Question About God's Love In Christianity, Muslim views on Christian doctrines Options

[famdigy]

If the Christian God is loving, merciful and forgiving. Why hasn't he forgiven Adam? Instead he has made all of Adam's children pay for his original Sin.

I find it difficult to come to terms with the idea of a loving and forgiving God who has decided to punish humanity for one man's sins, since the beginning of Human life up until 2000 years ago.

[Brammal]

If the Christian God is loving, merciful and forgiving. Why hasn't he forgiven Adam? Instead he has made all of Adam's children pay for his original Sin.

Different Christians would have different views on that, there really isn't a standard explanation.

However this is generally used as a ethical "trap". By implying that everyone is tainted with terrible, terrible, mortal sin from birth (which is ludicrous), the door is opened for salvation by "faith" (also ludicrous).

In other words "original sin" is just a tool that is used to worry people and make questions where there normally wouldn't be any.

I take it from your profile that you are a Muslim. So don't worry about the strange lies that some Christians have concocted against God. He doesn't operate unfairly like that. According to the Quran everyone will receive the reward/punishment due to them and none will be treated unfairly. However, if you have Christian friends telling you these things you might show them:

Ezekiel 18:20: "The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him."

If a son isn't even held accountable for the actions of his own father, then how much less would be many decedents of Adam be held accountable for his.

[Emilygreen]

So don't worry about the strange lies that some Christians have concocted against God

Wow, that sounds a little harsh. Christians may be mistaken, but I think they are generally sincere in their beliefs.

According to standard Christian theology, no one is punished for Adam's sins, except Adam himself! Rather, we only receive punishment for our own actions. What was significant about Adam is that he first introduced sin into a perfect world. God allowed this to happen because he wanted to give humans the ability to choose between good and evil. So even though we must live in a world tainted by evil, we still have the freedom to choose God and righteousness. Yet we all still sin, so we are just as guilty as Adam.

[Brammal]

So don't worry about the strange lies that some Christians have concocted against God

According to standard Christian theology, no one is punished for Adam's sins, except Adam himself! Rather, we only receive punishment for our own actions. What was significant about Adam is that he first introduced sin into a perfect world. God allowed this to happen because he wanted to give humans the ability to choose between good and evil. So even though we must live in a world tainted by evil, we still have the freedom to choose God and righteousness. Yet we all still sin, so we are just as guilty as Adam.

That is one take on the issue of original sin. But you say "Yet we all still sin, so we are just as guilty as Adam." Why the necessity of comparison to Adam? (that's a rhetorical question, I know the answer, I'm just setting it up )

Could you just as easily say: "Yet we all still sin, so we are just as guilty as Bob who committed adultery," or "....Rick who stole that pen from work"? You could, but that would bring the concept of sin closer to home. For people who do really wicked things it's nice to have a scapegoat where they can say "we all sin and are just as guilty as ______".

In fact there are different levels of sin. A dishonest person would love to pretend that they can have routine illicit sex, get drunk, slander people etc. and be in the same sin "level" as someone who smoked a joint when they were 15 or cheated on a test.

The main lesson to be learned from Adam's situation is: God tells a person not to do something -> person does it anyway -> God punishes person.

It does not effect me if God chooses to forgive someone a major sin or punish another fully for a minor one. There is no "but we're all sinners!" cushion I can lean on to make me feel better about my choices.

My experience in Christianity is that the doctrine of Original Sin is perpetrated by people with major sins who need to feel better, or excuse them and is repeated by those that they repeat it to. Who in fact, are themselves, being led down the path to greater infractions with the ready-made scapegoat of Adam's "original sin".

This post has been edited by Brammal: May 5 2009, 11:34 AM

[Emilygreen]

Brammal,
I think Christian scholars and theologians would agree that the doctrine of original sin should not be used to justify any manner of bad behavior. When I said that we are all just as guilty as Adam, I didn't mean that all our sins were equal, just that we are all guilty of sinning in general. According to Christian theology, the correct response to this guilt is repentence, not jusitfication.

In fact there are different levels of sin. A dishonest person would love to pretend that they can have routine illicit sex, get drunk, slander people etc. and be in the same sin "level" as someone who smoked a joint when they were 15 or cheated on a test.

Interesting comparison. I would have thought cheating on a test worse than getting drunk.

[jzere]

Come to think of it, maybe the "original sin" has been overplayed; it appears that in both beliefs u have to "believe" in order to get access to heaven.

ma'a salaam.



****amru Hu kun****