The Theory Of Sin In Christian Beliefs

The theory of sin in Christian beliefs is described as a human act that goes against the rational nature of man as well as the eternal law as defined by God. Most importantly, the story of Adam and Eve signified the foundation and meaning for sin. Adam, representing the entire human race, was held responsible for the fall of man thus creating the Original Sin. St. Augustine built on the original concept of sin as derived by second century fathers such as Origen who reinterpreted the story of Adam and Eve in Genesis in direct relation to free will as well as to the apostle Paul’s letters. Augustine’s argument suggests that over thousands of generations, regardless of how religious or virtuous a human being is in his or her life, they are eternally …show more content…
In essence, the death of Jesus was considered penitence for the sin. "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." (Corinthians 15:22) The centuries leading up to Augustine’s era were still battling questions such as, whether or not sin could be avoided in later generations. Eventually, Augustine attempted to explain this connection between man and sin by insisting that Adam’s mistake would affect all of mankind and that sin was inevitable due to that Original Sin, unlike Paul who claimed that the Original Sin was ultimately forgiven through Jesus’ sacrifice …show more content…
This begs the question, if God is good then why wouldn’t He take notice of such faith and reason and provide him salvation, despite his father before him? In fact the Old Testament claims, “The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.” (Ezekiel 18:20) Still, Augustine maintains that human nature was always damaged, trapped by physical and material desires that were “beyond the control of human intellect or will” (Chidester, 135). In fact he claims that salvation was only possible by the power of God’s grace and not through purity, meaning that all humans are subject to eternal damnation and only some would receive the mercy of God. It is at His mercy at the end of the day that gives human deeds any virtue or merit regardless of how they view their own life worth (139). Still, the practice of baptism gained popularity as a ritual as many would baptize their children in order to purify them of sin as soon as possible. Some even waited until they were sick or of old age to be baptized in order to ensure that they were washed away of their sins. It was more of a way for