Original
Sin is the principal notion in which the majority of modern day
theology is supported. Understanding the origins of the doctrine of
original sin is key in unraveling the theological mess in present day
Christianity. This doctrine was blended into Christian teaching in
third-forth century Rome. (NOT the Reformation!) There were several
players involved and many theories expounded. Up to that time the
free will of man was a given in Christian teaching. This is confirmed
in the Scriptures and clearly stated in early Christian writings
passed down by second generation disciples.
The original
sin doctrine teaches that Adam and Eve’s guilty consciences
and
wicked natures have been transmitted to their posterity, descending
from them by ordinary generation. Thus Adams’ sin has been
‘imputed’ automatically to his descendants. (with
the exception
of Jesus of course) His fall from Grace resulted in the entire human
race being utterly inclined toward evil. Mankind in his natural state
is entirely disabled, opposite of all good and ferociously wicked to
the core. Thus man is subject to punishment and death for
Adam’s
(original) sin. He sins by necessity, NOT by choice and is born DEAD
in his sins.
Basically this doctrine is divided into two
major camps of thought. Namely: Traducianism and Creationism.
Traducianism teaches that the immaterial aspect of the (soul) is
transmitted through nature generation along with the body. (material
aspect of man) Meaning that each soul born is derived (not directly
from God!) but DIRECTLY from the souls or (loins) of the parents.
Therefore all souls were ‘in Adam’ at the time of
his creation by
God. (God retired from the soul creating business after Adam so to
speak) Adam is the ‘Natural Head’ of the entire
human race by
which the rest of us sprang by natural generation. (all infected by
his original sin) This is one early theory expounded in ancient
times, but seldom embraced today.
Creationism on the
other hand teaches that God creates EACH soul individually for each
body that is generated. (This is supported a hundred fold in the
Scriptures!) Adam then was our representative and entered into a
‘Covenant’ agreement with God, (which cannot be
found anywhere in
scripture.) on condition of his continued obedience in the garden.
Thus the penalty for violating this covenant would be Adam’s
corruption and death (separation from God) and that of his posterity.
Since the fall of Adam this sentence of condemnation causes God to
immediately ‘impute’ each soul He creates with
Adam’s sin and
depraved nature. This is called the: Federal Headship Theory and is
the basics of all reformed theology since the reformation.
If
the Jewish Rabbis did not teach the doctrine of original sin nor the
early Christians who followed the Apostles, WHERE did it come from?
Paul certainly did not teach it in Romans chapter 5, as is generally
accepted by almost all modern scholars. Otherwise his disciples (who
wrote extensively) would have expounded on it!) On the Contrary they
spoke against such teaching mainly because it is a GNOSTIC myth! The
Gnostics were prevalent in the Roman Empire during the second-third
and forth centuries and their teaching spread like wild fire through
the populace by a cult named the Manicheans.
Inevitably
Manichean teaching became blended into Christianity as a result of
MANY devote followers of the so-called Prophet: Mani (AD
210–276)
considering themselves ‘Christians’ because of
their austere life
styles. One prominent person in Rome at the time who followed this
teaching was AUGUSTINE of Hippo. Although he is heralded in
Christianity as one of the greatest theologians of all time, it is
through his efforts that the doctrine of original sin is engrained
into main-stream teaching to this day and has thus rendered the
preaching of real repentance and faith null and void. Augustine
concluded in his writings and teaching that Adam's sin (in the
garden) is physically transmitted and genetically derived from parent
to child through the concupiscence (lust) that accompanies sexual
reproduction. For that reason the infection of Adam’s sin is
passed
down through ‘sexual intercourse’ to the entire
human race.
(expect for Jesus, who was born of Immaculate conception.)
Before
you can even begin to unravel this mess and understand what the Bible
really teaches concerning repentance and faith, you MUST grasp the
impact of this doctrine on the nature of God. Augustine was a
FALSE TEACHER! If you fail to see this in its proper light,
you
will remain in the dark concerning these things and none of this will
make any sense to you. Clearly he converted to Christianity out of
necessity (from Manicheanism) in 387AD, because of a royal edict by
the Emperor who outlawed Manicheanism teaching in Rome. Because of
his background in Gnostic teaching and influence of certain other
Bishops he immediately began to BLEND this teaching into Christian
thought. Augustine was highly educated and a professor of rhetoric at
a very early age, which gave him access to the high courts of Rome
and entrance into high powered society.
Basically
Gnostic/ Manichean teach a DUAL NATURE of man.
(Christian
doctrine has NEVER taught this!) One side is a world of light, good
and virtuous. The other (material world) is of darkness or inherently
evil. Each world is presided over by a god. Everything material
(man’s flesh) is evil by nature from birth and drawn only
toward
sin. Only the immaterial soul is the light, pure and undefiled. Sins
of the flesh cause the pure soul to be imprisoned in a corrupted
body. There way out was the hope of the re-incarnation cycle to move
them closer to salvation. They also embraced
‘election’.
Hence,
you have the teaching embraced by Christian doctrine of the
‘sinful
nature’, as taught in all the Churches today. Man in his
converted
(Born Again) state remains the ‘Chief of sinners’
and ‘Roman’s
wretch’. The old man is NOT crucified with Christ in
repentance
(where the sin stops!) but by a process of sanctification or by
simple imputation. (the moral transfer of Jesus Righteousness and
obedience to the believer) This teaching is the PERFECT excuse for
men to remain in bondage to sin and not be condemned by God. The fear
of judgment for ungodly conduct is eliminated entirely! Augustine
(who himself had a huge problem with sexual lust) LOVED this doctrine
and expounded on it in his writings significantly. Consequently his
influence has spread through the ages and planted the seeds of
Calvinist-Lutheran heresy in the 1500’s and framed
main-stream
reformed theology to this day. (all this can be easily confirmed by
some historical research, ie: History of the Church 1 Henry
Chadwick)
What this doctrine boils down to is the
elimination of free will. If man is born, already imputed with
Adam’s
sin by reason of his birth, he no longer has a CHOICE but becomes a
sinner by NECESSITY. His sin is a malady over which he has absolutely
no control whatsoever. Humans are born incapable of doing anything
good without the ‘gracious influence’ of Divine
Grace bestowed
randomly as God wills on certain individuals. By rejecting this
concept the house of cards that supports all the other doctrinal
fallacies immediately crumbles. Original sin necessitates election,
moral transfer, pre-forgiveness of sins, limited Atonement,
irresistible grace and eternal security! ALL of which make it
IMPOSSIBLE for man to turn to God, truly repent of his sins (be
cleared of his wrong doing!) and be purged by the Blood of Christ and
made pure by faith working by love!
Much of the
foundation of these false doctrines can be traced directly back to
Augustine. Failure to see this is the main reason most people in the
Churches remain in bondage to sin and blinded by lies. History
clearly shows that this 'dual nature' teaching was blended into
Christian doctrine in forth Century Rome and Augustine was one of the
major players in promoting it. He wrote huge volumes advocating just
war, the Church militant on earth and the dual nature of man. They
are studied considerably in modern seminaries and sold in Christian
book stores. Any teaching that exposes these things as false is
suppressed, difficult to find and highly suspect of error among
today’s so-called scholars. (but you can find them at on-line
book
sellers) The ‘sinful nature’ teaching has also
infected many
modern translations of the Bible including the New International
Version, which translates the word ‘flesh’
(Sarx 4561) to:
‘sinful nature’ in Romans, but NOT in other
passages such as in
1st and 2nd John.
There are two main New Testament
passages that are used by those who have embraced the Augustinian
Tradition in order to provide a measure of support and to prove there
beloved theory of original sin. They are as follows:
"For
since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the
dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made
alive" (1 Co. 15:21-22).
This passage is used
to support the representation theory that ALL (spiritually and
physically) die due to the transmission of Adam's original sin.
However, this passage is strictly speaking of physical death, being
the context is referencing the future (physical) resurrection of the
dead (1 Co. 15). Hence, "even so in Christ all SHALL BE
(future) made alive". According to Paul, physical death is a
consequence springing from the man (Adam), just as a glorified body
shall come in the future through the Man, Jesus Christ. Now, how is
it man dies on an account of Adam's sin? I believe Adam was created
mortal, that is, flesh and blood (Gen. 2:7; 3:19; 1 Co. 15:45-50).
Through his personal act of disobedience he lost for himself (and
descendants) physical access to the "Tree of Life" which he
(and we) must eat from to "live forever" (Gen. 3:22). As
follows, man physically dies due to being separated from this tree,
but can regain physical access to its fruit (in the future) through
Jesus Christ (Rev. 22:14).
"Therefore, just as
through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and
thus death spread to all men, because all sinned" (Ro.
5:12).
Clearly, this passage is speaking of personal sin
by imitation ('because all sinned') rather than inherited sin through
imputation (Gen. 2:17; Ro. 5:12). In fact, Paul reports there were
some individuals who lived after Adam, who sinned NOT according to
the "likeness" of his original transgression (Ro. 5:14)! As
follows, sin is not a physical substance that is inbred in your
flesh, rather, sinfulness is a result of living out aimless conduct
received by tradition (or long practiced habit) from you fathers. (1
Pe. 1:18). Therefore, just as through one man (Adam)
sin
entered the world, and (spiritual) death through
sin, and thus
(spiritual) death spread to all men, BECAUSE ALL
SINNED"
(Gen. 2:17; 3:6; Ro. 3:23; 5:12; 1 Co. 10:13; Jas. 1:13-16)!
It
should be noted that Augustine relied on the translation of the Latin
Vulgate, (Catholic translation of the Bible) because he was unable to
read Koine Greek. So, when he came to Romans 5:12 he read, "As
sin entered the world by one man and death because of sin, so death
spread into all men, IN WHOM all sinned." Thus, we arrive at
another aspect that influenced the notion of the doctrine known as,
'original sin'. In the Latin Bible, the last part of Romans 5:12
passage is translated "in quo", meaning, "in
whom" all sinned, which does NOT agree with the original
Greek or the English which expresses the conclusion of Romans 5:12 as
follows: "for that all have sinned" (AV), "because
all men sinned" (RSV) and "because all sinned"
(NKJV).
Does the Bible teach that all men are
automatically made righteous by Christ apart from repenting and
believing in the Gospel (Mk. 1:15; Acts 17:30-31; 20:21)? Of course
not! Then why is it automatically assumed that all men are
automatically made sinners by Adam apart from choice (Ro. 5:18)? The
idea of original sin being hereditary is contrary to many parts of
the Bible. For instance, Deuteronomy 24:16 states, "Fathers
shall NOT be put to death for their children, nor children for their
fathers...every man shall be put to death for his own sin",
while in Ezekiel 18:4 God confirms, "All souls are mine; as
the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine; the soul
that sins, it shall die". This being the case, why
would
God allow the transmission of sin?
The 'sin nature'
doctrine plainly contradicts other parts of the Bible and erroneously
makes God the author of sin. Under this teaching, sin becomes a
calamity (instead of a crime) and consequently places ALL un-baptized
and aborted babies into hell. This doctrine has handicapped Ministers
ability to call sinners to repentance and effectively preach against
immoral behavior. Consequently, the Churches have been overrun with
double-minded professing Christians who are ever learning and never
able to come to the knowledge of truth! This teaching is utterly
absurd, unfounded, unscriptural and promotes other false doctrines.
For example, If the notion of original sin was valid, then it must be
just as true that Jesus was born of a woman who was infected with
this disease and thus shaped our sinless Lord in her very iniquity
(Psa. 51:5 & Heb. 4:15)! The only way to avoid this blasphemes
predicament is to embrace the Roman Catholic Dogma termed 'Immaculate
Conception' which was invented to remedy the issue of Christ being
infected with original sin.
Original sin is Gnostic and
utterly false! Truly, this teaching is the Devils masterpiece! By it,
Satan has taken himself OUT of the picture completely! Mans bodily
desires are now to be blamed for its constant wrong doings in the
world, rather than the Devils tempting and influential schemes.
Because mans own nature (according to original sin) is wholly
corrupted and entirely incapable of virtuous actions in thought or
deed, Satan need NOT prowl anymore to seek and devour all who would
submit to his influences. (Jas. 1:13-16; 1 Pe. 5:8; 1 Jn. 2:15-16)!
Why? Because the inevitable consequences of all man’s actions
are
already wicked and depraved from birth. No longer does Satan need to
launch his fiery darts or lay in wait to deceive, instead, the
(inherited) sinful nature will do it for him! He can just sit back
and wait for the preachers to keep telling their lies and the
so-called Christians to keep coming forth in their sins, thinking
they are saved!