3.1.2
Original Sin & God's Grace
Original Sin
Original Sin
Original sin is the doctrine that all humans are born in a state of sin. Original sin is not an action, but it is part of our nature.
Origins of original sin
Origins of original sin
- Original sin says we are born corrupt, damaged, broken and disharmonious.
- It begins with the sin of Adam and Eve, but is now passed on through sexual intercourse down the generations.
- St. Augustine wrote that ‘from the bad use of free will, there originated the whole train of evil, which . . . conveys the human race from its depraved origin, as from a corrupt root’.
Sex after the Fall
Sex after the Fall
- Since the Fall, every act of sex is tainted with lust.
- Sex is infected with concupiscence, and so the results of sex, children, are also tainted.
- ‘. . . even infants, not personally in their own life . . . have all broken God’s covenant’.
Original sin & humanity
Original sin & humanity
- Since we all suffer from original sin, we all have a weakened and divided will, often working at odds with our body.
- As St. Paul writes, ‘I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but the very thing I hate.’ (Romans 7:15)
- So, our selfish appetites can gain control over us.
- This can be either in the form of sexual lust, or the selfish desire for earthly things.
- St. Augustine argued that ‘we will what we love’, and since what we now love is our own satisfaction, that is what we pursue.
Original sin & society
Original sin & society
- The effects of original sin are also seen in our societies.
- Our friendships have become poisoned by selfishness.
- We have become corrupt and selfish, and this is a danger to other people.
- The lack of harmony is a problem for society since we only think of ourselves, and not the needs of the population.
- St. Augustine argued that we need strong, forceful political leadership to establish boundaries.
- This would enforce control over human behaviour.
God’s Grace
God’s Grace
St. Augustine argued that God's grace allows us to overcome sin and achieve the greatest good.
The Grace of God
The Grace of God
- St. Augustine wrote that ‘from the bad use of free will, there originated the whole train of evil, which . . . conveys the human race from its depraved origin, as from a corrupt root’
- He continued by saying that the only way to be freed from the consequences of original sin was ‘by the grace of God’. (City of God).
Grace & free will
Grace & free will
- St. Augustine uses the analogy of weighing scales.
- Our ‘captive free will’ is weighted in favour of sin, but grace can remove the weights.
- Grace can liberate our free will and thus restore our ability to make the right decisions.
1Philosophy of Religion
1.1Ancient Philosophical Influences: Plato
1.2Ancient Philosophical Influences: Aristotle
1.3Ancient Philosophical Influences: Soul, Mind, Body
1.4The Existence of God - Arguments from Observation
1.5The Existence of God - Arguments from Reason
1.6Religious Experience
1.7The Problem of Evil
1.8The Nature & Attributes of God
1.9Religious Language: Negative, Analogical, Symbolic
2Religion & Ethics
2.1Natural Law
2.2Situation Ethics
2.3Kantian Ethics
2.4Utilitarianism
2.5Euthanasia
3Developments in Christian Thought
3.1Saint Augustine's Teachings
3.2Death & the Afterlife
3.3Knowledge of God's Existence
3.4The Person of Jesus Christ
3.5Christian Moral Principles
3.6Christian Moral Action
3.7Development - Pluralism & Theology
3.8Development - Pluralism & Society
3.9Gender & Society
3.10Gender & Theology
Jump to other topics
1Philosophy of Religion
1.1Ancient Philosophical Influences: Plato
1.2Ancient Philosophical Influences: Aristotle
1.3Ancient Philosophical Influences: Soul, Mind, Body
1.4The Existence of God - Arguments from Observation
1.5The Existence of God - Arguments from Reason
1.6Religious Experience
1.7The Problem of Evil
1.8The Nature & Attributes of God
1.9Religious Language: Negative, Analogical, Symbolic
2Religion & Ethics
2.1Natural Law
2.2Situation Ethics
2.3Kantian Ethics
2.4Utilitarianism
2.5Euthanasia
3Developments in Christian Thought
3.1Saint Augustine's Teachings
3.2Death & the Afterlife
3.3Knowledge of God's Existence
3.4The Person of Jesus Christ
3.5Christian Moral Principles
3.6Christian Moral Action
3.7Development - Pluralism & Theology
3.8Development - Pluralism & Society
3.9Gender & Society
3.10Gender & Theology
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