of Adam and not really so much that we inherited what he did. If you take it literally.

I have to admit that in Christianity, we get some very weird ideas about things. I believe it is made much more complicated than it really is.

Answer 2

Yes, there IS a difference. You seem to have a very good grasp on the subject.

I think you are getting confused with the whole definition of "original sin". There are two definitions for this term.

1. The sin originally committed by Adam (the Fall).
2. The resulting stain passed on to all of Adam's progeny as a result of Adam's sin--the tendency to sin, or a "fallen" nature.

Obviously, God does not punish people for crimes they have not committed. This was also an express commandment in the Old Testament: if a man committed a crime that deserved a death penalty, ony the man guilty of the crime could be put to death. His wife and children could not also be prosecuted for the husband's actions (unless it was proved that they had a hand in the illegal action, aka complicity).

You will find an excellent article on the subject of Original Sin (the origins of the philosophy, its explanation, the challenges to it, and its defence) at http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11312a.htm

Have a blessed day.

Answer 3

I always thought that it WAS the same. Certainly from the passages in the Bible in which this expression occurs, it appears that it's literally conceived as an inheritance of sin. Not the "Original Sin" of the Christians, true; but in passages such as those in Exodus, in which "God" says "for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me," it sounds as if the idea is that the child inherits his father's "iniquity" in the same way that he might inherit livestock. It's like a curse that follows one's progeny - sometimes it's depicted in just this way.

Nobody said it made sense. These legends are recensions of the orally-handed-down folklore of very primitive people. Read any of the great classics of anthropology, from Frazer's "Golden Bough" onwards, and you find similar ideas in many primitive cultures.

The Christians simply sophisticated this idea to the point that Augustine conceived of "Original Sin" as a disease that was transmitted via the semen, so that all children born of carnal intercourse partook of the curse - which conveniently exempts Jesus, of course.

Answer 4

There isn't anything to explain. Not even Jesus spoke about "original sin". That's a doctrine that was added later. There is no inheriting sins. Though I've noticed many dodge it by saying it only means the "tendency to sin". But that suggests that people can be perfect (not break ANY Biblical Laws) and that would screw up the whole human sacrifice thing. If we could be perfect, then Jesus died for nothing. But the Bible does suggest you can be perfect.... "Be ye perfect as your father in heaven is perfect" Odd, Jesus doesn't say "Be perfect like I AM Perfect" hhhhmmmmmm

Anyway, that whole doctrine isn't in the Bible unless we do the pick-n-choose verses to make it fit game.

Answer 5

"Therefore, there could be no such thing as "original sin" being transmitted to children. That would explain why Jews don't believe in original sin. Christianity says otherwise. Can someone explain how it is possible to inherit sin. Not a tendency to sin, but sin itself."

With your last sentence you have negated Original sin. Original sin is a bent, an inclination towards sin. It is the sin of rebellion against God if it helps to think about it that way - the sin of wanting to decide for ourselves what is right and wrong instead of trusting and obeying what God has told us to do and what not to do.

Since we are deciding for ourselves, and we were not created to determine morality for ourselves, we are morally imperfect and it is 100% certain that we will make sinful choices if we are leading ourselves instead of letting God lead us.

Answer 6

Catholics have been the 1st Christian Church. they're the unique Christianity. quite a few hundred years later, a team of people broke off from the Catholic Church, led by making use of Martin Luther. those people got here to be universal as Protestants. they're the Lutherans, Baptists, Episcopalians, in fact each and every denomination that isn't Catholic. while the Protestants broke faraway from the Catholic Church, they replaced lots of the unique Christian doctrines for themselves. hence, it relatively is the Catholics who're easily the actual Christians who nonetheless save on with the Christian doctrine that grew to become into exceeded all the way down to Peter, in guy or woman, by making use of Jesus. Jesus advised Peter to proceed his ministry after his (Jesus's) death. This Peter did, and Peter grew to become into the 1st actual Pope. interior the 1st actual respected Christian Church, which grew to become into Catholic. So relatively, in case you have an unique something, and then somebody comes alongside and breaks faraway from that unique and ameliorations it around and starts off a clean factor, it won't be able to declare to be an identical factor by way of fact the unique. it relatively is hence the Catholics who're the actual Christians, and the Protestants are an imitation with some ameliorations.

Answer 7

While that is true that you can not inheret sin...children tend to pick up the sins of their parents (learned by example). It is not a for sure kind of thing, but the tendancy is to follow in your parents' footsteps.

"Therefore, there could be no such thing as "original sin" being transmitted to children."

But the original sin is still veils much of humanity...that we think we are separate individuals and separate from God. The original sin is that we forgot who we really are.

~ Eric Putkonen

Answer 8

If "inheriting your fathers sins" were possible.....what would even be the point of living your life? You wouldn't have one.
I agree with you, it is about consequences of the actions.

Answer 9

that all depends on your perception of sin... in the spiritual sense, there is always a reason why in spirit... spirit is what we have come to call what naturally emits from our bodies.... everything emits information.. from stones, fire and plants... to birds fish insects and animals... this is what nature reads and reacts to... the practice of religion interferes with this process... for it forces the energy and messages nature relies on into a narrow human controled view... there is more to life than religion but religions never ever take that into account so it creates imbalances in nature itself... the concept of sin intends to express a grave wrong doing... interfering with the natural process is a grave wrong... then you have to look and see how many would forsake their parents' religions once ingrained into them... then you get the concept of original sin in a real spiritual context... the term father is a reflection of male dominated religions.. and the practice of calling priest and the like father....

Answer 10

There is no "original sin". You are born with a Clean slate.

Man shall be punished for their own sins and not for Adam's transgression.