Doctrine of Original Sin
The Bible says that God will "judge the world in righteousness" (Psalm 9:8). But how could God judge the world if this Doctrine were true? What of the pagans who are lost without ever hearing the Gospel? If this doctrine is true, when they die without ever hearing the Gospel and having a chance to be saved, they are doomed to hell. Justice requires that non-believers have a chance to hear the Gospel while still on earth and be saved. (Fundamentalists claim that, at the end of time, there will be a bodily resurrection of all humans who ever lived and everyone will then be given a chance to believe and go to heaven. If true, what judgment will there be for God to make? Presumably, everyone will convert. Under such conditions, how is justice served? Should not the faith and good works of believers be rewarded to a greater degree than those who lived their life outside Christianity and only converted at the end?)
There is a conflict between original sin and the notion that sin is personal and nontransferable. No man can sin for, or be made guilty for, the sin of another man (Ez. 18:20, Deut. 24:16).
6. It makes Jesus a sinner.
The Doctrine of Original Sin makes Jesus a sinner. The advocates of the Doctrine quote Job 14:4 and 15:14 to teach that men are born sinners:
"Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? Not one" (Job 14:4).
"What is man, that he should be clean, and he that is born of woman, that he should be righteous?" (Job 15:14).
These texts supposedly teach that a sinner will always produce another sinner. But if the Doctrine is true, Mary, the mother of Jesus, was also born a sinner. Thus, Jesus also was born a sinner. This is because he took on the same human nature as other men.
Augustine tried to finesse this point by teaching that sin is transmitted through the lust of procreation. Since Jesus was born of a virgin, he was not born through lust and therefore was not born with the same sinful nature as man. However, the notion of being "born in lust" raises a problem, for it implies that the original sin is transmitted through the male's semen. However, Christianity teaches that the soul is not transmitted with the semen but is created afresh with each person. How, then, can it inherit the sin of Adam?
The Bible does not teach that the virgin birth of Jesus was intended to keep him from being born with original sin. The Bible teaches that the reason for the virgin birth of Jesus was so that God could take on a human nature, become a man, and dwell among us (Luke 1:31-35, John 1:14, Gal. 4:4, Matt. 1:1). The Doctrine of Original Sin either makes Jesus a sinner or it must deny his humanity.
7. Another problem is the idea of each person's "age of accountability."
Children are not morally accountable until they know the difference between right and wrong, but this common sense notion is inconsistent with the idea of original sin (Isaiah 7:16, Deut. 1:39).
8. The idea of free will is inconsistent with the Doctrine.
Men cannot sin unavoidably because of an inborn sinful nature and be free at the same time. We cannot be moral agents, for moral agency implies freedom. But to be consistent, those who believe in the Doctrine must give up the idea that they are free moral agents, for if we sin unavoidably because of an inborn sinful nature, our will is not free.
Bible Texts used to support Original Sin
What makes this incredibly illogical Doctrine believable to some is the fact that there are verses in the Bible that appear to teach it. As detailed examination shows, however, the verses have to be viewed in a distorted way to be interpreted as implying original sin.
1. Psalm 51:7 - "Indeed, in quiet was I born, and in sin my mother conceived me."
The above passage would teach that men are born sinners, if it were meant to be taken literally. But the language of this text is figurative, not literal. Both context and reality demand a figurative interpretation. For example, compare Psalm 51:5 with Job 1:21, which says, "Naked I came forth from my mother's womb, and naked shall I go back again." If Psalm 51:7 can be interpreted literally to teach that David and all other men are born sinners, Job 1:21 can be interpreted literally to teach that Job and all other men will some day go back into their mother's womb.
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