Is "original sin" a fair concept?

Question

Why is it right for us to be guilty of someone else's sin at our birth? Why are we not guilty of everyone's sin then?

Answer 1

I should put this on MS word so I can just paste it on every time someone asks this---here goes.

The story of the Garden of Eden is a metaphorical story. The snake represents our lower instincts---it's almost an indirect acknowlegement of evolution. The apple from the "Tree of the knowlege of good and evil" is metaphorical---Eve gives it to Adam because a woman wants a man who knows right from wrong.

Adam and Eve are metaphors for the first humans who learned the difference between right and wrong. Once they became aware of right and wrong, they could no longer live in a state of nature---ie. they clothed themselves. And life became more complicated. Dogs are seldom troubled by questions of morality. People are.

the Jews view Genesis as metaphorical, and their Holy texts start with Exodus 20.

Answer 2

I will hear no bad word about my #1 ever, Jimi Hendrix, but "all" he did was take a basic existing Blues structure and combine it with technology that was "new" in the day (albeit brilliantly). Where would he have been without the influences of such as B.B. King, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Albert King and Elmore James, rhythm and blues and soul guitarists Curtis Mayfield, Steve Cropper, as well as by funk and some modern jazz? And who influenced his "influences"- Robert Johnson, Big Bill Broonzy, etc etc? And who influenced them? I believe it is a Latin saying- Nihil Sub Sole Novum- which roughly translates as "Nothing new under the Sun", and given that there are only so many Musical Notes anything is just a derivative of another. So, MQ2, nothing really.

Answer 3

Tell me what sin you are not guilty of:

Have no other God before Me
Make nothing else into an idol for the purpose of
worshipping it
Do not use God's name irreverently
Keep your day of worship holy
Do not commit murder (hating someone is
murdering them in your heart)
Do not commit adultery (looking on another with
lust is the same as committing adultery)
Do not take that which is not yours
Do not tell things that are false
Behave in a way that honors your mother and father
Do not desire the spouse of or any thing that
belongs to another


Jesus says if any of these is broken in the least littlest point a person is quilty of them all.

We are not condemned simply because of Adam and Eve's sin. We are SINNERS because of it.
And we need a Savior

Answer 4

I just read Genesis chapter 3 and no where in it does it say anything about original sin. All it says is that you disobeyed me by eating from that tree. The 'original sin' is a Catholic concept, whither they are right or wrong we will only know when we get to Heaven.

Answer 5

You are not guilty of someone else's sin at birth.
Original sin is the teaching that we inherit a corrupt nature from our father Adam because of his rebellion.
That this principle is true can be seen in crack babies.
Some babies are born addicted to crack - that is a fact.
There mother's use of crack is the direct cause of their being born addicted - that is a fact.
Is that fair?
I suppose not, but it doesn't change the fact.
Is that baby guilty by being addicted to crack?
No, but it still suffers the consequences.
Lesson to learn?
We are in some measure the product of our parents and our environment.
Furthermore, we can see that our actions can have direct result upon others - usually those closest to us, whether for good or bad.
Solution?
Through humility and faith in God we can overcome the disadvantages each of us encounter in our own life, and through love and kindness, each of us can do our best to keep from being a source of evil to others, and by the grace of God, we can even become a blessing to others, which is the best thing we could possibly do for ourselves.

Answer 6

You are not guilty of the sins of anyone else. Each person commits sin in his own life. It is the nature of man.
The original sin followed the original temptation, and that act was exercised freely. God made us to have fellowship with Him and only asked that we freely join into that relationship. The original temptation was to disobey and become our own gods, on the same level as God, with all the attributes of God. It was betrayal.
Judas had his own understanding of God's will for man. In error he sought to bring into the world reality according to Judas. It was betrayal.
Today we all have our own desires for our own lives and strive to live our lives our own way, once again demonstrating the desire to be a god.
Sin entered the world through one man, but each man commits his own sin. He is a false god and can not perform any deed that makes him worthy of entering into the relationship that God still desires to have with us. God has made it possible for the stigma of sin to be removed through faith in His Son. Had I turned my back on that it would have been betrayal.

Answer 7

Eaxctly, and i think its worse for women, because the bible says that eve tempted adam to eat from the forbidden tree, and as a punishment, women have labour pains during childbirth.
Forget the punishment, its an honour to be a mother !

Answer 8

the fact that we are born sinners results in the fact that we all sin. notice the progression in romans 5:12: sin entered the world through adam, death follows sin, death comes to all people, all people sin because they inherit sin from adam. thankfully, Jesus Christ is the savior from sin

and we are not guilty of everyone's sin because when adam fell into sin, that resulted in every one of his descendants also being “infected” with sin

Answer 9

The concept of original sin makes it seem like God really has a hard time with forgiveness, which is supposed to be one of his cardinal traits.

Answer 10

Religious Text are full of literary devices.You can't really read them literally. However I do find original sin to be a bit un-fair