Alien Sin--Intro

One of the most popular doctrines among evangelical Christians is that everyone is infected with the guilt of Adam's first sin. This teaching goes by the names Original Sin, Inherited Sin, and Federal Headship. None of these names are universally accepted. So I'm going to call it alien sin. This is contrasted with the idea of alien righteousness, which is the righteousness believers receive from Christ. Since it originates outside the believer, it is alien to them. Likewise, sin that originates outside a person, or is imputed to that person, is alien sin. 

Here are some key points of alien sin:

• All human beings are condemned starting at their conception.
• This condemnation is based on the transference of Adam's sin to each person.
• Each person's physical death is caused by that person's sin, including the sin received from Adam.

I intend to show in these posts that sin does not cause physical death (although death is a consequence of sin) and that no one has guilt from Adam's sin except Adam.

 At the outset we need to establish the criteria that will be used to evaluate the validity of any conclusions:

• In general, we will hold to the historical, literal, grammatical approach in understanding what Scripture is teaching.
• The philosophical approach we will follow was stated by Martin Luther at the Council of Worms: Let us be convinced only by proof from Holy Scripture or by cogent reason.
• The following  methods of proof are not valid:
• The number of people who believe a given interpretation
• The length of time an interpretation has been accepted 
• The stature or qualifications of a person who promotes an interpretation.
• The number of verses that supports one interpretation over another. Scripture does not contradict itself. All relevant Scripture must agree.
• "Proof texts" quoted out of context.
• The better doctrinal position:
• Will have the most consistent conformance to a literal interpretation of Scripture.
• Will be less complicated and easier to understand.
• Will be logically rigorous.
• Any doctrinal position on alien sin must not contradict any other established doctrine.

The major portions of Scripture we will look at are in Genesis and Romans. But there will also be many supporting passages.

Several related topics must be discussed to have a complete and in-depth understanding of alien sin:

• Death
• Law
• Justice
• Judgment
• Innocence/Ignorance

As an added benefit, after this study we will be able to provide a Scripturally consistent and logical answer to the question, "What is the fate of babies who die?"

The Story of Sin and Death