Original Sin
The tradition of "Original Sin" presumes that all of humanity is born into moral guilt through the sin of Adam. Thus, all humans are doomed to eternal damnation from birth, unless they are "saved" before they take their final breath. But is this an accurate reading of the Biblical texts?
Growing up in the Catholic church, the idea of Original Sin was a concept deeply embedded in my psyche at a very young age. I never questioned it until much later in life. Probably because the fear of eternal damnation dissuaded me from digging too far into the texts.
What is Original Sin?
The tradition of "Original Sin" presumes that all of humanity is born into moral inherited guilt - stained, by the sin of Adam and Eve. By this logic, all of humanity is thus doomed to eternal damnation from birth.
If, however, one is "saved¹" before they take their final breath, they can pass on to eternal life.
But is this an accurate reading of the Biblical texts, or is it a later tradition?
It is worth mentioning that Eastern Christian traditions do not adhere to this idea. They tend to hold something similar to the Jewish view, which we will explain in a moment.
Nevertheless, when it comes to the tradition of Original Sin, we are mostly addressing a Western Christian tradition.