Please note that this is a matter of dispute. First, +Paul did not use commas or punctuation marks, so, depending where you place a comma or a period or a semi-colong or colon, changes the meaning of the whole sentence. This is actually quite common in the Bible, and ultimately leaves the reader to decide what the Holy Spirit meant.
The statement "ef w panteV hmarton " is not perfectly clear:
This text, which formed the Church’s basis of her teaching on ‘original sin’, may be understood in a number of ways: the Greek words ef’ ho pantes hemarton may be translated not only as ‘because all men sinned’ but also ‘in whom [that is, in Adam] all men sinned’.
Different readings of the text may produce different understandings of what ‘original sin’ means.
If we accept the first translation, this means that each person is responsible for his own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression. Here, Adam is merely the prototype of all future sinners, each of whom, in repeating Adam’s sin, bears responsibility only for his own sins.
Adam’s sin is not the cause of our sinfulness; we do not participate in his sin and his guilt cannot be passed onto us.
However, if we read the text to mean ‘in whom all have sinned’, this can be understood as the passing on of Adam’s sin to all future generations of people, since human nature has been infected by sin in general. The disposition toward sin became hereditary and responsibility for turning away from God sin universal. [Consequences of the Adam's Sin, An Online Orthodox Catechism]
According to Rom 5:12 we have actually sinned, which is the way God views the matter
Wow, that's pretty bombastic! The Greeks who read the original in their language disagreed then and do so to this day. This is a perfect example how translations can affect theology and lead to completely divergent conclusions that go to the very heart of our disposition towards faith.
I believe that until this moment no one ever called your attention to the fact that Romans 5:12 do not with any certainty say we have sinned through Adam and bear his guilt for it.
One thing is certain: the words in Rom 5:12 are sloppily wirtten and ambiguous enough to cause different opinions (one more reason to believe that the Holy Spirit may did nto write them!).
All men are guilty of the sin of Adam and therefore all men die.
Are you sure? HD, man was created neither mortal nor immortal, but potentially either one. Through the sin of Adam (and Eve), human nature became mortal and mortal parents have mortal children. Our mortality is a consequence of their sin, not the sin itself. Our mortality is not the penalty, because we bear no guilt for their doing.
A drug-addicted mother gives birth to drug-addicted infants. The infants have the craving for the drug but no guilt for their addition. They are born "wounded" and their will craves the sin of their mother but it is none of their doing, guilt or responsibility. Those who have no guilt are innocent and penalizing the innocent is not in God's realm because it is a vice.
Original sin does mean that all are condemned to hell. Death is the evidence of us being sinners, not simply that we are tainted with a desire to sin. Otherwise premature babies would never die since, theoretically, they haven't sinned.
This is an fine example of how grotesque misinterpretation of the original text can become! It is not the work of the Holy Spirit, for sure. It has human error written all over it.
Premature babies die because their nature is mortal. All Adam's descendants are mortal because human nature became mortal as a consequence of Adam's sin.
kosta-Wow, that's pretty bombastic! The Greeks who read the original in their language disagreed then and do so to this day.
I haven't had the time to read all the arguments out here but I believe FK touched upon the logic of original sin. If you were to take civilization throughout all of history, you cannot produce one person who history recorded as without sin except for Christ (we'll leave the discussion of Mary for another time). Statistically speaking, if original sin was left up to man, then 50% of mankind should be sinful and 50% should be pure. Yet not one can be produce who was without sin.
One thing is certain: the words in Rom 5:12 are sloppily wirtten and ambiguous enough to cause different opinions
On the contrary, I think they are perfectly clear and people just don't wish to acknowledge original sin. The reason is clear. They believe they are in control of their live able to make decisions. Let me ask you this, do you want to sin? Do you consciencely make a "free" choice to sin against God exercising your "free will"?