Am I really biologically tied to Adam? And if so, does that mean that I have some sort of quasi-biological connection wherein all the abd stuff that I do is because of what Adam did thousands of years ago? It’s a tough act to folloow and an even harder sell among the intellectual (spiritual or not). What I’m talking about here is the religious concept of Original Sin. In classical theological terms, original sin is mans way of understanding evil or why bad things happen. So, we say, without saying it, that it’s because Adam and Eve (an allegorical story) messed up in the garden and so my blood is tainted with sin. I just can’t buy it!
I make mistakes because I was born into a world of hurt, a world of trouble, a world wherein people do dumb stuff. I sin (theologically speaking) because of the social environment that I come into, not because of some genetic blood flaw from thousands of years ago.
Let us not forget-
1-I am made in the image of God.
2-Thus, I am an original blessing.
3-My nature or roots are not flawed.
We are naturally, by the fact of our creation, members of one another and so what is true of society is true of us. This makes far more sense (intellectually and spiritually) to me than a biological premise. The real defect in man is not biological, but the fact that we’re not living out our true nature of God- LOVE! St. Thomas Acquinas put it this way, “The spirit of charity is in our hearts”. When we don’t respond to that spirit, all sorts of “sins” enter the picture.
Bottom line? You can’t be the LOVE that God is and sin.
Show me the LOVE and I’ll show you God!
As one loves, grace grows!
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