AJ113

WTF?

Many don't realize that Adams punishment had two sides of it. One was where his spirit person had become guilty of punishment, yet was able to be forgiven. While his physical person had been punished once and for all. Though he soul was forgiven, his flesh could not be renewed anymore. We only inherit the guilty of the flesh, but not that of the spirit. We are born with the flesh of Adam, but we are not born with the spirit of Adam.

So how come christians have to be baptised before they can enter heaven?

So, in a way, some might say we inherit the sin of Adam, because we have inherited the punishment. But then we can't say the same about the spirit, because if we die as children, our soul is saved.

References please.

Okay, I am only giving what I have come to understand. I am not looking to argue about whether or not Adam existed, or if anything in the Bible is true. The question was about our belief of sin being passed down. So it has to be answered from the point of view of a Christian.

Do you mean yourself, or are you acting as a spokesperson for others?

Doctor X

First, Adam is/was a myth.

Second, the fetus that was aborted would have become a serial killer or, worse, a country-western singer.

Thus with such rationalizations.

Try not to elevate a "selling point"--a method to convert and maintain allegience--as something deeper than it is.

--J.D.

Secular Pinoy

And that does not go well with Ezekiel 18:20, which says The person who sins shall die. A child shall not suffer for the iniquity of a parent, nor a parent suffer for the iniquity of a child; the righteousness of the righteous shall be his own, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be his own. . So while the bible says that we will not suffer for the sins of our parents, the bible also tells us that we will suffer for the sins of our parents, Adam and Eve.

winstonjen

Maybe the person could have grown up to be the next Tim McVeigh, or Osama bin Laden.

Bigotry is a domino effect. We are not responsible for acts our parents and ancestors do - we simply cannot affect their decisions.

Ronin

More importantly...where does Genesis (aka "God's Word") actually say that the Original Sin is passed on to the next generations?

In the fable...Adam and Eve and the serpent were punished for their despicable actions ~ but it only says the rest of us will kick snakes in the head and hurt our heels.

For some reason the only thing that was 'cursed' was the ground...I just don't get christianity.

Birth and death are naturally observable transitions that occur to all living things...even those that didn't eat from forbidden trees.

Who are we supposed to be saved from again?

winstonjen

Fundies.

I don't see why we need to be saved from ourselves.

HelenM

I don't think it says it in Genesis. I think the teaching on original sin is based on this Romans passage:

Romans 5:12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned--

Actually, the serpent was cursed too.

You're right that Adam and Eve were not 'cursed' per se although they suffered consequences because of what they did.

Helen

DMB

See quotes at this site.

Milton

That is so that their spirits can be renewed.

I said we do not have the same spirit, but I did not say that we cannot do as Adam did. Of course, we will eventually sin (sooner than later). In fact, we are far more likely to sin that Adam was. Our environment is filled with opportunity to sin, and we all fall.

1 Corinthians 15:45
So also it is written, "The first man, Adam, became a living soul." The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.

The above uses the example of Adam to explain the role of Jesus in the world. The First Adam was the beginning, from whom we received a fallen world; Jesus was the NEW beginning, from whom we receive a renewed 'spirit' ( or "born of the Spirit").

When we are forgiven and renewed, we do not have a renewal of the body--at least not yet. So that way we have both natures, that of the First Adam, and that of the Last Adam.

In Genesis (5:3) it says "When Adam had lived one hundred and thirty years, he became the father of a son in his own likeness, according to his image..."

Of course it is what I have come to understand. Some may find my explanation to be helpful, while others may not understand it, because of their attachment to their respective traditions. But this is Biblical, and it is related to the question at the top of the thread, which is about us inheriting sin from Adam.

Milton

Actually, I think this passage might be the one,

Psalms 51:5 - Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.