Why do Christians say we are born sinners?

Question

I was debating with a Pastor and he said that humans are born sinners and that we need Jesus to cleanse our sins. What I don't understand is how an Innocent infant or child is considered a sinner before they are even able to know any better.
He said we inherited the sins of our father Adam, when he ate from the tree. HUH!!
I then gave him the following scenario, what if my dad committed a murder in New York while I was in LA and had absolutely nothing to do with his actions. Would it be OK for the government to put me in jail just so that they can pin for the crime, seeing that my father committed the crime? of course not! so if its unfair for humans to do, then how can the fairest of all (God) be able to associate us with something we never did. I never saw, tasted, smelled, or touched the apple he ate.
Just because my dad is a criminal doesn't mean i am
or just because my dad is doctor doesn't mean I am.

He couldn't answer me, he then shut off my microphone and began to call me ignorant in front of 100 people.
I believe that we are all born pure and that we choose to sin, not the other way around. Otherwise there would be no inner good in anyone. the goodness that we see people for would just be false and made up.

IM NOT CHRISTIAN. if you are going to answer, please stay on topic. with none of that god is love stuff, I want reasoning and not feel good phrases.

Answer 1

its a stupid made up bit of propaganda to try and trick/force people into joining their religion. its a nonsense

I'm not a sinner I never sinned do you know how I manage that? by not buying into a feeble iron age fantasy that has no place in the modern world.

Answer 2

You are right. ... Children are indeed innocent.



Look at this amazing statement:



"And he said: "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."



Who said this? Jesus Christ of Nazareth.



So, why do some Christians think we are "born sinners"? I think it is just sloppy wording, or worse -- relying on taking a certain verse in the bible *without* it's context, without the meaning it has in context.



(David did some sins, seriously worse than you'd guess, a lot worse...and then wrote finally in abject repentance the Psalm about being 'born sinning'. Context. It gives the meaning. He used hyperbole, trying to repent.)



What's the right way to say it? All of us become sinners. We are born like Adam and Eve before the fall, but we do not remain innocent. Eventually, we knowingly harm others. What can be done about us harming others?



There is a way to be truly transformed, and become what we should be, ideally.



Some claim they are moral without Christ..... It's because anyone can indeed do the Golden Rule....for a while....until the going gets rough. What then? (Those who haven't lived or thought long will imagine they are sinless. Life will teach them if they use their eyes and ears. It's a lucky day when a person finally realizes ways they have hurt others they didn't even have awareness of before.)

Answer 3

It is sad that pastors are not required to have credential or standards of education, like other professions. He is confused. I believe spiritual leaders should begin by saying there are many perspectives of this issue within the faith, and it is difficult to understand. We have trouble understanding the physical world, which is more accessible than the spiritual world. Many Christians have said the same Holy Spirit is leading them, but in different directions.



We are born sinners, in the sense of a predisposition to sin. We are born with flesh that has wants and needs that are contrary to God's restrictions and commandments. We are born with a mind and heart that even hides it's motives from the conscious self. We justify, rationalize, deny, minimize, and defend things that should not be defended. Even are minds are predisposed to sin, not that an infant plots and schemes, but an infant is selfish and wants its mother all for itself, at all times. We are not born with patience. We are taught patience by not getting our needs met, and having to wait.

Answer 4

We are born into the world thru Adam who was a sinner.

We inherit his all his characteristics....his hair, his eyes, his facial features, his sinful nature is one of the things we inherit.



Jesus said we must be 'Born Again' which simply means when we receive Jesus, we're born a second time thru Jesus who is NOT a sinner. Then we inherit Jesus' sinless nature and we are born into the Family of God.



That's the way I understand it anyway.

Answer 5

Just because you don't believe this pastor, doesn't make you right either. Of course we are born inherent sinners, aren't the inner most desires of even an infant, selfishness? Sorry if you don't like the answer, but man proves it over and over again.

Answer 6

it is obvious man is alone in life in that we are made in the image of God and do not run on instincts to live we have liberty to choose many things. A baby usually one of the 1st things you teach them is the word NO. They are bent towards getting what they want and they have to be taught. The guilt of Adam is not upon them but the nature is. When the child is mature enough the sin that is in them will come out. We all covet in our hearts and lie as well as get angry and when we are older will deal with lust and all. So we were born with these propensities. When we act on them we are acting in the nature of Adam. The being born of the Spirit places the nature of God along side the nature of Adam and these two battle it out within us.

Answer 7

Well, we, as Christians, believe what the Bible says (2 Timothy 3:16, 17). And the Bible says that we have inherited sin (Romans 5:12). It is just like a disease that the original man caught and gave to all of his descendants. Jehovah gave us the cure through His Son, Jesus Christ. But we must exercise our faith in Jesus, His son, so as to gain everlasting life (John 3:16).

Answer 8

Original Sin is not the same as actual sin. It means, because of the sin of our first parents (Adam and Eve) we are born into a fallen world with a tendency towards sin (concupiscence) and a disordered relationship with God (Before the fall, Adam and Eve spoke to God freely and regularly) We can talk with God (prayer) but it's not as open nor as free, nor do we understand, or "hear," His voice clearly.

Answer 9

Because we are. We are born into a Sinful World.... And our Creator is Holy by His own Nature, He cannot tolerate Sin and to enter into Heaven, Sin must be paid for. Since Blood is our life source. Our Creator God Jesus Christ came to Earth to Pay yours and my Sin debt. And if an infant child were to die? He or she would return to God in Heaven......Hope this helps ya......

Answer 10

Adam became imperfect when he sinned. So children cannot inherit things their parents don't have. Adam was like a cake pan with a dent in it. All the cakes made from that pan have the dent, and the dent is sin. We are not responsible for Adam's sin, but for our own sins.

Answer 11

Because it's mislead. It's true that mankind is sinful but man wasn't born that way. Man is born pure. Children and infants are good until they have contact with the harsh reality of society.

Answer 12

The concept of 'original sin' was developed as an attempt to rectify the existence of a 'perfect god', who would only be capable of 'perfect creation', and a demonstrably 'imperfect' human race.



It couldn't have been his fault, so it had to be ours.

Answer 13

Only when a person reaches an age that they know better are they held accountable for their sins.



And you are wrong btw. Parents must teach children NOT to steal and NOT to lie, etc. We are born with a carnal nature that is tamed by exposure to correction. You don't much about these things.... so ask for wisdom and keep your mouth shut until you have it.

Answer 14

You are mistaking "sin" for "evil." A child is born in sin because they are born separated from God, not born evil. In their state of separation from God, they have a sin nature, and will do bad things before too long, but to say someone is born in sin is not to claim they aren't "innocent," as you say. It's to claim they born in a state of separation from God. You're right: just because your dad is a criminal doesn't mean you are.



But let's say your dad is American, and chooses to leave America and become a citizen of France. When you are born, then, you are a citizen of France, not of America. You are "separated" (to use the imagery of the previous paragraph) from America. it doesn't mean you're evil, it means your status is that of a citizen of France.



When you are born in sin, you are not born as a citizen of God's kingdom, but of the kingdom of sin. Does that help?



For more conversation, visit www.the3rdchoice.org

Answer 15

The "sin nature" is inherited, not necessarily the specific behaviors. Thus your example of your father's behavior is a non sequitur. Take any child and you will find that they exhibit rebellion without "learning" that from the parents or others.

Answer 16

supposedly we are born with "original sin" i.e. we are all born with the sin of adam and eve eating the fruit of knowledge. The garden of eden, adam and eve are just mythology of creation, its just a tool the church uses to control the masses and get people to pay for baptisims and such

Answer 17

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