Original Sin, Christianity’s most destructive teaching

The concept of original sin is the foundation for Christianity and its teachings. We will start this chapter with the account of man’s fall from grace in Genesis, chapter 3.

Genesis 3

Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:

3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

6 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 thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. 

7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

8 And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.

9 And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?

10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.

11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?

12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.

13 And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

14 And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it; cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;

19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

20 And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.

21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.

22 And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

23 Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.

24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cher-u-bims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

That’s the complete chapter of Genesis regarding the fall of man. Here’s what Wikipedia says. 

Original sin is, according to a doctrine in Christian theology, humanity’s state of sin resulting from the Fall of Man. While the Old Testament and the New, which frequently speak of the sinfulness of humans, do not contain the terms “original sin” and “ancestral sin” the doctrine expressed by these terms is claimed to be based on the teaching of Paul the Apostle in Romans 5:12-21 and 1 Corinthians 14:22. Some see the doctrine, which however is not found in Jewish theology, as implied in Old Testament passages such as Psalm 51:5 and Psalm 58:3.

In the history of Christianity this condition has been characterized in many ways ranging from something as insignificant as a slight deficiency, or a tendency toward sin yet without collective guilt, referred to as a “sin nature,” to something as drastic as total depravity or automatic guilt by all humans through collective guilt.

Western Christian tradition regards original sin as the general condition of sinfulness (lack of holiness) into which human beings are born, distinct from any actual sins that a person may or may not commit later. Different views exist as to whether a person bears real guilt or personal responsibility only for actual sins that they personally commit, while being tempted by original sin, or whether they bear actual guilt for the sins of ancestors.

Eastern Christian tradition too identifies original sin as physical and spiritual death, the spiritual death being the loss of “the grace of God, which quickened (the soul) with the higher and spiritual life.” Others see original sin also as the cause of actual sins: “a bad tree bears bad fruit” (Matthew 7:17, NIV), although, in this view, original and actual sin may be difficult to distinguish.

I will now give you the truth regarding the concept of original sin, and then we will see what A Course in Miracles has to say on the subject.

The concept of original sin has no validity of any kind. There is no scientific way of verifying it what so ever. In addition there in no way one could view the Bible as a historically accurate record of any kind.

But just for the sake of argument let’s take a similar example, extreme though this may be. Let’s use the example of an all White church in the deep Southern part of the United States. They have a membership of 20,000 and their services are televised every Sunday. One Sunday the Preacher gives the following sermon. “Brothers and sisters, I say unto you the Black man is hopelessly depraved by nature. God has judged him guilty of original sin and He is bound for Hell-Fire and eternal damnation. There is no way for the Black man to avoid the wrath of God. Let us close by giving thanks that we are White.”

That was absurd. You would never hear something like that in this day and age. Now think about this. Every Sunday thousands of Ministers speak from their pulpit and pronounce not just Black people but the whole human race guilty of original sin. If you are a member of almost any church and you are raised in that church you hear this message from the time you are old enough to understand the spoken word.

That’s why I consider this Christianity’s most destructive teaching. We should rise and fall only on our individual merits or shortcomings as human beings. If you hear this message from the time you can understand it you have to get past it, and it is one more thing to overcome.

Now let’s see what A Course in Miracles has to say about sin. The first thing I want to deal with is the illusion that we are separate from God. This is a question that was in the introduction to A Course in Miracles.

Q. According to the Course, why did we originally separate from God?

A. “The ego will demand many answers that this Course does not give.” There are a few reasons why the Course will not answer this question. First, it says that in reality we have never separated. Second, to give a reason why the separation even seemed to occur would endow it with the attributes of reality; would make it seem reasonable and therefore more justified in continuing. Third, the Course seeks to focus our attention always on the present, away from the past, for it is only in the present that we can stop repeating the choice to separate and make a different choice. 

In summation these are the choices we have. We have the Bible, with its account of the fall of man. It is thousands of years old, written in primitive times, with primitive methods, in a language other than English, over a period of who knows how long.

Then we have A Course in Miracles, written in modern times, with relatively modern methods, in a language we understand, by well-educated people. 

The Bible says man is guilty of original sin. A Course in Miracles says the separation never occurred and sin isn’t real. Which one would you rather believe?

I will close this chapter with the following from A Course in Miracles about sin. The first one is in the foundation for inner peace version on page 405 of the text paragraph 6. The second one is from the same book. It’s lesson 101 from the workbook for students.

“When you are tempted to believe that sin is real, remember this: If sin is real, both God and you are not. If creation is extension, the Creator must have extended Himself, and it is impossible that what is part of Him is totally unlike the rest. If sin is real, God must be at war with Himself. He must be split, and torn between good and evil; partly sane and partially insane. For He must have created what wills to destroy Him, and has the power to do so. Is it not easier to believe that you have been mistaken than to believe in this?”

God’s Will for me is perfect happiness.

Today we will continue with the theme of happiness. This is a key idea in understanding what salvation means. You still believe it asks for suffering as penance for your “sins.” This is not so. Yet you must think it so while you believe that sin is real, and that God’s Son can sin.

If sin is real, then punishment is just and cannot be escaped. Salvation thus cannot be purchased but through suffering. If sin is real, then happiness must be illusion, for they cannot both be true. The sinful warrant only death and pain, and it is this they ask for. For they know it waits for them, and it will seek them out and find them somewhere, sometime, in some  form that evens the account they owe to God. They would escape Him in their fear. And yet He will pursue, and they can not escape.

If sin is real, salvation must be pain. Pain is the cost of sin, and suffering can never be escaped, if sin is real. Salvation must be feared, for it will kill, but slowly, taking everything away before it grants the welcome boon of death to victims who are little more than bones before salvation is appeased. Its wrath is boundless, merciless, but wholly just.

Who would seek out such savage punishment? Who would not flee salvation, and attempt in every way he can to drown the Voice which offers it to him? Why would he try to listen and accept Its offering? If sin is real, its offering is death, and meted out in cruel form to match the vicious wishes in which sin is born. If sin is real, salvation has become your bitter enemy, the curse of God upon you who have crucified His Son.

You need the practice periods today. The exercises teach sin is not real, and all that you believe must come from sin will never happen, for it has no cause. Accept Atonement with an open mind, which cherishes no lingering belief that you have made a devil of God’s Son. There is no sin. We practice with this thought as often as we can today, because it is the basis for today’s idea. 

God’s Will for you is perfect happiness because there is no sin, and suffering is causeless. Joy is just, and pain is but the sign you have misunderstood yourself. Fear not the Will of God. But turn to it in confidence that it will set you free from all the consequences sin has wrought in feverish imagination. Say:

God’s Will for me is perfect happiness.

There is no sin; it has no consequence.

So should you start your practice periods, and then attempt again to find the joy these thoughts will introduce into your mind.

Give these five minutes gladly, to remove the heavy load you lay upon yourself with the insane belief that sin is real. Today escape from madness. You are set on freedom’s road, and now today’s idea brings wings to speed you on, and hope to go still faster to the waiting goal of peace. There is no sin. Remember this today, and tell yourself as often as you can:

God’s Will for me is perfect happiness.

This is the truth, because there is no sin.

RR-ESM