Post by cgpb on Dec 8, 2015 1:58:05 GMT -8
JEWISH POSITION ON ORIGINAL SIN
Judaism doesn’t believe in the doctrine of original sin but teaches that man enters the world free of sin with a soul that is pure, innocent and untainted. Man sins because he is not a perfect being, and not because he is inherently sinful and sin is overcome by sincere repentance, obedience, showing mercy etc…
Jews hold that this is a consistent theme throughout the Hebrew Bible and the main scriptures used to support their position include:
Genesis 4:7
Deuteronomy 30:11-14
Jonah 3:10
Ezekiel 33:19
Ezekiel 18
Isaiah 55:6
Isaiah 1:16
Jeremiah 36:3
2 Chronicles 7:14
Daniel 4:24
However, on closer examination, the Hebrew position on inherent sin can’t make sense to sound reasoning and a realistic view of the world for the following reasons.
* Genesis 4:7 is a verse used to justify the Jewish position. The argument is that because God tells Cain that he can rule over his sin, it therefore shows that sin isn’t inherent. However, God is clearly reasoning with Cain in order to convince him of the sin and folly of his anger and discontent, and to bring him into a good temper again so that further mischief might be prevented. God is giving Cain a choice between life and a blessing if he does what is right or death and a curse if he does what is wrong. What God is really telling Cain is that sin is waiting to pounce on him but that he doesn’t have to give in to it. This has nothing to do with sin not being inherent.
* If God knew that people could truly overcome their sin nature just by telling them they could, why would God would have gone through all the trouble of instituting all those blood sacrifices as laid out in the book of Leviticus? Would a loving and Creator God have had all those innocent animals killed just for the sake of it?
* If we are born pure, then where did the inclination to do bad (or sin later) come from?
* If man sins because he isn’t a perfect being, then what causes this imperfect state or where did this imperfect state come from?
* If people are born sinless but chose to sin later, then why isn't there one person in all human history who chose not to sin later but remain SINLESS?
People can choose whether to remain single or be married, and the evidence is that you find both the single and married in this world. But this isn't the case with the choice of sin.
Why isn't there that one perfect person in the world who has chosen not to sin?
* Why do people die? The Bible in the book of Genesis shows that the result of Adam’s sin led to spiritual and physical death for all mankind.
"for when you eat of it you will surely die" (Genesis 2:17)
Based on the above scripture, if people choose to sin later, then there must be those who choose not to sin and therefore don’t die.
* If people choose to sin later, why do they do so? Are they that mad to just want to choose to destroy themselves according to the Covenant curses as laid out in Deuteronomy 28?
* Why is there so much evil in the world?
* Why do people keep on sinning even when they have good intentions not to?
For example, King David was a man after God's heart, so why did he sin with Bathsheba? One may say free will but that then takes us back to the first point.
* The Bible talks of men who walked right before God but why are there no verses mentioning any perfect people who decided not to sin? Surely God would have included such people in His Word as He would want to set the standard for the rest of us.
*What does one do with the following verses?
"Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me."(Psalm 51:5)
" Even from birth the wicked go astray; from the womb they are wayward and speak lies" (Psalm 58:5)
"Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood" (Genesis 8:21)
"Even a child shows what he is by what he does; you can tell if he is honest and good?" (Proverbs 20:11)
'There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins" (Ecclesiastes 7:20)
• Why doesn’t (namely Leviticus) mention or make concession for people who would choose to remain in a sin free state and therefore be exempt from the requirements of the Day of Atonement?
• If we were born sinless, then God's justice would require Him to keep undoing the curses He pronounced on Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:16-19 every time someone was born and then re-inflict the curses on them the minute they chose to sin.
• Why does every civilization have so many laws to control human behavior? Surely it wouldn't be that necessary if we chose whether to sin. Why is the making of good people such an important project in all of human life? Clearly the world believes it is necessary.
Another argument that is used to try and refute original sin is the fact that babies are born innocent. However, innocence (or not knowing the difference between right and wrong) is different from having the inclination to sin later.
• Babies don't always remain babies. The time eventually comes when they start to reveal inherent sin even at an early age. This is why we see toddlers at a very young age displaying signs of sinful behavior like throwing things, tantrums, fighting over toys, pushing, excessive whining when they don't get what they want.
* Why is it necessary for parents and teachers to have to tell all kids
"Don't do this"
"Don't say that"
"Say thank you" etc….
• If babies are not born with inherent sin, then why do some babies die? How and why should the statement of Genesis 2:17 affect them?
The reality is that Judaism today has drifted from its true roots and much is NOT based upon the teachings of Moses (except in some things) but on the teachings of Maimonides. Much of Maimonides’ philosophical beliefs and what he taught clandestinely were the very opposite of what Moses and the Prophets believed - that is heresy to true Judaism! Maimonides is not Judaism's true roots. He was not a prophet of God but more of a philosopher. God did not perform miraculous signs through him like He did through Moses.
Some Jewish teachers in Talmudic times believed that death was a punishment brought upon mankind on account of Adam’s sin, but the dominant view was that man sins because he is not a perfect being, and not because he is inherently sinful.
CHRISTIAN POSITION
According to the statement found in Romans 5:12, hereditary sinfulness is inescapably transmitted to human beings because when Adam originally sinned, his sin was then imputed or passed on (kind of like a genetic defect) to each successive generation that followed.
“Therefore just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned” . (Romans 5:12-21)
Only acceptance of Jesus as savior from sin can redeem a person from sin. All those who do not accept Jesus as their savior from sin are condemned to eternal suffering in hell.
Sin falls into 2 categories.
Inherent sin and voluntary sin.
1. Inherent sin – every single person has inherited the sin nature from Adam. This is supported from scriptures like:
* "for no one living is righteous before you.” (Psalm 143:2)
* “Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous, no one who does what is right and never sins. " (Ecclesiastes 7:20)
* ”When they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin" (1 Kings 8:46 and 2 chronicles. 6:36)
* “But how can mere mortals prove their innocence before God?” (Job 9:2)
* “And all our righteous acts are like filthy rags.” (Isaiah 64:6)
* "Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me." (Psalm 51:5)
2. Voluntary sin – this is subject to inherent sin and then different factors like:
* A person’s understanding of God’s ways
* How much a person loves and fears God
* A person’s influences in life
* A person’s character etc…
The option to sin is what makes some people more righteous than others, but not exempt from inherent sin. People like Abraham and David are examples.
For example:
“Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God” (Genesis 6:9)
This description of Noah shows a righteous man in terms of voluntary sin but does not imply sinless perfection otherwise that would contradict inherent sin and its subsequent verses.
Other wise Noah would not have died.
The Bible is clear that the first man Adam was created perfect (Gen 1:26), was given free will (Gen 2:16-17) but used his free will to make the wrong choice resulting in the inherent sin nature for the rest of mankind (Gen 3). Free will continues to be a part of that inherited sin nature. The whole thing about choices is the ability to see those choices manifested. If I can't see the result of both a person who has chosen to sin and one who has chosen to remain sinless, then the argument is invalid.
Let me state this in another way.
John has the choice to travel either to the peaceful Galapagos islands or to dangerous Iraq.
For whatever reason, he chooses Iraq over the Galapagos islands. Once in Iraq, his decision has now subjected himself to make other choices regarding war, terrorism, bombings, etc...but whilst he is in Iraq, he still has other choices to make like how and where he will travel, protect himself, length of stay etc....
His choices in Iraq are a result of the fact that the initial choice to go to Iraq (or Galapagos) existed in the first place?
When someone claims that man is born sin free but chooses to sin later, one is in essence saying that John can choose what to do in Iraq even when the initial option of getting to Iraq doesn't exist in the first place. How is that possible?
Mod note: edited out a lot of blank space at the bottom. No content was changed. Dan