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Questions & Answers

Original Sin

Faith Q&A › Metropolitan Youssef › Spiritual Life › Original Sin

The question

When we refer to Adam's sin, are we referring to Adam and Eve's disobedience, or is sin primarily passed down through Adam alone? Do we also carry our father's sins and our father's father's sin all the way to Adam? Isn’t it just guilt that we carry from Adam’s sin?

The answer

The consequence of Adam's sin is death and the corrupt nature. Death means being separated from God. Adam and Eve's disobedience made them both dead. A dead person cannot give life. Therefore, we are born dead, and it is only through baptism that we are born again regaining the image of God, which Adam had enjoyed before his fall. Thus, everyone born from Adam is dead and sinful, since we all were in Adam when he sinned and this is different from bearing the sins of our fathers and father's fathers since God made it clear to us that no one will bear the guilt of his father or his son, "The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself" (Ezek 18:20).

Answered by His Eminence Metropolitan Youssef (opens in a new tab)

Related questions

Questions answered by His Eminence Metropolitan Youssef (opens in a new tab) of the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States. Question 341 on the Diocese’s Q&A site. Questions and answers © Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States. All rights reserved.