Im not sure that theres a more twisted doctrine than the now popular version of the doctrine of original sin, that is, the belief that all human beings are born defiled and corrupted by the power of sin, and that they are also worthy and deserving of punishment, simply because they were born. The Westminster Confession of Faith says of original sin and the condemnation accompanying it: Every sin, both original and actual, being a transgression of the righteous law of God, and contrary thereunto, does in its own nature, bring guilt upon the sinner, whereby he is bound over to the wrath of God, and curse of the law, and so made subject to death, with all miseries spiritual, temporal, and eternal. The same confession defines these miseries eternal thusly: …the souls of the wicked are cast into hell, where they remain in torments and utter darkness… According to the popular - and twisted - version of the doctrine of original sin, God despises the manner in which we are born, and unless we are smart or privileged enough to lay hold of or be presented with, the opportunity of exchanging that nature for a better one through conversion, will punish us for eternity in a molten vat of wrath. Im not here attempting to call into question your beliefs about hell, well leave that for another time, but simply want for you to consider the inherent evilness of this doctrine. Think of Hitler who, in his madness, saw fit to to burn, gas and exterminate, certain groups and races of people. Most every class targeted for extermination by the Reich were targeted, not because of anything they had done, but because of the way they were born. They could not help this, and had no say in the matter, but it was enough, in Hitlers eyes, to justify their extermination. Today we look upon this behavior and have to push down our gag reflex. It makes us sick. The very thought of genocide turns our stomachs, and yet, does the doctrine of original sin, when presented as done above, really make God any better than Hitler? Oh, we can go with divine command theory, which states that anything God commands, even if it would normally be evil, becomes good, simply because God commanded it, but lets be honest, thats just us trying to get the God weve created out of the hot water His behavior continually lands Him in. The fact is that condemning someone for how they were born, and consigning them to either a concentration camp or hell, is inherently evil. We would never accept this behavior from a human, but for some reason call it holy when we imagine God engaging in it. Think for a moment - until you challenge doctrines like this, when you raise your hands on Sunday mornings and sing How Great is Our God, this is the type of behavior youre calling great! Dear friends, there is nothing holy, righteous, or just about genocide, or targeting people for extermination for the crime of being born. Nothing at all. If we want to talk about original sin, we must take a fresh look at the idea, and discover a better way of speaking about it. Original sin, to me, is not about how were born and how God responds to it. Its not about being born into sin, in the popular way of thinking about it. To me, it is a systemic problem, and not a genetic problem. If were born into sin, it is only in the sense that we are born and introduced to a system of violence and empire that is happy to use force to impose its will upon others. It is a system that is content with hurting others to get what it wants. This is the bottom line of what sin is, in my understanding, and being born into sin simply means that we are born in to a world that operates on these principles. As individuals, however, we are born living, moving and having our being in Christ! When we impress upon children, whether explicitly or implicitly, the idea that they are corrupt by virtue of the fact that they exist, we actually are encouraging them to behave in the very ways well later condemn them for. And when we tell them that God is angry at them for being born, we trample on the declared it is good! of creation, and spit on the Godheads masterpiece. I say enough with this foul idea! It is not scriptural and it is not helpful. Let us lay it in the waste bin of history and discover the power of original glory over original sin!
Posted on: Sun, 23 Nov 2014 19:43:28 +0000
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