Myth Busting the Doctrine of Original Sin {Part 2}

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In this edition of Myth Busters we are addressing the doctrine of Original Sin.  In the last post in the series I showcased the Scriptures that refute this doctrine.  In this post I will address the Scriptures said to support it.

Figurative Speech in the Psalms

In supporting this doctrine, much is made of the following passages from the Psalms:

Psalm 51:5 "Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me."

II. Psalm 58:3 "The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies."

If you remember from the Basics of Exegesis post, Principle 2 states that we must take Scripture literally unless there is a good reason to read it figuratively.  To take these passages as proof for Original Sin, one must take them literally rather than figuratively - but the passages are examples of figures of speech - hyperbole common in the day.  For instance, reading on in Psalm 51 we see David tells God to purify him with Hyssop (vs.7).  Does God, literally, purify us with Hyssop?  No.  Does God, literally, break our bones when we sin (vs.8)?  Of course not.  Neither do broken bones rejoice.  This Psalm is replete with figurative speech.  (It is worth noting that, were one to take an actual literal approach to verse 5, the most obvious, literal, reading would be that David's mother was engaging in a sinful sexual act (adultery, prostitution) when she conceived him.  It is stretching even this figurative verse to say that it means that David was sinful from conception because of Adam's sin.)  Read in context we see that Psalm 51 is about David's sin, his guilt and his remorse - not his mother's sin and certainly not Adam's.

Like verse 5 of Psalm 51, Psalm 58:3 is figurative as well.  Read the next line: "They have venom like the venom of a serpent."  Do evil people really have the venom of a serpent?  Of course not.

This figurative language purported to support the doctrine of Original Sin is hyperbole common in this genre of Scripture.  David, ashamed of his choices, was speaking to the depths of his guilt.  In Psalm 58, David was speaking of the depth of evil of the wicked.  In neither case was David speaking literally (as is evidenced by the verses immediately following the "proof texts" - they were speaking figuratively.  Like Job:

Job 31:18 ~ But from my youth he [the orphan] grew up with me as with a father, and from infancy I guided her [the widow]. 

Certainly, Job didn't actually raise the orphan from his own youth, nor did he guide the widow from his own infancy.  As David was expressing the depths of his guilt, Job is expressing the depths of his innocence.  It is called hyperbole and it is exaggeration used in figures of speech.  By definition, hyperbole is not to be taken literally.

Specific Audience and Hyperbole in Isaiah

Another supposed proof text for this doctrine is found in Isaiah 64:

⁶ For all of us have become like one who is unclean,
And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment;
And all of us wither like a leaf,
And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
⁷ There is no one who calls on Your name,
Who arouses himself to take hold of You;
For You have hidden Your face from us
And have delivered us into the power of our iniquities.


The question before us is who are "us" and "we" in this passage.  Proponents of the doctrine in question say that it is speaking of us all.  However, one of the basics of exegesis is, of course, synthesis.  This passage cannot be saying something that is refuted elsewhere is Scripture. 

"There is no one who calls on Your name"

And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enosh. Then began men to call upon the name of Jehovah. (Genesis 4:26 ASV)

For what great nation is there, that hath a god so nigh unto them, as Jehovah our God is whensoever we call upon him? (Deuteronomy 4:7 ASV)

I will call upon Jehovah, who is worthy to be praised: So shall I be saved from mine enemies. (2 Samuel 22:4 ASV)

Moses and Aaron among his priests, And Samuel among them that call upon his name; They called upon Jehovah, and he answered them. (Psalms 99:6 ASV)

Then will they call upon me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently, but they shall not find me: (Proverbs 1:28 ASV)

And ye shall call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. (Jeremiah 29:12 ASV)

For then will I turn to the peoples of a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of Jehovah, to serve him with one consent. (Zephaniah 3:9 ASV)

Obviously, then, Isaiah 64 is not speaking of all people.  Isaiah is pleading and confessing on behalf of the nation of Israel.  In verses 10 and 11 of this chapter Isaiah gives further information that underscores that he is speaking of specific people (the nation of Israel) at a specific time - not of all people at all times.

Like in the Psalms, we additionally find that Isaiah is employing hyperbole as in verse 5 he says that God rejoices in those doing righteousness.  Obviously, if all of their righteous deeds were as filthy rags, God would not rejoice in those doing righteousness. 

Hyperbole Redux in Romans 3

¹⁰ As it is written:

“There is no one righteous, not even one;
¹¹ there is no one who understands;
there is no one who seeks God.
¹² All have turned away,
they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.”^[b]
13 “Their throats are open graves;
their tongues practice deceit.”^[c]
“The poison of vipers is on their lips.”^[d]
14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”^[e]
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;
¹⁶ ruin and misery mark their ways,
¹⁷ and the way of peace they do not know.”^[f]
18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”^[g]

We know from elsewhere in Scripture that there were righteous men and women:

though Noah, Daniel and Job, were in it, as I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, they should deliver neither son nor daughter; they should but deliver their own souls by their righteousness. [Ezekiel 14:20]

Noah was a righteous man, and perfect in his generations: Noah walked with God. [Gen 6:9]

And as for thee, if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and mine ordinances; [1 Kings 9:4]

There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and turned away from evil. [Job 1:1]


 

From the above passages we can know that David was not speaking literally (it is he who is quoted in Romans 3) but hyperbolically.

Verse 12 says that all have turned away and become worthless.  Again, we know this is hyperbole because elsewhere (noted above, for example) Scripture tells us of those who have not "become worthless."  Additionally, were this literal, you can see that men had "turned away" and "become" worthless.  The verbiage indicates that these men and women who had become worthless did not start out that way.

More hyperbole and figurative speech (mouths as open graves, lips with poison on them) finish out the passage - telling us that David is speaking of the sinfulness of the people of whom he speaks.  By the way, who is David speaking of?  Everyone?  No: the "fool" who has said, "there is no God" (Psalm 14:1).



Eisegesis in Romans

The Scripture that Augustine (who believed that all men were physically in Adam when he sinned, so all men were guilty of his sin) primarily based his beliefs on (with regard to Original Sin), was Romans 5:12

12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned—

Please notice what this verse actually says: death came to all people because all sinned.  Period.  It does not say "because all sinned in Adam" as is necessary for the doctrine of Original Sin to be supported.  In fact, Baker Exegetical Commentary notes that, grammatically, this cannot be read, "all sinned in Adam."  Additionally, it is noted in a number of commentaries that this thought would be easy for Paul to convey if he had meant it. 

But, of course, there is more.  Paul continues:

13 To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law. 14 Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who is a pattern of the one to come.

15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! 16 Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. 17 For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!

In verses 13 - 17 Paul is describing how death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses even over those who did not sin as Adam did. Again, reading this literally we see only that death reigned from Adam to Moses in spite of the fact that some did not sin in the same manner as Adam. We all sin - and so death reigned.

Then Paul starts to draw on the parallels.  Many died by the trespass of the one (that would have been a good time to say all died by the trespass of the one if Paul had meant to say that), but more grace came to many through Jesus.  Judgment and condemnation followed Adam's sin - as he ushered sin and death into this world - both previously unknown to mankind.  Notice verse 17 - death reigned through Adam and grace and righteousness reign through Jesus.  If this is a parallel it must mean that there is a likeness here.  If all men die because of Adam's sin -with no actual sin on their part... then all men live because of Christ's sacrifice - with no actual response to the gospel on their part.  More on that in a minute, let's tackle verses 18 & 19.

18 Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. 19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

I think we can see that Paul is paralleling Adam (being the person who ushered sin and death into the world) and Jesus (who brought life into the world).  Verses 18 & 19 can be diagrammed like this:

 

Adam	Jesus
Through one transgression there was condemnation to all men	Through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men
Through his disobedience many were made sinners	Though His obedience, many will be made righteous

If we are talking about parallels, the objects of this condemnation and justification must be the same.  That is, we cannot say that through Adam's transgression all men died (with no actual sin on their part) while, through Jesus' act of righteousness, justification of life is given to all men (with no actual acceptance of Jesus on their part).  It is not actually a parallel if all men are convicted of Adam's sin, but only some men are justified by Jesus' sacrifice.

Likewise, Adam's sin brought sin and death into the world and, as such, many were made sinners when they chose to sin as well.  Through Jesus' obedience, many will be made righteous when they choose Christ.  It is not a parallel if the format is not the same.  (And, note, that Paul could have said that all were made sinners through Adam's disobedience.  He did not.  He said many.)

If this passage is going to be used to argue that all are made sinners in Adam, then it must also be used to argue that all are made righteous in Christ.



And, Again in 1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 15: ²¹ For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. ²² For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.

First note that all die - which implies a life prior to that death - not that all are dead in Adam.  Just as Adam died when he sinned, so do "all."  (Remember what Paul said?  He once was alive until sin came and killed him?  Romans 7:9) 

As with the passage in Romans, if this is a parallel, it tells us of whom Paul is speaking.  Death came through Adam and resurrection of the dead comes through Jesus.  "All" die in Adam in the same way that "all" will be made alive in Christ.  We die "in Adam" when we join him in choosing to sin.  We are made alive "in Christ" when we choose to join Him by accepting the gospel. 

As you can see, the Scriptures used to support the idea of Original Sin need to be read out of context or words added to make the Scriptures support the doctrine.  But there are other Scriptural problems with the doctrine.


Lack of Doctrine of Original Sin in Scripture:

One fact about this doctrine that should jump out at all of us is the lack of Biblical teaching on the subject. That is, one may infer (if one tries hard enough) this doctrine out of some passages - but it is nowhere taught in Scripture the way other doctrines are taught.  For instance, a foundational Christian doctrine is that there is only one God. This doctrine is taught in Isaiah 43:10; 44:6, 8; John 17:3; 1 Corinthians 8:5-6; & Galatians 4:8-9 - nothing to be inferred or guessed at there.  Yet, to get the doctrine of Original Sin out of Scripture, we must do some gymnastics in some passages and ignore plain teaching in others.


Omission in the Aftermath of "The Fall":

While Adam and Eve were told that if they ate the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil they would die (Genesis 2:16 & 17, Genesis 3:2-3), when the consequences for their sin are given - the consequences that the whole world experienced from then forward - notice that that consequence is not one of them. The serpent still crawls on his belly, there is still enmity between man and snake, women have pain in childbirth, we still must sweat to bring forth fruit from the ground, thorns and thistles still grow, and men still physically die.

Doesn't it seem like God would have mentioned it if all creation was now spiritually dead for Adam's sin? If it were important to mention thorns and thistles, it seems it would have been important to note "born spiritually dead." But He did not.


Lack of Scriptural Synthesis

One can jiggle the doctrine of Original Sin out of some Scriptures if one tries hard enough.  (It's like starting our 1967 Ford - you have to hold in the choke part way, pump the pedal twice, squinny up your right eye and stick out your tongue to make anything happen.)  However, the big problem we face with this is that you have to completely ignore or mistreat other passages of Scripture like Ezekial 18:20, Romans 7:9, and Hebrews 2:17 to name only 3.  As we know, God's Word does not contradict itself and the doctrine of Original Sin (which is gleaned from inferring out of a number of passages that can be read otherwise) is in conflict with direct teaching on the nature of God when it comes to imputing sin.


Your Turn

Now it is your turn to defend or debunk the doctrine of Original Sin.  Before you comment, please make sure to have read the prior post on this topic as well - as it covers Scriptures that contradict this doctrine.

Please be respectful and kind.  Most of all, please be prayerful, and honest with God's Word.

{Parts 1 and 3 - and other Myth Busting topics - can be found here.}