Inherited Sin?

Original sin is said to result from the Fall of Man, when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit of a particular tree in the Garden of Eden. This first sin ("the original sin"), an action of the first humans, is traditionally understood to be the cause of "original sin". The bible states plainly that Adam and Eve ate of the tree of Knowledge between Good and evil, and not of inheritance. Many Christians do not accept the doctrine indicated by the terms "original sin" or "ancestral sin" which are not found in the Bible. The doctrine is not found in other religions, such as Judaism, Hinduism and Islam. Genesis 2:16-17;3:6 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. Augustine (354-430) invented the concept of Original Sin as we have it today. From the Encarta Multimedia Encyclopedia on Original Sin. Original Sin (Drawn mainly from one scripture verse taken out of context, that is Psalm 51:5.) in the Christian theology is the universal sinfulness of the human race, traditionally ascribed to the first sin committed by Adam. Theologians advocating original sin argue that the concept is strongly implied by the apostle Paul, the apostle John, and even by Jesus himself. Late Jewish apocalyptic writings attribute the world's corruption to a prehistoric fall of Satan, the temptation of Adam and Eve, and the resulting disorder, disobedience, and pain of human history. Saint Augustine appealed to the Paulineapocalyptic understanding of the forgiveness of sin, but he also included the notion that sin is transmitted from generation to generation by the act of procreation. He took this idea from 2nd-century theologian Tertullian, who actually coined the phrase original sin. His view of original sin was also to influence Western theology profoundly. Tertullian was one of the first church fathers to allude to a doctrine of original sin. He probably gained many of his ideas and concepts from his Platonic and Stoic training, influences, and readings. It was Tertullian who coined the term "Trinity" (Latin trinitas) from a twisting of pagan Plato's work of Timaeus. Medieval theologians retained the idea of original sin, and it was asserted by 16th-century Protestant reformers, primarily Martin Luther and John Calvin. Liberal Protestant theologians later developed an optimistic view of human nature incompatible with the idea of original sin. Tertullian of Carthage: (150-225) advised that: "Divine revelation, not reason, is the source of all truth." The struggle between reason and revelation has been the hallmark of the church. See Deism. The ancient Greeks knew the world was round and the earth circled the sun, but "revelation" said the opposite so scripture was right, reason was wrong. Augustine would further expand on this. Augustine's idea that we are responsible for Adam's "Fall" is a direct contradiction of Ezekiel 18 where God clearly says only the sinner will die and their children are innocent. The Bible never mentioned Original Sin as such, and Jesus never implied it in this manner. The doctrine of original sin is false because of the following reasons. It contradicts the Bible. It "adds to" and "takes from" the Bible. God warns against this in Deuteronomy 4:2 and Revelation 22:18-19. It makes Jesus a sinner or it must deny his humanity. It dishonors God making him arbitrary, cruel, and unjust. It makes God responsible for sin. Finally, God directly creates the soul of man (Ecclesiastes 12:7, Isaiah 42:5, Zechariah 12:1, and Hebrews 12:9). Does, has, or can God create anything that is inherently sinful? Of course not (Psalm 5:4 and Habakkuk 1:13) in fact, God can only create that which is good and perfect (James 1:17). There are a multitude of reasons not to accept the invented concepts, teachings, or doctrines of men. Ultimately, we must decide for ourselves to believe ideas that contradict the word of God or simply trust that God knows best. As he alone has all wisdom, power, and might in this and all universes created by, through, and for him.