Original sin versus celebration of pregnancy

[Brian63]

Suppose you are an evangelical Christian---

You believe the doctrine of original sin. Adam and Eve disobeyed God and somehow as a result every single descendant of theirs inherited their guilt and blame at the moment they are conceived in the mother's womb. Every single child is born guilty, with absolute certainty. It is possible that they can redeem themselves later in life if they repent to God, but it is not certain that that will happen. There is always a risk they will not.

However, it is very common to plan for and celebrate when a woman becomes pregnant. You carry a creature inside of you that you know right now is evil (or you might conveniently ignore that for a moment).

If you want to minimize the amount of evil in the world, you should not plan and celebrate having evil fetuses carried in the wombs of women. Instead both men and women should abstain from any unprotected sex that could potentially result in a pregnancy.

Is there a consistent rationale for why evangelical Christians should celebrate the introduction of evil infants into the world?

 

[Shadowy Man]

Is there a consistent rationale for why evangelical Christians should celebrate the introduction of evil infants into the world?

Because they don’t truly believe what they preach?

 

[steve_bank]

Interpretations of the myth I have heard.

Th fall and expulsion from the garden was about he transition from wandering nomads to fixed settlements and farming. A loss of freedom.

When Adam and Eve ate from the tree of knowledge they became self aware and were no longer part of the animal kingdom. They became self conscious and covered themselves with fig leaves.

In the 90s I watched a Bill Moyers show with a secular and theist panel discussing the psychology of Genesis. There is psychology in the stories if you look at it from the times. Just like there is psychology in Aesop's Fables. talking animals.

I watched a show last year looking for potential sites for Eden. Dry rives were identified that match up to ancient writings. It looks like Eden may have been a green wet area in the region at the time of the Babylonian assimilation of the Jews.. Jewish scribes would have been multilingual out of necessity and exposed to all the stories, metaphors, and myths floating around in the day.

All cultures seem to create evil as a boogeyman. In the extreme Nazis and Jews.

I expect it just feels good to feel like you are an agent of a god doing battle with an evil opponent. I caught some of it on a Christian show today, self righteousness in the extreme against evil. It is all about those feel good endorphins and brain chemistry.

Sampling the Sunday Christian shows can be educational.

 

[braces_for_impact]

Suppose you are an evangelical Christian---

You believe the doctrine of original sin. Adam and Eve disobeyed God and somehow as a result every single descendant of theirs inherited their guilt and blame at the moment they are conceived in the mother's womb. Every single child is born guilty, with absolute certainty. It is possible that they can redeem themselves later in life if they repent to God, but it is not certain that that will happen. There is always a risk they will not.

However, it is very common to plan for and celebrate when a woman becomes pregnant. You carry a creature inside of you that you know right now is evil (or you might conveniently ignore that for a moment).

If you want to minimize the amount of evil in the world, you should not plan and celebrate having evil fetuses carried in the wombs of women. Instead both men and women should abstain from any unprotected sex that could potentially result in a pregnancy.

Is there a consistent rationale for why evangelical Christians should celebrate the introduction of evil infants into the world?

I think that most Evangelicals would tell you that they picture their children being redeemed through the grace of God, and sharing heaven with their parents. It's true that nothing is certain, but even in pregnancies without religion involved, nothing is certain. The child could grow up to be a blight on society (i.e. mass murderer or even a politician) and yet those pregnancies are also celebrated.

 

[lostone]

Suppose you are an evangelical Christian---

You believe the doctrine of original sin. Adam and Eve disobeyed God and somehow as a result every single descendant of theirs inherited their guilt and blame at the moment they are conceived in the mother's womb. Every single child is born guilty, with absolute certainty. It is possible that they can redeem themselves later in life if they repent to God, but it is not certain that that will happen. There is always a risk they will not.

However, it is very common to plan for and celebrate when a woman becomes pregnant. You carry a creature inside of you that you know right now is evil (or you might conveniently ignore that for a moment).

If you want to minimize the amount of evil in the world, you should not plan and celebrate having evil fetuses carried in the wombs of women. Instead both men and women should abstain from any unprotected sex that could potentially result in a pregnancy.

Is there a consistent rationale for why evangelical Christians should celebrate the introduction of evil infants into the world?

The Bible also says 'be fruitful and multiply' - Genesis 1:28. It's a religious text - you can't expect a religious text or religious people to be logically consistent.

 

[jab]

Suppose you are an evangelical Christian---

You believe the doctrine of original sin. Adam and Eve disobeyed God and somehow as a result every single descendant of theirs inherited their guilt and blame at the moment they are conceived in the mother's womb. Every single child is born guilty, with absolute certainty. It is possible that they can redeem themselves later in life if they repent to God, but it is not certain that that will happen. There is always a risk they will not.

However, it is very common to plan for and celebrate when a woman becomes pregnant. You carry a creature inside of you that you know right now is evil (or you might conveniently ignore that for a moment).

If you want to minimize the amount of evil in the world, you should not plan and celebrate having evil fetuses carried in the wombs of women. Instead both men and women should abstain from any unprotected sex that could potentially result in a pregnancy.

Is there a consistent rationale for why evangelical Christians should celebrate the introduction of evil infants into the world?

It is not simply some branches of Evangelical Christianity that believe in original sin, but so does Roman Catholicism. Indeed some Protestant groups (including the fundamentalist sect in which I was raised), (used to) eschew and abominate the concept of original sin as a Popish construct.