Up@dawn 2.0

Thursday, September 29, 2016

Original Sin


(H3) Original sin is the Christian doctrine of humanity's state of sin resulting from Adam and Eve's sin in the Garden of Eden. Basically, it says everyone is born with sin, evil inside them that they have done nothing to warrant. I have a very strong opinion against this doctrine. I have no doubt in my mind when I look in a newborn baby's eyes I see good, not evil. I think it is an absurd excuse to believe we are born with sin. People use this explanation to justify their own sins, if we are born with sin then that must be why I did what I did. I think we are born a blank slate, shaped by our actions and beliefs. Now, I do believe we are all born with the potential for sin, just as we are born with the potential for good. It is our choices that define who we are not some predestination doctrine. Each day each person makes choices that reflect who they are and for what they stand. Each heinous act committed by an individual could have been avoided if they had chosen differently: it has nothing to do being born bad. Some might make the argument of nature vs. nurture, but in the end it comes down to that person’s decision. I do not believe on any level that we are born with sin in our hearts, however, it is very easy to make a wrong choice, to commit sin. In the end, it is all about who you want to see, who you would be proud to see, when you look in the mirror and how to achieve that goal.

3 comments:

  1. I love your essay! Going against original sin is something I have always been on board with, especially in our Bible belt home. Do you believe in all forms of free will then? Or that while we all have choices, our choices have a certain predestination? Most who believe in original sin do not believe in free will as well.

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  2. I think you made some excellent points in your response! I think that viewing every person in terms of all the sins of the past is an extremely pessimistic view of the world. I think that each human possesses an individual soul, one that has not been affected by those before it. It's the clean slate that you described! It's up to us to shape our souls into who we are through objects of free will. Choosing sin may pollute one's soul but that pollution does not exist prior to a person's decision to sin. I think that people who do believe in original sin should also consider its counterpart; original good. If sins can be transmitted through generations and generations of people, can the goodness that we possess not also be carried on?

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    1. (H3) I like that response of original good, after all nature is about balance, you can't have sin with out good to compare it to.

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