Chrisitans and Sin

Augustine was a Christian who believed that we (mankind) inherit sin from Adam and Eve. They sinned in Eden by disobeying god, and since we are all their descendants then we are all contaminated by this sin. He believed that we were given perfection and fell from it. He believed that because God is perfect that he could not have created evil, and therefore not sin. He thought that sin came about as a lack of something. This ‘something’ is love and worship of God as we are now self-worshipping. He developed the theory of concupiscence. This means we are bound to desire and this leads us to sin. Because God created one human nature (without the ability to sin) and this nature ‘fell’ we now can only sin. It is for this reason that in is an important part in Augustine’s description of the human condi

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The belief that we are maturing and growing (almost learning from our sins) I find more valid. Both the Bible and Augustine are very damning of human kind but existentialism shows that sin is just one of many human attributes such as love and kindness. He believed that we have not lost perfection but that paradise can still be achieved (opposite to views about the fall). However the concept of sin IS more important to Augustine and the Bible when describing the human condition. Adam and Eve’s disobedience of God by eating the forbidden fruit (thus giving them knowledge and making them feel shame) meant God banished them from the Garden so the fall occurred. Another quote is from the prophet Jeremiah. Unlike Augustine, he did not take the story of Eden as actual and therefore did not believe in inherited sin.

To their followers all these descriptions of sin re valid and true. However, Iraneaus presents some hope.

“Who can understand the human heart? There is nothing else so deceitful.

Of course the Bible is very important in describing the human condition because it shows what people have been taught about sin. Iraneaus believed that God is perfecting his creation and that we CAN live without sin. They believe that God had a hand in creation, but that evolution happened (thus denouncing the existence of Eden).

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Approximate Word count = 994
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

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