The Development of the Doctrine of Original Sin within the Catholic Church
The Original sin is one of the earliest and most important concepts and doctrines in Christianity. By its current Catholic definition, Original sin is a division of sin that is inherited with no need to actively commit. It is also the force which results from the betrayal of men, damages the perfect freedom and intelligence of men, separates the men from the perfect God, and is washed through baptism. The existence of original sin can be traced to the beginning chapters of Genesis, and lasts in every human thereafter until the second coming of Jesus Christ. On the other hand, the term Original sin is also used in compare to personal sins, a kind of sin that would
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First, I am going to describe the formation of the concept of Original sin under Sts. Irenaeus and Augustine of Hippo. After a long period of peace over the doctrine, the Protestant opposition on the Catholic doctrine on the Original sin and the Catholic Church’s reaction in the council of Trent, which mainly defines the basic structure of the understanding of original sin, along with a few later minor alteration of the doctrine.
The special position of St. Irenaeus as one of the earliest church apologist and one who learned from St. Polycarp, the direct student of St. John, is priceless. St. Irenaeus first mentioned his understanding of Original sin during his struggle with the gnostic believers over the Fall of mankind. In his theory, the idea that the descendants of Adam and Eve are born into a fallen world was initialized. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s command and ate the forbidden fruit, the entire human race
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Augustine of Hippo’s theory on Original sin being a product of apology against the Pelagianists, people who refused to believe in the existence of Original sin, his idea faced an abundance of oppositional voices. However, St. Augustine’s opinion was approved by the Church in several councils, especially the Second Council of Orange (529). On the other hand, St. Augustine of Hippo’s work were interpreted with the assumption of ideas of several other theologians who clarified his work in detail. For instance, John Cassian took large amount of effort to emphasize the state of human nature after the Fall, saying that the goodness of the humankind had not fell completely but only became damaged with concupiscence, the inclination toward worldly appetites; and so is the damaged free will of men instead of depraved free will. In fact, the idea of concupiscence became one of the factors that supported the practice of
“What is sin?”(1), Dr. Hoenikker asks in the book “Cat’s Cradle.”(2) The Christian Bible describes sin as, “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.” (3) Sin has become the creator of fear throughout history. The fear that God will punish those who sin but, that fear is a false threat to control people. Sin creates the illusion that the universe is based on morals, when in fact it is completely amoral.
This idea of being punished for an unremembered crime refers to the Christian belief in original sin. 2 According to Christian theology, all humans are sinners, from the time they are born, for which they will be eternally punished. 2 But only through God’s grace can people be saved.
... after Adam there existed men on this earth who did not receive their origin by natural generation from him, the first parent of all, or that Adam signifies some kind of multiple first parents; for it is by no means apparent how such an opinion can be reconciled with what the sources of revealed truth and the acts of the magisterium of the Church teaches about original sin, which proceeds from a sin truly committed by one Adam, and which is transmitted to all by generation, and exists in each one as his own" (Humani Generis 37).
Augustine’s dabblings in Manichaeism may cause one to infer that he perhaps is clinging to the idea that there is something inherently evil about matter. Augustine, however, mentions that the “soul fornicates” which would go against Manichaeistic thinking, since they would hold that the soul was essentially good. When he suggests this corruption of the soul, Augustine is alluding to his acceptance of free will, which he elaborates on in Book 7. Free will is what causes corruption and the immersion of evil. Even in this book, Augustine confesses that he did these evil things out of his own accord. Although Plotinus would have found issue with the soul being corruptible, since for him it is suppose to govern the body in perfect harmony, Augustine’s response is reminiscent of his writings. Plotinus stressed the idea that humanity has moved away from the ideal Oneness that is God and they desperately crave to reunite with Him. This parallels Augustine’s idea that humanity wishes to imitate God to be closer to
St. Augustine, probably the most ardent proponent of original sin says, “If Christ did not die in
This paper will outline specific points in Saint Augustine’s Confessions that highlight religious views following the fall of Rome. Though Augustines views on religion may not reflect that of most people in his time period, it still gives valuable insight into how many, namely Neoplatonists,, viewed God and his teachings.
The sinful nature refers to the inherited and innate drive of human beings toward sin because of the “original corruption” committed by Adam and Eve. Prior to Adam and Eve’s fall, they walked blameless and innocent in the Garden with God, without shame and without sin.
“Please tell me: isn’t God the cause of evil?” (Augustine, 1). With this question to Augustine of Hippo, Evodius begins a philosophical inquiry into nature of evil. Augustine, recently baptized by Saint Ambrose in Milan, began writing his treatise On Free Choice of the Will in 387 C.E. This work laid down the foundation for the Christian doctrine regarding the will’s role in sinning and salvation. In it, Augustine and his interlocutor investigate God’s existence and his role in creating evil. They attempt not only to understand what evil is, and the possibility of doing evil, but also to ascertain why God would let humans cause evil. Central to the premise of this entire dialogue is the concept of God, as relates to Christianity; what is God, and what traits separate Him from humans? According to Christianity, God is the creator of all things, and God is good; he is omnipotent, transcendent, all-knowing, and atemporal- not subject to change over time- a concept important to the understanding of the differences between this world and the higher, spiritual realm He presides over. God’s being is eidos, the essence which forms the basis of humans. With God defined, the core problem being investigated by Augustine and Evodius becomes clear. Augustine states the key issue that must be reconciled in his inquiry; “we believe that everything that exists comes from the one God, and yet we believe that God is not the cause of sins. What is troubling is that if you admit that sins come from… God, pretty soon you’ll be tracing those sins back to God” (Augustine, 3).
First articulated by Augustine (A.D. 354–430), the doctrine of original sin holds that all of Adam’s descendants inherit the guilt of Adam’s sin and thus incur the punishment for Adam’s sin. Inheriting Adam’s guilt at birth, then, presumes one guilty before God at birth and destined for hell. This is the basis for the Catholic need for infant baptism, for the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception (that Mary herself was uniquely conceived free of Adam’s guilt), and for the belief that salvation is only available through connection with the Church via baptism. Moreover, the belief that God holds Adam’s descendants personally accountable for Adam’s sin calls into question the importance of our own free will as it relates to our moral accountability to God. That is, if God holds us accountable for the sin Adam committed, then the exercise of our own free will must, in God’s sight, be of little or no consequence. This leads to the Augustinian belief in predestination — that who is saved and who is lost is determined entirely by God’s sovereign election, and...
I have a very pessimistic outlook on human nature. I genuinely believe in the statement made by St. Augustine, in his writing of the “City of God”, that the “man is marked by the original sin” and has “fallen after disobeying God”. All this, of course is in reference to the sin
In The Essential Elements of Sin, Towns (2012), strategically breaks down the two concepts of conditional sin and temptation further into depth. When it comes to understanding the idea of temptation, Towns (2012) states that acting upon and setting that desire into motion is what causes man to commit an actual sin. When man is placed in a situation in which he is being tempted to sin, that temptation he is feeling should not be confused with a natural human instinct. James 1:13 (International Standard Version) states, “when someone is tempted, he should not say, ‘I am being tempted by God,’ because God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone.” Hence, it was Adam and Eve’s reaction of giving into the serpent’s lies that caused them to fall into temptation and disobey
Sin has been defined as many things by many groups throughout the ages. In the Old Testament it was defined as a failure to hit a mark or an attitude of rebellion. In the New Testament it is defined as failing to conform to a standard or as a condition. However, we must decide for ourselves what it means in our own lives. The Holy Spirit will guide us in our definition. Without being taught right and wrong we still are able to decipher between the two.
Views on original sin have changed and are different in all branches of the Christian religion. The first sin has impacted every Christian’s life if from the day that they were born since most, if not all, Christian families have their children baptized when they’re infants. With culture changing all the time so did original sin with it; many people have changed their views on the first sin because of the culture that they live or lived in. Finally, original sin is a highly debated topic that more people of all religions should to know to fully understand the origin of
Anderson, Gary A. "What Is A Sin?" Sin A History. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009. 3-14. Print.
The first man created on earth was Adam and since he sinned, it was passed down to his descendants. Psalms 51:5 states, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.” It is natural to sin because we are sinners by nature. If we are willing to participate in sin all of our lives and choose not to give it up, we will push ourselves further away from God. Since we are born is sin we ask ourselves, “What would Jesus do?” to avoid taking action of sin. Willard claims that “it is not sufficient to see us boldly and confidently through a crisis, and can find ourselves driven to despair over powerless tension it will put us through (Willard 9). Our actions are what makes us further or closer to the lord and many of us choose “to withhold our bodies from religion and that can exclude religion from our lives” (Willard 31). God is a forgiving God when we ask for forgiveness of things that we do wrong in sin. People want to transform their life over to God, will be considered to be a different kind of person in which 2 Corinthians 5:17 states, “Old things that have passed away and, behold all things have become new” (Willard 20). God loves us no matter what we do but it is best to give ourselves to