How does a Theistic Evolutionist view Original Sin?

[BlackSaab52]

This is something I was just wondering? Do you believe in original sin, or are humans just sinners by choice, and not by nature also? Was sin inherited from an actual person named Adam or what do you believe about this (if you are a Theistic Evolutionist?). How would your belief in Evolution affect your take on Original Sin? I'm just curious.

 

[Alchemist]

Hey BlackSaab52,

I think I speak for most theistic evolutionists when I say that original sin is a very important part of our belief, as it is for most (all?) Christians. If Adam and Eve had not sinned, then our spirit would be perfect, and we would all still be perfect spiritually. But there was sin, so our spirit 'died' - it is no longer the perfect thing it used to be*. I don't think evolution affects our take on Original Sin; my view is that it was not until God gave the gift of spiritual life to Adam ("... breathed into his nostrils the breath of life" - Genesis 2:7) that we were accountable for sin, as before this point we had no 'spirit', even though we were alive physically. So even if humans evolved over time, it was not until this point that we were 'alive' in a spiritual sense.

I would say that it is the previous life we had (i.e. no 'moral' conscience, but instinctive behaviour etc.) that is really what sin is... for animals, they do not have a spirit, only a soul (which grants physical life; some TE's believe this came about through natural processes, most IDT (Intelligent Design Theorists) would not), so they are not judged for their actions. But seeing humans received a spirit, then we are expected to reject our sinful ways and lead moral lives in glory to God. So yeah, I guess we are 'sinful' by nature; because of the Fall our spirits are not pure anymore. It is only through our relationship with God, through His Son Jesus Christ, that we are able to receive that life again, through the gift of the Holy Spirit, which purifies our own spirit to be closer to God.

I hope this all made sense...

Peace,
Alchemist

-~-

* Most TE's do not believe the Fall extends to physical death; we believe that death is a natural (and necessary) part of God's creation. However, we do hold the view of spiritual life and death; life through God, death through sin. This interpretation comes from Genesis 2:17, where God says that 'in the day that thou eatest... (of the tree of knowledge of good and evil) ...thou shalt surely die', however as we read in Genesis 4, Adam and Eve do not die physically on the day they were sent from the Garden of Eden; hence we believe God was talking about spiritual death. Looking at Genesis 3:1-5, we could posit this is how the serpent tricks Eve; indeed they did not die physically that day, but they did die spiritually - something that perhaps Adam and Eve did not understand.

 

[rmwilliamsll]

This is something I was just wondering? Do you believe in original sin, or are humans just sinners by choice, and not by nature also? Was sin inherited from an actual person named Adam or what do you believe about this (if you are a Theistic Evolutionist?). How would your belief in Evolution affect your take on Original Sin? I'm just curious.

look at the details of the church trial at:
http://www.asa3.org/gray/evolution_trial/

the ONLY issue was if Adam was created from the earth or from a pre-adamite evolved creature. there is no difference between Gray's TE views on original sin, federal headship etc from any orthodox YECist. 1 issue-did Adam have a physical precusor.

indistinguishable.

 

[Vance]

I think we had a full thread on this in the OT forum, if someone can dig it up and bump it.

 

[gluadys]

This is something I was just wondering? Do you
believe in original sin, or are humans just sinners by choice, and not
by nature also? Was sin inherited from an actual person named Adam or
what do you believe about this (if you are a Theistic Evolutionist?).
How would your belief in Evolution affect your take on Original Sin?
I'm just curious.

Generally, I agree with Alchemist, except that I do not see Adam as a
literal, historical person.

I would also make the point that sin is a spiritual condition and
inherited spiritually, not biologically. i.e. there is no gene for
sinfulness.

How then is it inherited? I like the analogy of language. We inherit
the language of our family through imitation. That is why a child born
in China can be adopted by a family in America and grow up speaking
English instead of Chinese.

Now every person we know, even the best of our parents and teachers and
spiritual leaders, is a sinner. And nothing prevents children from
imitating faults, including sinful behaviour, sinful thoughts, sinful
attitudes, as quickly as virtues. It is inevitable that we learn sin
long before we have a capacity to choose sin.

It goes deeper even than imitation of individuals. We are social
beings who have built up institutions for educational, economic, social,
cultural, and political purposes. And being sinners we build sinfulness
into these institutions. Every institution, yes, even the church, draws
us into situations in which it is virtually impossible not to sin.
Think of the ethical conundrums faced by a corporate manager. Walter
Wink in his writing on the powers provides a good explanation of this
concept. With all the good will in the world, it is impossible for most
business people to avoid sin because "the system is greedy for you."
The system doesn't allow for non-sinful choices. Much the same applies
in any sphere of human endeavour such as politics, social work, medecine, etc.

I think that both as a species, and as individuals, we pass almost
imperceptibly from innocence to accountability. And when we have the
capacity to be accountable, we find we are already sinners.

This, I think, is the lesson of Genesis 3. I believe it describes
mythologically and very accurately, this passage from innocence to moral
accountability. Mythologically we are all Adam and the fall occurs in
every human life. That is what I understand as original sin.