TEACHING NOTES ‌ Introduction In this session we are going to take a historical look at the doctrine of original sin. While most Christians believe some form of this doctrine, there is a difference between how Catholics and Protestants define it and how the Bible and eastern Christians define it. In other words, there is a difference between western and eastern Christians on the doctrine of original sin. ‌ Original Sin ‌ Eastern View: The fall of Adam resulted in exile from Paradise (Garden of Eden) and the tree of life, which led all humanity to be enslaved to sin and death. Since all humans are born into a world ruled by sin, all humans become sinners. ‌ Western View: The fall of Adam brought a curse on humanity that causes all humans to be born as sinners who are guilty of Adam’s sin at birth. This curse or sin nature is transmitted through procreation. ‌ Eastern View: All people become sinners. Western View: All people are born sinners. ‌ How Original Sin became Original Guilt ‌ Augustine of Hippo (AD 354—430) Although all Christians before Augustine believed that Adam’s sin impacted all humanity, Augustine was the first to say that all people were literally inside Adam when he sinned and all are guilty of Adam’s sin from conception. ‌ Here are a few highlights from Augustine’s life: - Born 354 in Thagaste (now Algeria) North Africa. His mother Monica was a Christian and his father Patricius was a pagan until becoming a Christian on his deathbed. Augustine’s family were upper class Roman citizens. ‌ - At age 17 Augustine went to Carthage to study rhetoric. From age 17—30 he rejected his mother’s religion and lived a hedonistic lifestyle (pursued carnal pleasure). During this time Augustine also joined a religion called Manichaeism. ‌ - Manichaeism originated in the 3rd century AD in Persia (modern Iran) with the self-proclaimed prophet Mani. Mani believed that the teaching of Zoroaster, Buddha, and Jesus were incomplete and that he is the final prophet. He taught that God (good) and the devil (evil) are equally eternal and neither is all-powerful. The creation is a result of the battle between good and evil. Augustine was in Manichaeism for about 10 years and many of Augustine’s later ideas are only found in Manichaeism. ‌ - Around age 17 Augustine began a relationship with a young woman who gave birth to his son Adeodatus in 372, but they were never married. Augustine ended this relationship in 385 and planned to marry an upper class 11 year old girl, but became a Christian and ended the engagement to become a Christian priest. ‌ - Before he became a Christian, Augustine studied philosophy and rhetoric. He was fond of classical philosophers and Neoplatonism. Plato (428—348 BC) popularized the idea that the soul is immortal or eternal. Though the Bible does not teach that the soul is eternal, Augustine continued to teach this Platonic view of the soul in his Christian writings. ‌ - Augustine became a Christian at age 31 in Milan and was discipled by St. Ambrose the Bishop of Milan. Augustine moved back home and was ordained as a priest in Hippo, Algeria in 391. He became the Bishop of Hippo in 395 and spent the rest of his life preaching and writing. ‌ - Augustine’s teaching and writings greatly influenced the western church and many of his doctrines are still official doctrines of Roman Catholicism. ‌ Augustine’s Latin Manuscript Augustine could not read Hebrew and hated Greek, because he could barely read Greek. Augustine spoke, read, and wrote Latin. This is important because the Latin translation of the Bible has many flaws that show the influence of western doctrines. Once we see what Augustine’s Latin text says, we can see how it shaped his theology—especially in regards to original sin. Romans 5:12 (Paul's Greek Text) “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned” ‌ Romans 5:12 (Augustine's Latin Text) “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, [in him] all sinned” ‌ The Greek text that Paul wrote says, “because all sinned.” The Latin text says, “in him all sinned” or “all sinned in him.” ‌ Augustine’s Original Sin/Guilt ‌ Sin is Transmitted Through Procreation Augustine took Rom. 5:12 to mean that when Adam sinned, everyone else sinned too. Augustine argues that since all people came from Adam (and Eve), all people were literally “in Adam” when he sinned. He actually defines “in Adam” to mean that all people were literally inside Adam’s “seed.” Therefore, he argues, when Adam sinned all who came from Adam sinned with him or “in him.” ‌ Death is God’s Punishment for Sin Augustine also wrote that death was God’s punishment for Adam’s sin. This was an important deviation from earlier Christians. Christian writers before Augustine wrote that death was a gift from God that limited sin. In this view, death was an act of grace for sinners so that humanity would not be eternally sinful. Augustine repurposed death as a punishment for sin. ‌ “if they had not sinned, they would not have experienced any kind of death; but that, having become sinners, they were so punished with death, that whatsoever sprang from their stock should also be punished with the same death.” — Augustine, The City of God, chap. 3 ‌ Theophilus of Antioch (AD 180) “And God showed great kindness to man in this, that He did not suffer him to remain in sin for ever; but, as it were, by a kind of banishment, cast him out of Paradise, in order that, having by punishment expiated, within an appointed time, the sin, and having been disciplined, he should afterwards be restored.” — Theophilus, To Autolycus 2.26 ‌ Infants Are Guilty of Sin As a result of Augustine’s ideas about original sin/guilt, he taught that infants are also guilty of Adam’s sin, even before they are born. Therefore, infants who are aborted or stillborn do not inherit eternal life. Augustine knew this was hard to accept so he taught that dead infants do not suffer in purgatory. They die guilty of sin and will not go to heaven, but they are also not punished in purgatory or hell. The Catholic church developed this into the doctrine of infant limbo (not in heaven, but also not in hell). ‌ “Concupiscence [sin is transmitted in conception], therefore, as the law of sin which remains in the members of this body of death, is born with infants.” — Augustine, On Merit and the Forgiveness of Sins, and the Baptism of Infants, Book 2, Chapter 4 ‌ Consequences of Augustin’e Views The western church (Roman Catholics) adopted many of Augustine’s teachings, but the eastern church rejected them. Augustine’s views were challenged by other Christians on biblical and logical grounds. This led the western church to develop additional doctrines to make Augustine’s views work. ‌ How was Jesus sinless if He was a son of Adam? If Jesus was fully human (Son of Man), and all humans inherit the sin of Adam, then Jesus was born guilty of Adam’s sin. The western church answers this question by inventing the idea that Mary was born sinless. This Catholic doctrine is referred to as the immaculate conception of Mary. ‌ Freewill vs Determinism If all humans are born sinners who are guilty of Adam’s sin, how can anyone have freewill? Augustine’s answer was determinism—that no one really has freewill. For Augustine, God has predestined all things. The entire church (east and west) rejected this view at first, but later Augustine’s views were adopted in the west. ‌ Penal-Substitutionary Atonement Since Augustine taught that death was God’s punishment for sin, a doctrine developed that God could not forgive us unless someone was punished for everyone’s sin. God had such wrath for sin that He could not forgive us until He poured out His wrath on Jesus. So, God the Father punished (penal) Jesus in our place (substitution) so He could forgive us (atonement). This is now the predominate view of the cross (atonement) in the western church. In this view, Jesus came to save us from God’s wrath or Jesus came to save us from God. The eastern church rejected this view entirely. In the eastern church, the cross was a rescue mission where Jesus delivered (saved) us from sin and death so that we could be reconnected with God. ‌ The Reformers and Augustine The Protestant Reformers (Martin Luther, John Calvin) loved Augustine’s views. While they reject certain Roman Catholic doctrines, they adopted Augustine’s views of original sin/guilt and determinism. Modern Protestants are still being taught Augustine’s view of original sin/guilt, death as punishment, and many also believe in determinism (Calvinism). All Protestant denominations came from the Protestant Reformers (Luther, Calvin), all of whom loved Augustinian doctrines. ‌ “But original sin enters into us; we do not commit it, but we suffer it. We are sinners because we are the sons of a sinner. A sinner can beget only a sinner, who is like him.” — Martin Luther, Commentary on Romans ‌ “…our nature is not only utterly devoid of goodness, but so prolific in all kinds of evil, that it can never be idle…that everything which is in man, from the intellect to the will, from the soul even to the flesh, is defiled and pervaded with this concupiscence…that the whole man is in himself nothing else than this.” — John Calvin, Institutes of Christian Religion, Book 2, Chap. 1, Sect. 8 ‌ “…all since the Fall are conceived in sin, and brought forth in iniquity, and so by nature children of wrath, and servants of sin, subjects of death, and all other calamities due to sin in this world and forever, being considered in the state of nature, with relation to Christ.” — 1644 London Baptist Confession ‌ “Adam fell through the temptations of Satan; and his fall overthrew, not only himself, but his posterity, making them sinners by his disobedience; so that we are by nature children of wrath, and defiled from the womb, being shapen in iniquity and conceived in sin.” and “Therefore consent not with those who hold that God hath given power to all men to believe to salvation.” — 1655 Midland Confession of Faith ‌ “Our first parents, by this sin, fell from their original righteousness and communion with God, and we in them whereby death came upon all: all becoming dead in sin, and wholly defiled in all the faculties and parts of soul and body.” — 1689 Baptist Confession ‌ What does the Bible teach? Now that we know the history of the doctrine of original sin, and the difference between the western and eastern views, we need to find out what the Bible says and does not say. ‌ Genesis 2:16–17 ESV 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” ‌ The tree of the knowledge of good and evil = The moment Adam and Eve eat of this tree they learn about evil and its power. They could have learned about evil from God if they had been patient. But they decided to learn for themselves by experience. They disobeyed God and submitted to the power of evil. ‌ You shall surely die = Literally from the Hebrew, “dying you will die.” Adam would not die immediately, but would separated from the source of eternal life. In the Garden of Eden, the tree of life was the source of eternal life. This is why God put them out of the garden, so that they would not live forever in sin (Gen. 3:22-24). The early Christians taught that this exile from eternal life was God’s act of mercy to limit sin and allow us to repent. ‌ Genesis 3: Who/What is Cursed? The Augustinian view of original sin/guilt teaches that all mankind is cursed with a sin nature from birth. Each person after Adam is conceived in sin and are guilty even before they are born. However, God said none of this in Gen. 3. ‌ Genesis 3:14–15 ESV 14 The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. 15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” ‌ Cursed are you = The serpent/satan/sin is cursed. Since satan was a spiritual being created by God to do His will, he is now a cursed being who will no longer be in communion with God. ‌ He shall bruise/crush your head = The serpent is told that he will be defeated by one specific offspring of the woman (which is Jesus). ‌ Genesis 3:16 ESV 16 To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.” ‌ To the woman = This is not a curse, but merely an explanation of the natural consequences of sin. The Hebrew word for “childbearing” here is not about the physical act of childbirth, but about “child raising.” Now that sin and death has been brought into the world, raising children will be painful in that kind of environment. Also, in a sinful world the relationship between husband and wife will be strained, because their sinful desires will be contrary to each other. ‌ Genesis 3:17–19 ESV 17 And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; 18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” ‌ Cursed is the ground because of you = Adam is not cursed. He will be sent out of the Paradise of the Garden of Eden into a harsh environment. Therefore, things will not grow as they did in the garden. The purpose of this difficultly is to remind Adam of the consequences of disobedience and lead him to repentance. ‌ Who/What is Cursed? 1. ‌The Serpent ‌2. The Ground ‌ HUMANS WERE NOT CURSED BY GOD. ‌ Genesis 4: Cain and Sin If the Augustinian view of original sin/guilt is correct, then we should expect the story of Cain and Abel to support this doctrine. However, in Gen. 4:6-7 God actually says the exact opposite of Augustine’s doctrine. ‌ Genesis 4:6–7 ESV 6 The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.” ‌ If you do well = Literally in Hebrew, “If you do good...” If Cain was born sinful without any freewill to do anything good, why would God command Cain to do good? Apparently, God thought that Cain had the ability to do good. ‌ Sin is crouching at the door = Notice that “sin” is portrayed as a crouching snake (Gen. 3:1). “The door” refers to the entrance to the garden. God says that sin is outside of Cain trying to control him. God is saying the opposite of what Augustine taught. Cain was not born a sinner, but was born into a world where sin/satan is trying to rule humanity. ‌ Its desire is contrary to you = Literally, “his desire is against you.” Apparently, God thought that sin’s desire was contrary to Cain’s desire. ‌ Sin/satan is against humanity and wants all of us dead. Sin is trying to enslave humanity so that all of them would die. Jesus came to rescue us from the power of sin, satan, and death. ‌ You must rule over it (him) = If all people are born without freewill and without the ability to say “no” to sin, then why did God command Cain to rule over sin? Apparently, Cain was able to choose to rule over sin or let sin rule over him. We find out in the next verse that Cain decided to let sin rule and kills his brother (Gen. 4:8). This was the moment that Cain became a sinner. ‌ Romans 5:12 ESV 12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned ‌ One man = Paul is referring to Adam. ‌ Death through sin = God told Adam in Genesis 2:17 “but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Paul wrote in Romans 6:23 “For the wages [result] of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” ‌ Death spread to all men = Notice Paul did not say that sin or guilt spread to all men, but that death spread to all men. The modern doctrine of original sin teaches that Adam’s fall cursed humanity with Adam’s guilt and a sin nature. Augustine taught that SIN spread to all men. However, that is not what Paul wrote. Paul only says that DEATH spread to all men. The next phrase tells us how. ‌ Because all sinned = The Greek word translated “because” (epi) is a preposition followed by the active verb hamartano (sinned). In short, the Greek grammar clearly indicates that death came to everyone because everyone committed sin. ‌ What does the Bible teach? Adam sinned and was exiled from God’s life-giving presence into a world ruled by sin/satan and death. ‌ All people are born into a sin-ruled world. Therefore, all people will become sinners. ‌ Jesus, the Son of Man (Adam), came as the new Adam to do what Adam failed to do. Jesus defeated sin/satan and has brought the life-giving presence of God back to all humanity. ‌ Thoughts to Consider If you were raised in western Christianity, you were most likely taught Augustinian doctrines. ‌ If Augustine’s views were new in the 5th century AD, and he was not reading the original languages of the Bible, should we trust him? ‌ Conclusion The eastern church (experts in Greek) rejected Augustine’s new ideas and continued teaching the most ancient doctrines. ‌ If the Bible argues against the views of any later Christian writer, we must receive and teach what the Bible teaches. ‌ Additional Passages ‌ Ephesians 2:1–3 ESV 1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. ‌ Augustinian View: All people are born spiritually dead, can do nothing good, and can only carry out sinful desires. ‌ Paul’s View: We become dead by acting “in the trespasses and sins” and “following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air” and living “in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body.” Paul says noting about being BORN dead, but that we become dead by sinning. ‌ Job 15:14–16 ESV 14 What is man, that he can be pure? Or he who is born of a woman, that he can be righteous? 15 Behold, God puts no trust in his holy ones, and the heavens are not pure in his sight; 16 how much less one who is abominable and corrupt, a man who drinks injustice like water! ‌ Augustinian View: This passage is clear that man cannot be pure or righteous and is abominable and corrupt from birth. ‌ Rebuttal: First, this passage says nothing about being sinful from birth. It simply says that a person who “drinks injustice like water” is impure and unrighteous. Second, Job 15 is not quoting God, but quoting Eliphaz the Temanite (one of Job’s “friends”). God says in Job 42:7 “After the Lord had spoken these words to Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite: ‘My anger burns against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.’” God says that what Eliphaz and his two friends are wrong. This is why context is vital when reading the Bible. ‌ Psalm 51:5 ESV 5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. ‌ Augustinian View: This passage clearly teaches that all people are conceived and born as sinners. ‌ Rebuttal: First, ancient Jewish authors who commented on this verse understood David to be talking about how his mother sinned in how he was conceived. They believed that David’s mother did something sinful in order to get David’s father to sleep with her (similar to the story of Judah and Tamar in Gen. 38). No ancient author taught Augustine’s view. Second, David is speaking of himself and not of all humanity. Obviously, not everything that is true of David is true for everyone. Third, the Psalms are poetic literature which includes metaphor, hyperbole, and symbolism. We must be careful when interpreting the Psalms that we are not taking a statement of hyperbole literally and applying it all people.