11. Christianity- Original Sin Christianity is the worlds largest religion with approximately 2.

2 billion adherents, originating from Israel and Palestine in 33 A.D. In Christianity, it is believed that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Messiah promised in the Old Testament and that God sent Jesus to earth to save humanity from the consequences of the Original Sin. Original Sin is a Christian doctrine that is based on humanitys state of sin resulting from Adams disobedience towards God by eating the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. The concept of Original Sin is taught through a traditional story in the Old Testament of Genesis, where Adam and Eve were tricked by the serpent into eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of life and death and were banished by God from the Garden of Eden and also from eating the fruit of the tree of life, consequently allowed death to enter the world. Original Sin is a pessimistic doctrine but it has been kept as a mainstream Christian teaching because of the several important theological ideas that it suggests. 1.Universality: Original sin teaches that all human beings are flawed and sinful no one is better than anyone else 2.Non-dualist: Original sin explains evil without having to portray God as having a bad side, or an evil partner, responsible for the badness in the world; evil comes from human rebelliousness 3.Non-designed: Original sin explains how a world that God designed to be perfect is actually full of evil 4.Not inevitable: Original sin teaches that the world could have remained perfect - it was not inevitable that Adam and Eve would disobey God 5.Mechanism: Original sin demonstrates a mechanism that enabled the original disobedience to damage everyone However, as this doctrine is taught widely across the world, controversies are easily aroused. 1.Unfair: Since Adam and Eve were the ones who disobeyed God, shouldnt they be the ones who should atone for their sins? Original Sin brings out the idea of people being punished for a crime committed by someone else. 2.Its misogynistic: Original Sin blames Eve for sharing the forbidden fruit with Adam and is responsible for centuries of Christian bias towards women. 3.Its too pessimistic: The idea that humans are born sinned and contaminated is discouraging for some Christians. 4.Its not literally true: Science has shown that the story of Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden are only myths.

5.Its contradicted by evolution: Original Sin is based on the idea of the perfect world that God created, and humanity damaged it and themselves by disobeying God. However, evolution is seen to be bringing positive outcomes and allowing humanity to move closer towards perfection. Vocabs Learned: 1.Concupiscence: Sexual desire, lust 2.Misogynistic: Hatred of women 3.Mimesis: Imitation of the real world, as by re-creating instances of human actions and events or portraying objects found in nature. 4.Purgatory: The state or place of purification or temporary punishment by which those who die in a state of grace are believed to be made ready for the Beatific Vision in Heaven.