Original Sin Flashcards
What are the three Images and symbols in Genesis 3?
1) GARDEN => Symbolic of the World (the good world God created).
2) THE SERPENT => Symbolic of the Tempter / Satan: Presence that wishes to take humans away from their ultimate good; Personal Presence of evil that wishes to get us off track.
3) TREE (The most significant) => Symbolic of limitations of a creature (of creature-hood); Not an arbitrary command; Parameters and limitations of being a creature.
• Note: Temptation does not begin as a denial of God, but as putting one’s self in opposition to God, a doubt in fulfilling the covenant —> Humans made an initial decision not to accept these limitations.
• At the heart of sin is a DENIAL/REFUSAL of limitation
What are the six consequences of the Fall?
1) A loss of the state of original holiness/justice (i.e. state of grace).
2) Human beings come to be afraid of God (diff. from “fear of the Lord”).
3) Our self-control is impaired (Damaged, wounded, impaired =» BUT NOT destroyed/obliterated).
4) Partnership between man and women is damaged.
5) Harmony with creation is disrupted (“Our relationship with creation is damaged.”)
6) Death becomes a part of the equation as a part of the Fall (Augustine: “Possibility of not dying vs. Impossibility of dying”)
What is the Peccatum originale originans?
The sins of Adam and Eve were originating original sins. They were the first sins for the first human beings, but also the first sins for the human race. (The personal effects that original sin had on Adam and Eve.)
What is the Peccatum originale originatum?
This originated original sin is hereditary sin: it is inherited and so does not depend on any specific sin of a person
What is the New Testament Reference to the Fall?
Romans 5:12
• “Therefore, just as through one person sin entered the world, and through sin, death, and thus death came to all, inasmuch as all sinned.”: Through one person, sin entered the world & Through sin, death
• What is St. Paul talking about? Christ is understood as the NEW ADAM:
• Not only repair/reverse, but gives a gift FAR GREATER: Sin is overcome by obedience (as 1st sin is disobedience)
• Death entered the world, but through Christ we receive the gift of life
• Recognition that we inherit a sinful condition by the fact that we are (that we exist)
According to St. Paul, what is the doctrine of Original Sin?
HUMAN NATURE IS TRANSMITTED TO US IN A FALLEN STATE.
• = THE LOSS OF GRACE AND THE WOUNDING OF OUR HUMAN NATURE SUFFERED BY OUR FIRST PARENTS, WHICH AFFECTS ALL LATER GENERATIONS
What are the two Heretical Teachings that Cause the Church to Refine Teaching + The Via Media?
- Pelagianism
- Protestantism
What does Pelagianism teach about Original Sin?
PELAGIANISM (late 4th - early 5th c.) Pelagius (monk from the British isles of the ascetic tradition).
• Problem =» A radical optimism about our human nature (HN is left intact); The Fall is not meaningful/significant for us.
• The Fall =» A bad environment we can fix; We can overcome this; We merit/earn heaven.
• Jesus is a good example - Perfect Obedience.
• Christianity is a MERITOCRACY: Our freedom is untouched by the Fall; We are in the same state Adam and Eve were
What does Protestantism teach about Original Sin?
PROTESTANTISM (16th c) (Luther, Calvin, Zwingli).
• Problem =» A radical pessimism about our human state (HN is ruined/depraved).
• The Fall is the most important thing for us (paramount event); We are merely dung; we are incapable of choosing the good.
• Jesus blocks our depravity from the Father; We remain corrupt/depraved; Jesus covers this up.
• Human freedom is destroyed; We are not capable of choosing/doing the good; “The Bondage of the Will”
• Baptism is a sign God has graced us, but our nature remains the same
What is the Via Media of the Catholic Church about Original Sin?
Realism - We are both/and.
• Original Sin is important - But it hasn’t destroyed/obliterated us.
• We are wounded -But the grace of Christ heals the wound/transforms us.
• We retain a fundamental goodness.
• Augustine opposes Pelagius / Trent opposes Protestantism
What does Augustine respond to Pelagius on Original Sin?
- We have inherited this condition because of our first parents.
- Methodological Move: The reality of original sin is abundantly clear because we baptize children.
- Baptism has always been understood as involving the remission of sins - What is the sin of a baby? Original Sin.
- Augustine pulls from the practice to prove the presence of Orig. Sin.
- Works backwards: Therefore, all must have Original Sin
What does the local council of Carthage affirm about Original Sin?
• This council embraces the thought of Augustine, and condemns that of Pelagius.
• It is going to affirm that the first human beings died because of sin.
• The “Indiculus” - “In Adam’s sin all human beings lost their power for good.… No one can come out of the depths of this fall unless lifted up by God.”
418 AD
What does the local synod of Orange affirm about Original Sin?
1) If anyone says that through the offense of Adam’s sin the whole person (body and soul) was not changed for the worse… such a one is misled by Pelagius and goes against scripture.
2) The synod affirms that the Fall did not harm Adam alone, but his descendants as well
What does Trent affirm about Original Sin? (5 elements)
1) The first human beings transgressed against God and thus lost the state of original holiness and justice, in doing so, they drew upon themselves the consequences of death. The whole Adam, body and soul, is changed for the worse because of this sin.
2) Adam’s sin harmed not only himself but all his descendants (not only the consequences of the sin, but the SIN ITSELF).
3) The sin of Adam is transmitted by propagation NOT imitation (to all) & cannot be taken away except by the remedies of Jesus Christ (i.e. not by human powers).
4) Newly born infants should be baptized (Why? Because they have inherited this woundedness).
5) The guilt/sin of original sin is remitted by the sacrament of baptism, all sin is taken away and all guilt is remitted.
* ) Final Paragraph: The decree does not include Mary: She is explicitly excluded from what was said
What does Paul VI affirm in Profession of Faith (1968 Paul VI’s creed for the year of Faith) on Original Sin?
- We believe that in Adam, all have sinned.
- This is not the original site humans were in before (No longer in a state of holiness and justice).
- The human nature we inherit is one deprived of the gift of grace, injured/limited in its natural powers.
- We believe that in our Lord Jesus Christ, by his sacrifice on the cross, redeemed us from all our sins (Original and Personal).
- We believe in and confess one Baptism instituted by Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins
