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Original Sin II

Man in a state of Original Sin (effects of Original Sin)

  • CCC 397 Man, tempted by the devil, let his trust in his Creator die in his heart and, abusing his freedom, disobeyed God's command. This is what man's first sin consisted of. All subsequent sin would be disobedience toward God and lack of trust in his goodness.
    • At the heart of every sin is a disobedience toward God and lack of trust in his goodness.
    • Darkening of intellect, weakening of will
    • Disorder of passions/desires
    • Concupiscence
    • Tension between Man and Woman → relationship marked by lust and domination.
    • Visible creation becomes alien and hostile to man.
    • Death makes its entrance into human history. “To dust you shall return.”

Transmission of Original Sin

  • All men are implicated in Adam’s sin. Similarly, all are implicated and included in the universality of Christ’s (the new Adam) righteousness and sacrifice. (Recapitulation)
  • CCC 404 How did the sin of Adam become the sin of all his descendants? The whole human race is in Adam "as one body of one man". By this "unity of the human race" all men are implicated in Adam's sin, as all are implicated in Christ's justice. Still, the transmission of original sin is a mystery that we cannot fully understand. But we do know by Revelation that Adam had received original holiness and justice not for himself alone, but for all human nature. By yielding to the tempter, Adam and Eve committed a personal sin, but this sin affected the human nature that they would then transmit in a fallen state. It is a sin which will be transmitted by propagation to all mankind, that is, by the transmission of a human nature deprived of original holiness and justice. And that is why original sin is called "sin" only in an analogical sense: it is a sin "contracted" and not "committed" — a state and not an act.
    • Propagation, not imitation.
    • Infants are born into a state of original sin, the lack of holiness, but are not guilty of any personal sin → Baptism cleanses original sin from the soul → concupiscence remains.

Contrast vs. Martin Luther

  • Luther argued that the gift of original justice was part of/deeply ingrained in human nature. Therefore, losing the gift of original justice meant human nature was virtually destroyed.
    • Intellect cannot know natural truths without grace.
    • Man’s free will is also destroyed, therefore man’s lacks free will → he can only sin
    • Concupiscence is the root of all sin → it is therefore the worst sin. Every temptation or act of man is a damnable act/sin.
    • No distinction between mortal and venial sin.

Catholic Response

  • The gift of original justice was added to nature, not part of it
    • Therefore, the loss of this gift did not destroy our nature, but it did wound it.
    • After the fall, we continue as “in the image” of God, but we lost the likeness to God (holiness).
    • The soul still can exercise the powers of intellect and will, though they are weakened → Can know natural truths, do natural good.
    • Concupiscence is the tendency to sin, it is not a sin in itself. Experiencing a temptation is not a sin. How you respond to the temptation determines if the act is a sin or not.
    • Mortal vs. Venial sin distinction (1 Jn 5:16-17)
    • Pelagius (works alone) vs. Luther (faith alone)
      • CCC 406 The Church's teaching on the transmission of original sin was articulated more precisely in the fifth century, especially under the impulse of St. Augustine's reflections against Pelagianism, and in the sixteenth century, in opposition to the Protestant Reformation. Pelagius held that man could, by the natural power of free will and without the necessary help of God's grace, lead a morally good life; he thus reduced the influence of Adam's fault to bad example. The first Protestant reformers, on the contrary, taught that original sin has radically perverted man and destroyed his freedom; they identified the sin inherited by each man with the tendency to evil (concupiscentia), which would be insurmountable.

Genesis 4, Genesis 6, Genesis 11 (Cain, Flood, Babel)

Psychological Approach to Sin

  • “The choice of man and woman to realize their human existence in conscious independence from and opposition to God. As a result of this first sin, all human beings are born without God’s grace and with the inclination to ratify the same option for themselves.” 
    • Each conscious and free opposition to an imperative of my conscience, I go against my “better self” → introduces estrangement within the self.
    • Act as if you are the “Absolute Being” who can simply decide what is right or wrong → this self is asserted over and against your “moral self”, the self which receives the imperative from your conscience. 
    • “Moral Self” vs. “Absolute Self” or True Self” vs. “False Self”

Threefold Alienation

  • I overrule my judgment of conscience is done for the sake of a limited good that I decide for myself to be superior to the values my conscience proposes (i.e. adultery, power, wealth, fame, etc.)
  • The sinner idolizes himself in each act of idolatry → worship yourself through the external object
  • Conflict thus emerges between my true, moral self, and also with my fellow human beings → I’m unable to accept my neighbors as equals, since that would require me to dethrone myself as the “Absolute Being.” 
  • Also results in the abuse of the material world and order of creation → disregards future generations 
  • We also come into conflict with God → the absolute obligation to do what is right, to treat others right, allows us to encounter the true Absolute Being who is God. The commands are from Him. 

The Punishment of Sin

  • The punishment for sin is not extrinsic. The punishment of sin is its necessary, natural consequence → The suffering that results from the sin is the punishment. 
  • Isolation ensues → cut off from Being itself, from genuine relationships with others (replaced by relationships of self-interest)
  • End up in slavery and must endure the disintegration of freedom. 
  • “The object of my desire shapes and transforms my being to the likeness of the desired object.” → my personal self no longer determines myself, instead it is one or many internal forces driven by desires for created goods that dictate my decisions → Psalm 135:15-18 

Law and Freedom

  • Two views of freedom → Freedom of Indifference vs. Freedom for Excellence
  • Nomos: Law
    • “Auto”nomy → self-law (freedom of indifference, radical individuality)
    • “Hetero”nomy → other-law (the law is totally alien to ourselves, law is an enemy of freedom)
    • Theonomy → God’s law. (Freedom for excellence, accept God’s law, according to which we were created, accept the design, allows for true self-expression, the mystery of the person is revealed)
  • The Christian life is a life of participation, harmony between what/who we are and what/who God is and what He calls us to → true freedom
    • Sin is not the genuine exercise of freedom for this reason, it is enslavement, it diminishes our freedom → become a slave of passions, impulses, created goods.