We Are Born Blessed and Good

Why do so many Christians believe we are born sinful, that we need redemption and salvation, which comes only from the Church and our faith in Jesus.  The problem with that is when we believe everyone is born evil, we tend to distrust and look for evil in everyone else.  But, if we believe we are all born blessed and good, then we look for and expect to find good in others. And we tend to find what we are looking for. 

That concept arises out of the doctrine of Original Sin: Adam and Eve committed a great sin at the beginning of time and consequently all their offspring, which includes all of us, are stained by and inherit the guilt of that sin.  But to me that is just bad theology and not biblically supported. Sure, the Bible states God shall visit “the iniquity of the parents upon the children to the third and fourth generation” (Numbers 14:18*), but we are long past the third or fourth generation of Adam and Eve.  Besides, Deuteronomy 24:16 states, “Parents shall not be put to death for their children, nor shall children be put to death for their parents; only for their own crimes may persons be put to death.” Doesn’t sound like we should be held accountable for their sin. Ezekiel 18:20 says, “The person who sins shall die. A child shall not suffer for the iniquity of a parent nor a parent suffer for the iniquity of a child….”  So why would we be held accountable for something done thousands of years ago?  I believe we are born good and have the potential to do good most of our lives.  

Admittedly, many of us continue to commit the same sin as Adam and Eve and are therefore responsible for our own actions, but not theirs.  So, what is that egregious sin? Almost everyone I’ve asked has said they were punished for being disobedient to God when they ate the fruit of the tree God told them not to eat.  But Adam and Eve were simple, innocent children.  They had no concept of right and wrong.  Sure, God planted the tree of life in the middle of the garden, and “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (Genesis 2:9) and told them not to eat of it, which means knowing the difference between good and evil was knowledge they did not possess; so how could they be guilty of anything? No, their sin was after they ate the fruit.  For then their eyes were open, and they knew good from evil. When confronted by God about eating the fruit, they chose evil: Adam blamed Eve and God, and Eve blamed the serpent.  They failed to accept responsibility for their actions.  Failure to accept personal responsibility for our actions is the real “original sin,” which God does not tolerate.  God does not expect us to be perfect, but God does expect us to confess our sins and to ask for forgiveness.  Just think, had Adam and Eve thrown themselves on the ground before God, admitted what they had done and begged for forgiveness, they might still be living in the garden. 

No matter what we do, God will forgive us. All we need to do is accept responsibility for our actions and ask for forgiveness. “If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). We just need to confess.  In the beginning God created us, and God said, “It is good,” so be good and see the good in others.    

*All biblical references are from the NRSV.