What a web the Roman Catholic Church has weaved! Each error of the Roman Catholic Church builds upon the previous error, promoting even more error to try to solve a problem the previous error created. The concept of original sin is one of the most heinous invented by the Roman Catholics, because of the further error in reasoning that it causes. We cannot touch upon all of those in one post, but one immediate result was the concept of infant baptism.
The Roman Catholic Church teaches that everyone is born in sin and darkness, inheriting the sin of Adam and Eve.
“Born with a fallen human nature and tainted by original sin, children also have need of the new birth in Baptism to be freed from the power of darkness and brought into the realm of the freedom of the children of God, to which all men are called.” (Catechism 1994, 1250)
The concept of original sin is traced back to Augustine, who reasoned that salvation through Jesus Christ was only available in the Catholic Church, and that therefore any other path to salvation outside of the Catholic Church was in vain. Augustine then concluded from this false presumption that everyone had to be baptized in the Roman Catholic Church or they were lost; and that this included infants, as they needed the medicine of Christ because God would not allow them to suffer deformities, sickness, disease, mistreatment, and death unless they were sinners. There is more faulty justification from Augustine, but you get the idea.
By the 3rd century A.D., the suppositions and musings of the bishops and priests of the Roman Catholic Church was well into apostasy. They were not letting God’s word rule, as much as they were twisting it to suit their own agenda, relying more upon the writings of their own bishops than upon God’s word. Augustine reasoned incorrectly ignoring the scriptures, thus creating his own doctrine.
The practice of infant baptism began in the Mediterranean areas and by 4th century A.D. had become standard practice within the Roman Catholic Church. The Council of Carthage officially accepted it in 418 A.D., and condemned anyone who opposed it. (A closure on discussion is a sure sign of tyranny.)
But, God’s word is clear. Children do not inherit the sins of the parents. Let’s see what the Bible actually says. (from the KJV, and all bold emp. is mine.)
When Moses tried to take the sins of the people onto himself, God denied him: “ And the Lord said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.“ Ex. 32:33
“ The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin.“ Deu. 24:16. (Also 2 Kings 14:6; 2 Chron. 25:4)
“ But every one shall die for his own iniquity:…” Jer. 31:30
“ The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.” Ez. 18:20
It is clear from the Old Testament scriptures that God considered each man and woman responsible for their own actions. So, everyone is responsible for their own sins. This is confirmed in the New Testament at Rom. 14:12, “ So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.”
Therefore, the doctrine of inherited original sin taught by the Roman Catholic Church is false, and every other doctrine derived from that one false doctrine is also false.
Furthermore, God does not create evil, as there is no evil in Him. (1 John 1:5) “Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God,…” (Acts 17:29), then we are not created evil!
In speaking of the King of Tyrus, Ezekiel stated, ” Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.“ Ez. 28:15
Tyrus was created perfect! That means without sin! Iniquity was found in him later in life because of his actions. Consider Paul’s statements in Rom. 7:8-9 carefully.
“ 8 But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead. 9 For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.”
When was Paul alive once without the law? When would the law not have applied to Paul while he was alive? The only time that would be possible would be before he was accountable to the law, and that would be as a child. As a child he was alive, spiritually alive, as he was not yet accountable to the law of God. But when he became accountable to the commandments, then was sin revived, and he died spiritually because of that sin. Sin makes us spiritually dead to God. At that point, we need the propitiation and atonement of Christ’s sacrifice. But, not until that point.
Even today, under all of the secular laws written by mankind, the lawyers recognize that children are not accountable the same as adults and make a distinction in how they are tried, if they are tried at all. The precept of accountability is one that comes with age, with maturity of mind. Remember that Jesus, our example in all things, did not begin His ministry until the age of 30.
A baby is born innocent, and has not sinned. The baby has no concept of right or wrong, and has no capability of sinning. The soul of each new born child is a new creation of God, and is blameless. If something happens to end that life abruptly, the soul of that child is going to go straight back to the Most High who created it.
Baptism – immersion – is for sinners. Babies have not sinned, and have no need for remission of sins. The Bible is silent regarding infant baptism. There is not one verse that mentions it. That concept is an imagination of sinful men who perverted the scriptures and changed the word of God. The Catholics created the problem to begin with. The false teaching of infant baptism would not have been necessary if they had not created the false teaching of original inherited sin.
A person must be taught what is required to be baptized. They must be able to hear, believe, and obey. They must be capable of repenting of their sins, confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and be immersed for the remission of their sins. These are actions of an accountable person.
A baby or child is not yet accountable for any of those actions. God does not expect this free will choice from anyone who is not capable of making that free will choice. The precept of accountability is one that comes with age, with mental maturity.
The decision to be baptized into Christ, to die to sin, has to be made consciously by someone with mental maturity who admits they have sinned, and need God’s forgiveness. It is a contract, and even at law, minors are not considered of an age to sign contracts. Can a baby or a child discern truth from false? At law, all contracts with minors are considered null and void, as a minor is vulnerable to fraud and deceit not knowing the law.
Isn’t that exactly what the Roman Catholic Church is practicing? Fraud and deceit. One sided, unilateral contracts in order to obtain more subjects to control? What better way than to command the parents to enter / enroll their babies into the Roman Catholic Church after birth? It increases their membership without having to expend the energy to convince an adult to convert to the Roman Catholic Church.
But, it is fraud, as they have forced a contract upon an unknowing and unwitting soul to enter into a relationship without consent, and that makes it null and void! All of the actions of the Roman Catholic Church are null and void because of this one contract violation alone!
Matt. 18:1-6, “1At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? 2 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, 3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. 6 But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.”
Matt. 18:10, “Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.“
Mark 10:14, “ But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.“
1Pet. 2:1-2, “1Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, 2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:”
Because the Catholics teach inherited sin, and that babies are thus born in darkness and sin, they also teach that babies who die without being baptized are not assured of going to heaven. They hope that God will be merciful and take the baby home, but they don’t know for sure. So, which is it? Are the babies born in sin and darkness without hope? Or, do they have hope of a heavenly home should they die too soon?
It is man that creates evil. The priests, bishops and popes of the Roman Catholic Church are evidence of that. They have twisted God’s word to create a doctrine God never taught. The doctrine of original sin, and of infant baptism are no where found in God’s word. The Roman Catholic Church is teaching error, and lies, and thus have no authority from God. They are teaching something the Apostles never taught, and therefore they are anathema!
Shredding The Veil 
What does it mean, in adam everyone dies and in Christ everyone lives?
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You lifted 1 Cor. 15:22 away from vs. 21. “21 for since through man [is] the death, also through man [is] a rising again of the dead, 22 for even as in Adam all die, so also in the Christ all shall be made alive,” Paul was discussing the resurrection from the dead. Context matters.
Sin is not inherited from Adam. “as in” Adam, or just like Adam we all fall into sin through our human nature and frailty. Death, the separation from the body, and the ultimate separation from God, is the consequence of sin. Our “get-out-of-jail-free-card” is Christ, the first fruits of the resurrection from the place of the dead, that is the grave. Paul was assuring those who were asking about their loved ones who had already died that they would also be resurrected if they were righteous. All those who are in Christ, having been immersed into Christ (Mark 16:16) are resurrected into newness of life as they stand up from the water, and if they stay faithful unto death – separation from the natural body – they too will live forever in heaven with Christ. So all are made alive who are in Christ.
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Hi Gina,
I came to this web by accident and just reading all your posts. This is mind-blowing for sure!!. Congrats and thank you. You have made me re-think and re-read the bible. I have so many questions but I don’t know where to start.
About this particular point of babies inheriting the sins of their parents, I have been taught so many things that use that concept as the base. I’m wondering what do you think of the so many times when sentences were directed to the descendants instead of the main actor. Starting from Noah cursing Canaan instead of Ham and David and his war against Absalon… even in the commandments, God talks about punishing until the 3rd and 4th generation…
Thanks again
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Ex. 20:4-6, “4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. ”
Keeping it in context, the punishment for worshiping idols, breaking the 1st and 2nd commandments had consequences, which those that “hate me”, those that put a piece of wood before our Father in heaven, would live under the punishment for several generations. Sin has consequences.
If a man runs a red light, and hits another car in the intersection causing injury and death to other people, the passengers in the other car are not guilty of running the red light, but they are affected by that action.
We are all living with the consequences of sinful actions taken by others. Sin causes ripples throughout all society, and succeeding generations. If the children did not continue in that sin of idol worship, they were still going to be living with the consequences of the sins of their fathers who did. That God visited the punishment to the 3rd and 4th generations did not mean that the children were accountable for the sin of idolatry unless they were participating in that sin.
But the instant case is of idolatry, which is the highest form of contempt and hatred toward our Creator. Some of the commentators (Ellicot, Poole, Gill, etc) equate it with treason against a king or government. The family of those guilty of treason were also affected most often being killed with the father, or losing all of their estates and property and monies. It is the nature of the sin, the true evil of worshiping an idol that is the gravest of consequences. The children were not guilty of the treason, but the punishment was also inflicted upon them. That does not mean that God would put that sin upon their souls. Just that the punishment would be felt by the 3rd and 4th generation of those who did commit the sin.
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Go it. Thank you
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Thank you, Gina, for this very clear teaching. I’m enjoying all your posts and my mind is being blown. I’ve gown up in the baptist church and been taught the doctrine of original sin, with Romans 5:12 being the supporting verse. Can you please comment on this verse in relationship to this doctrine? It’s always been confusing to me that we believe that babies go to heaven “without salvation” because God is merciful and doesn’t expect the impossible from his creation ( e.g. Repentance from a baby) so then I ask myself how God can tolerate sin in His presence. You have answered that for me. Thank you
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Hello, Carol. Rom. 5:12 speaks of sin entering the world through Adam’s & Eve’s choice to disobey the Father’s command, and then through one man, Christ (the second Adam) sin is able to be cancelled out and forgiven. Just because sin became present in the world, doesn’t assign sin to a child at birth. Each person becomes responsible for their choices as they mature to a knowledge of right and wrong, then we are amenable to the law of Christ. The consequences of sin are all around us, as the actions of iniquity ripple through life like pebbles in water. But, just because I am rocked by those waves does not make me a participant in that iniquity. I hope that helps.
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