That's how these things usually go. When I checked my email this morning I saw that a friend had sent me this piece of nonsense: someone behind a blog called "NARWatch" in Israel is attacking me and my content. Normally I don't even read these. There haven't been...
original sin
Naked Bible Podcast Episode 126 – Ezekiel 18
Ezekiel 18 focuses on one central idea: individual accountability for one’s own sinfulness. The chapter opens with God’s rejection of the pervasive Israelite idea that the suffering of one generation is the result of the sins of previous generations. The message God...
The Origin of Sin in Irenaeus and Jewish Pseudepigrapha (Enoch, Jubilees, Etc.)
Readers of this blog know that several people who've commented in the past about my views on Romans 5:12 have thought that plain reading of the text out of step with traditional Christianity. Below is an article (not publicly accessible) that shows that Irenaeus wrote...
Can Unbelievers Ever Please God? Part 2
While I won't repeat what I said in Part 1, the comments to that post have left me thinking that some readers still don't understand what I'm saying and not saying and so are missing the point of the question. So, by way of review What I'm Not Saying and Not...
Can Unbelievers Please God? Part 1
Most readers are familiar with the idea of "total depravity" as taught by many Christian theologians over the centuries -- the idea that (in overly broad strokes) humans are unable to turn themselves to God and are inherently sinful. Those who have read with some...
Romans 5:12 and Universalism: Applying My Take on Romans 5:12 to the Problem
I'm actually surprised at how brief this one turned out to be! (I'm sure you all are as well). Here's the passage: 12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned 13 for sin indeed...
Paul, Original Sin, and Rabbinic Theology
I've had a request for the two articles on the idea of "original sin" and rabbinic material. Here they are: S. Porter, "The Pauline Concept of Original Sin in Light of the Rabbinic Background," Tyndale Bulletin 41:1 (1990): 3-30 Kister, "Romans 5:12-21 Against the...
Adam’s Sin and Old Testament Theology
In my last post about contextualizing the OT in light of the ancient Near Eastern culture of the OT writers, I was reminded again of the striking absence of Adam's sin in OT theology. Other than Genesis 3 and then Genesis 4-5, where Adam is mentioned with respect to...
Romans 5:12 and the Fate of the Unborn, Infants, and Other Human Beings Who Cannot Believe From Birth
Thanks for your patience with this thread. I hope you see that what follows is another "theological payoff" to the view I'm articulating. Not only do I think this view of Romans 5:12 simultaneously upholds a real "original sin" in Eden, the effect of that sin on all...
Some Brief Thoughts on the “Sin Nature” and Reader Follow-Up
I decided I'd post a few quick thoughts on these items before the post on what happens to babies and other innocents. I promise, this is the last post on this part of the topic, unless I get an answer to its final sentence. I'm still getting replies that amount to no...
Back to Romans 5:12 — Replies to Reader Comments
Here we go again - same format as before. COMM: Spiritual death is a Biblical truth that you have not considered in your rejection of original sin... MSH: First, I haven't rejected original sin. There was an original sin. That's plain from the text. What I am...
Romans 5:12, Part 5: A Few More Replies to Replies
Still doesn't seem like the time to go into what I really want to (the "where do babies go when they die?" thing). I promise that will be the next post. But for now, some mop of further replies and questions seems best. Same format as last post. COMM: "You SEEM (I am...
Romans 5:12, Part 4
I've decided to respond to replies first before plowing ahead with the next installment of Romans 5:12. What follows are comments drawn from replies (COMM) and my response (MSH) or clarification. I'm only sticking to the germane material. That is, a lot of the comment...
More on Romans 5:12 (Part 3)
Well, time to get back to Romans 5:12 and the "imputation" or "transmission" of Adam's guilt to the human race. If you missed the previous post, I deny that Romans 5:12 teaches that Adam's guilt was what was transmitted to humanity as a result of his sin. But, on the...
Romans 5:12 – What It Says and What It Doesn’t Say, Part 2
Time to get back to Romans 5:12. My first complaint about the misuse of this passage concerned how creationists (of the literal, 24 hr. day variety) use this verse to argue against the possibility of ANY death before the Fall. This in turn is used to argue against the...