Original Sin and inherited depravity

The nature of sin is not that we fail to succeed in being equal to God, it is the failure to ascend to the capacity that we are able as human beings. 

 Sin is a choice, an avoidable choice, through the grace of God. If it is avoidable, then we are accountable. Sin as an act of the will is to be separated from sins of ignorance, or mistakes. With the exception of including "ignorance" as a sin that always carries the same damaging effect as willful sin, the following definitions seems to follow along with the points of this article. 

So what is original sin and inherited depravity that everyone talks about?

Original Sin. The Scriptures teach that the presence of death in the world, with all its attendant evils, is due to man's sin. 

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: (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come....For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life (Rom. 5: 12-14, 17, 18).

 

Here it is clearly taught that before of Adam, there was neither sin nor death; after his fall, there were both, and these are regarded as the direct consequences of sin. It seems clear also from this statement that natural evil is the consequence of moral evil, for death is by sin.

inherited Depravity. Not only are all men born under the penalty of death, as a consequence of Adam's sin, but they are born with a depraved nature also, which m contradistinction to the legal aspect of penalty, is generally termed inbred sin or inherited depravity. This is defined in the language of the creed as ""that corruption of the nature of all the offspring of Adam, by reason of which every one is very far gone from original righteousness" (Article V).

Original Sin or Inherited Depravity are terms applied to the subjective moral state or condition of man by birth, and therefore express the moral condition of man in his natural estate. This depravity must not, however, be regarded as a physical entity or any other form of essential existence added to man's nature. It is rather, as its name implies, a deprivation of loss.

The doctrine of man's depravity rests upon the solid foundation of Scripture and the universal testimony of human experience. 

The doctrine has never been seriously denied in the Church, except by the Pelagians and the Socinians. Justin (A.D. 165) says, "Every race knows that adultery, and murder, and such like are sinful: and though they all commit such practices, they cannot escape from the knowledge that they act unrighteously whenever they do so."

Also we have Tertullian (200) who laid down the theory of natural depravity, which seems closely connected with his views about the traduction of souls. He is generally looked upon as the author of the doctrine of "Original Sin," which he formulates as follows: "There is, besides the evil which comes on the soul from the intervention of the evil spirits, an antecedent, and in some sense natural, evil which arises from its corrupt origin."

Even when we look from a rational perspective, we will find that if we believe in Traducianism, where mankind is able to create people in their image, this means that it is their full image with all the problems and benefits, and one of these problems is depravity. When we look at kids how they do things that their parents do even if they have never seen their parents we will be amazed of how people can inherit not only physical traits but even moral ones.

We need to learn how to deal with the applications of this today as we believe that we still have a choice to apply the sin or not; we have the chance to stop the cycle of sin in humanity by choosing not to sin. As professor Bill Ury said in his lecture on Hamartiology: “Adam started it, but he transmitted it! We have free will to extend it or to stop it.”

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1.     Crippen, T.G.. Popular Introduction to the History of Christian Doctrine. (Sydney: Wentworth Press, 2016).

 

2.     Wiley, H. Orton. Christian Theology. (Missouri: Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City, 1940).

 

3.     The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia revised. Geoffrey W. Bromiley editor, (Grand Rapids, MI.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1988).