The Fall and Original Sin

• Original sin = the idea that humans are born into sin and are sinners by nature
• Characteristics of the relationship between man and God BEFORE the fall:

  • They were freely able to walk with God and talk to him
  • Adam and Eve lived a life of love, friendship, and they were equal with each other and God
  • A painless world
  • God loved man, and he saw that man was good
  • Man wasn’t ashamed
• Characteristics of the relationship between man and God AFTER the Fall:

  • There has now been a separation from God
  • Hate and anger came into the world and men and women lost their equality with each other
  • A painful world
  • God hated the actions of man and saw that the actions were bad
  • Man became ashamed of what they have done and tried to hide from God
• • “Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child” - Proverbs 22:15
  • This suggests that a child is sinful as foolishness is referring to the sinful nature of a child
• • “And you were dead in your trespasses of sin” - Ephesians 2
  • This is referring to the fact that until we find Christ, we are dead inside.
  • This is because of the existence of original sin inside of us
  • Unless we are converted, we are sinners, and this is engrossed in our every being, and is the very essence of who we are.
• Augustine argued that sin is a powerful force which no one can escape. It’s so ingrained in human nature because of the seriousness of the sins of Adam and Eve.
• According to Augustine, sin is passed down through sexual desire and we live in sin as all of mankind was in Adam as he sinned.
• When we sin, we do it out of our own free will. After the fall, we have no choice but to sin but not everything we do is sinful.
• Key Critics of Original Sin:

  • Pelagius
  • Richard Dawkins
  • Sigmund Freud
• Pelagius was a monk who didn’t believe in original sin (as it can’t be found in the Bible)
• Pelagius argued that humans have sufficient free will to overcome personal sin - free will makes people able to make free choices
• Pelagius argued Adam’s sin only harmed him and not the whole of humanity
• Pelagius argued that people are born in a "pre-fall state" = This means that they are able to sin if they choose and able to avoid it if they choose to
• Richard Dawkins is an atheist so doesn't believe in the doctrine at all.
• Dawkins argues that original sin is contradictory to evolutionary biology and is an absurd and dangerous idea
• Dawkins also says that Christianity has an unhealthy obsession with sin, guilt, violence, and repressed sexuality
• Dawkins likens the idea of babies going to hell to be like child abuse
• Sigmund Freud argues that God is a psychological construction based on an infantile need for a father figure
• Freud says that a creation of God is a sign of repressed sexual guilt
• Freud agreed that the sexual drive and drive towards pleasure was an essential quality of human behaviour and shaped us deeply
• Freud disagreed that guilt and atonement was needed for these urges, saying that unfulfilled desires could lead to mental illness later in life.
• Strengths of Original Sin and the Fall:

  • it can be found in the Bible
  • It explains the seriousness of sin and why Augustine reacts in the way that he does
• Weaknesses of Original Sin and the Fall:

  • Infants surely are innocent
  • Surely some people have beaten the odds and never actually sinned
  • Surely this is unfair and not actually our fault
  • What’s the point of actually living a good life if we’re all bad?