by ixthis 14 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
Adam and Eve wanted to be liek God, to know good and evil, to choose for themselves their direction in life, in short, they did not want God in their life anymore.
They believed that they didn't need God anymore, that they could do it without God - sound familiar?
godrulz said: It sounds like my comments are relevant. Orthodox and Catholic both affirm 'original sin', do they not?
Hi godrulz, no ... the Orthodox and the Catholics are not the same on this matter.
The original and current catechism from the Orthodox Church uses the word "προπατορικ? αμαρτ?α" (literally, "ancestral sin").Eastern Orthodox teaching says:
"It can be said that while we have not inherited the guilt of Adam's personal sin, because his sin is also of a generic nature, and because the entire human race is possessed of an essential, ontological unity, we participate in it by virtue of our participation in the human race. 'The imparting of Original Sin by means of natural heredity should be understood in terms of the unity of the entire human nature, and of the homoousiotitos of all men, who, connected by nature, constitute one mystic whole. Inasmuch as human nature is indeed unique and unbreakable, the imparting of sin from the first-born to the entire human race descended from him is rendered explicable: "Explicitly, as from the root, the sickness proceeded to the rest of the tree, Adam being the root who had suffered corruption" (St Cyril of Alexandria)
In other words, we inherit (in our DNA) the consequence of Adam and Eve personal sinning in that "choice" is imprinted onto our DNA and all of humanity now has the inclination towards sin; and death.
The truth of the Church is that what is important to know is not what Adam and Eve did but how it affects us - that is, we are now all mortal and prone to death. Christ's Resurrection redeems us from death and prevails against the gates of Hades.
Then I am more Orthodox than Catholic on this point. Federal Headship, transducianism, etc. are also theories, not fact. The key is that sin is volitional, moral, not genetic, metaphysical. We do inherit physical depravity (propensity/death), but not moral depravity (personal, volitional). I trust you know and love the Lord Jesus as God, not just Orthodox in religion/ritual.
Eating the fruit was just what resulted from the STUPIDITY of Adam and Eve.
They ultimately died because they they took marching orders from a talking snake instead of getting a shovel and killing the bastard.
Rub a Dub
godrulz - yes, I know God the Father, God the Son and the Holy Spirit, One Holy Trinity ... it is because I know my Lord in my heart that being Orthodox is not a religion or ritual but is The Way that allows the Full Glorification of God and Full Union with God ... for that is what the word actually means, Ortho+Doxa = Right+Glorification ...
Yes, I agree (and so does the correct interpretations of Scripture thus teach) ... that sin is completely a choice - it is not an inherited defect. We do inherit "death" as a consequence of "sin" ... that is a deep theological issue that requires sober minds and respectful and mature tones to discuss :) Happy to go there if others dont "crap" all over the discussion with off-topic remarks.
