- Rom. 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."
- Rom. 5:19, "For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners"
- 1 Cor. 15:22, "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive."
- Rom. 3:10, "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one." (Also see 1 John 1:8 and 10, Rom. 3:12)
- Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Paul introduces the concept of original sin and the “inheritance” of sin and teaches it as the heart of his Christian theology. He establishes Jesus as a human/deity sacrifice to atone for the alleged “sin” of Adam. It is interesting to note that while Paul invents a theology of atonement based on the offering of Jesus as a human sacrifice for sin, Jesus does not preach death as atonement. The gospel according to Matthew, Jesus says: “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” (Matt 9:13 and Matt 12:7 NIV). This is an explicit rejection of Paul's teaching.
Further, the concept of Original Sin is unsupported in the Jewish scriptures:
- Deut. 24:16, "The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin."
- 2 Kings 14:6, But the children of the murderers he slew not: according unto that which is written in the book of the law of Moses, wherein the LORD commanded, saying, The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, nor the children be put to death for the fathers; but every man shall be put to death for his own sin."
- Ezek. 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."
- Ezek.33:20, "Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. O ye house of Israel, I will judge you every one after his ways."
- Jer. 31:29-30 In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children's teeth are set on edge. But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge."
- Gen. 7:1 "And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation."
- Job 1:1 There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.
- Job 1:8 "...my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?" (Job 2:3)
- Luke 1:5-6 "In the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, there was a priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abia: and he had a wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. (RSV)
Why are we responsible for the sins of Adam and Eve? How can a person be “guilty” of ancient sin he did not commit? How can one be morally flawed when he is in the womb? A god who allows people to be punished for something they did not do is not just. A god who is supposedly omnipotent, omniscient, and benevolent should simply erase such flaws. Can he? Is he unable or unwilling?
This concept of atonement and redemption are entirely Pauline and are not part of Jesus’ or Jewish doctrine.
While commonly accepted (or at least unquestioned), the Augustinian doctrine of original sin entailing (1) imputed guilt and (2) an inherited depravity (or sinful nature) is not universally held by all Christians. For example, those part of the Restoration Movement (or "Stone-Campbell" movement) have traditionally rejected the doctrine outright (Christian Churches and Churches of Christ).
ReplyDeleteAlso, exegeting Romans 5:12-21 is not quite so simple. It is possible that vv. 13-14 limit Paul's application of the passage primarily to sinners (i.e., "those who sinned" or "those whose sinning") between the time frame of Adam and Moses, prior to the giving of the Mosaic law. The "all" and "many" throughout this text do not necessarily take into account strictly all people universally throughout the ages.
It is clear from 1 Corinthians 15:21-22 that all people universally inherit the legacy of physical death from the first man, Adam: "For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive." As for inheriting a sinful nature and having the guilt of Adam's sin imputed to all persons thus making all persons universally liable to condemnation in hell apart from personal sins, it is not at all clear that is precisely what Paul is teaching in Romans 5:12-21.
Another Pauline text commonly alleged to also teach original sin is Ephesians 2:3. Contextually, however, Adam nowhere comes into consideration, and the concern is with the personal sins (or trespasses) of those who previously where in an unconverted state (i.e., "children of wrath"). The nature spoken of in v. 3 does not necessarily refer to an inherited "sin nature", but more likely refers to an acquired status, way of behavior or conformity to a lifestyle characterized by ungodliness and sin. The Ephesian converts WERE "by nature children of wrath", but no longer so as they had conformed themselves to a lifestyle of purity through the gospel and divine regeneration.
In short, though Romans 5:12-21 is indeed a difficult passage open to a variety of interpretations, the notion of original sin is more than likely "read back" into Paul's writings (and subsequently, the remainder of the biblical canon) through an Augustinian lens.
Nothing is universally held by all Christians and THAT, to be, is another example that Scripture is man-made and open to anyone's interpretation. It was not "god-breathed".
DeleteFirst, thank you for your response and approving my message for your personal blog.
ReplyDeleteDer Hammerman, your assertion that "Nothing is universally held by all Christians", sadly, is very true in some sense.
DH: ". . . and THAT, to [m]e, is another example that Scripture is man-made and open to anyone's interpretation."
I don't believe that that is so. It is indeed a sad reality that various factions, sects or splits within the broader Christian community have developed over the course of the last two millennia. The widespread disagreement among professed Christians regarding , the variety of interpretations regarding Scripture's content of essential to trivial matters cannot be called into question. This, however, does not make any and all of our interpretations of the Bible's contents equally valid or true.
DH: "It [Scripture] was not "god-breathed".
I disagree. The origin of what we today refer to as Scripture is indeed divine, but the personality and integrity of the authors of all the documents is maintained in that it is also a very human work (obviously here I am denying word-for-word dictation). So indeed there is a mystery here.
Touching upon the concept of original sin once again, I call into question whether any of the biblical authors affirmed the notion. The traditional Augustinian doctrine teaches (1) imputed Adamic guilt to the entire human race (all are held guilty and liable to eternal condemnation as result of Adam's sin; hence, infants may die and incur final punishment), and (2) inherited depravity (all humans are said to be born with a "sinful nature" as a result of Adam's transgression). Romans 5:12-21 is indeed an extremely difficult text to exegete and numerous Greek scholars have frankly admitted this. The other two texts commonly alleged to teach the doctrine are Psalm 51:5 (of the Hebrew Scriptures) and Ephesians 2:3 (Pauline). Neither of these texts even touches upon Adam's transgression. When properly grounded in their respective contexts, David in Psalm 51 is simply making a (poetic) confession of his sins and repentance before Yahweh, God of Israel, and Paul in Ephesians 2 is simply contrasting the Ephesians' former way of life with their conversion to Christ.
I respect your right to disagree, though I would implore you also to keep an open mind. While it might be presented by some in such a way that one must become a dolt or intellectually debased in order to become a Christian, to have belief in the supernatural or the divine origin of Scripture, such an approach must be radically rejected.
You reveal my biggest issue with Christianity and Christians. You assert that the Bible is divine with no evidence. Please demonstrate this is a true statement.
ReplyDeleteI would refer you to Jesus first. He is revealed in the Scriptures. I believe the account of his condescension through the incarnation, life, ministry and teachings in patient endurance along with the mystery of his death, burial and resurrection speak to his beauty. You are not forced to obedience to him or to believe in him.
ReplyDeleteIf you were provided with all the rational proofs of scriptural veracity, the incarnation of Christ, &c. (i.e., 100% infallible certainty), would you then believe? Do you really suppose this is all a matter of intelligence or intellect? For all the scholars who have believed throughout the centuries, do you outright dismiss all these men as stupid, irrational fools?
Even if you are doubtful or otherwise "certain" you are correct in dismissing Scripture and the testimonies of Jesus as false, why then do you care if a bunch of thoughtless or foolish minions go on doing so?
Yet again, mere words and no evidence. Just show me evidence the scriptures are true. Period. That's all I ask. Do you just believe everything you read without evidence?
ReplyDeleteEvidence is verifiable. Nothing you can provide is verifiable. For example, the Bible says Jesus rose from the dead. Show me verifiable evidence he existed, died, and was buried. Then show me testable evidence he rose. It's nonsense and you can't provide it.
ReplyDelete