Original Sin?

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Early Christians felt the need to define their faith so the followers of Christ would not be swallowed up by more prominent religions or misunderstood and persecuted. One of the first concerns they had to address was the concept of sin. As early as the third century, the ancient theologian Tertullian created the term "original sin." Tertullian proposed that original sin occurred because our souls became sinful since we are the offspring of the original parents' sin, that of Adam and Eve.

All the ancient Church leaders did not agree upon original sin. The "Cappadocian fathers" believed we were initially created in blessedness and grace. Adam and Eve misused their freedom, but that guilt did not continue throughout generations. Meanwhile, Ambrose of Milan and Augustine ignored the Cappadocian Fathers' beliefs and took Tertullian's understanding of sin and took it to a more hopeless understanding.

In Introducing the Reformed Faith, by Donald McKim, the first parents [Adam & Eve] "plunged the whole human race into a devastating condition of sinfulness that affects the whole of humanity and the whole human person." Christian theologians spent the next 1700 years attempting to reclaim a reason for human hope and grace. How can redemption be possible if we are corrupt to our core being?

The simple answer is Jesus Christ. However, this raises questions like, if you do not believe in our Triune God, are you damned by your original sin? How do you know you believe enough to be cleansed of that original sin? The questions are complex and many. My answer is to move beyond the confusing theological conundrum. Instead, focus on who you know God to be through Scripture. God may reprimand, but God's love is redeeming, grace-filled, and calls us to become forgiven and whole. Do not let the conflicted concept of original sin keep you from trusting in God's love, your affirmation of self, or your belief in the essential goodness of others.