Original Sin?

We are judged on our own actions, not for those of others. A just God wouldn’t condemn me for something you did.

When Adam and Eve were in the garden, they were innocent. They didn’t know right from wrong, obeyed everything God said and would have remained that way. If they had, we would never have been born.

They needed to learn free agency, and God wanted them to make the choices that would allow us to be. To do that, he gave them two conflicting commandments. Don’t eat the fruit of knowledge, and multiply and replenish the earth. They chose the greater of the two. For breaking the first, they were kicked out of the garden and would eventually die. But for obeying the second, they learned, grew, had a family. They understood joy because they felt sorrow. Knew pleasure and pain. Developed faith because they were no longer in God’s presence. And they made it possible for all of us to be born.

That’s the original sin. Their choice. And that’s the way it actually impacts us. No one is born with Adam’s sin on their heads. We’re not cursed because of him. Baptism need not be done to babies who are perfect. It should be done when you’re old enough to be accountable on your own.

God is a loving father. We still need redemption through Jesus for our sins. And that is another gift of love.