Original Sin – Sam Sweat ucg.org

Original Sin is a cornerstone of popular Christianity that claims human beings are born evil; i.e. Adam transmitted guilt for his sin to each of us by virtue of simple heredity. This is a fundamentally wrong premise with far reaching bad consequences throughout modern history for both Christians and non-Christians. The doctrine was championed by St. Augustine, who was a Gnostic blending paganism and Greek Platonic philosophy with Christian teachings. He premised his theory on a key mistranslation of Romans 5:12. The Original Sin idea spawned very unhealthy views on sex and family, and a raft of other anti-Biblical concepts like Mary worship, infant baptism, baptism for the dead, predestination, and limited atonement. Moreover, it slanders God’s nature and purpose. Doctrines like this may seem theologically obscure, but they matter; they drive entire systems of belief. The Bible is clear that each is judged by God according to his or her own actions. We are responsible for our own behavior.