[jo kus]

the Orthodox talk of an inherited infection of sin (Might not have phrased that right). But we are left with one of those paradox that our finite human minds can not quite get. In one sense, what we are remains what it was otherwise Jesus is not what we proclaim He is, True God and True Man. At the same time, we are not what we were, for we were not created to sin.

Catholics also call original sin an "infection" inherited from Adam. We do not define the nature that God created based on this infection. Once the cure is given, we are nursed back to health - and become more like the self we were meant to be - as Jesus shows. He represents the fulfilled man. Thus, we define man in his fullness by looking at Christ, not the mess we are in now. Our experience points to something truly terrible has happened to mankind. And until this sickness is healed completely in heaven, man will continue. Those who define man and refering to his current state are not looking at the big picture or the fact that even now, with the first installment of the Spirit, man begins to revert back - a recapitulation, if you will - to his former self.

Regards

[redgolum]

Which was my point, in part. We (or most of us anyway) all agree that nature and mankind is tainted from the fall of Adam. This is not our created state, and is not what we will be. The difference is in how we define that taint, and what it means in regards to baptism, the Incarnation, and the old justification/sanctification.