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Summary
- Original sin is the teaching that the first sin of Adam and Eve left every person born since damaged by it and in need of Christ.
- Catholics teach that we inherit a nature deprived of holiness, a sin “contracted” and not “committed”, which baptism erases.
- The Eastern Orthodox teach that everyone bears the consequences of the first sin, above all death, but only Adam and Eve are guilty of it.
- Presbyterian and Reformed churches teach that Adam’s guilt is imputed to us along with a corrupted nature, while Methodists add that God’s grace reaches everyone first.
- The Mennonite confession of 1963 and the Evangelical Friends say we are born with a fallen nature and answer for our own sins, and Adventists speak of a fallen nature that we share.
- Teachers in the Churches of Christ deny inherited sin, and Latter-day Saints believe no one is punished for Adam’s transgression.
- All of us are reading the same chapter, Romans 5, and part of our difference turns on how to translate its words “for that all have sinned”.
Bibliography (Click to show)
- King James Version: Genesis 2:17; 3:6; 8:21; Psalm 51:5; Ezekiel 18:20; Matthew 19:14; John 3:6; Romans 5:12, 19, 20; 1 Corinthians 15:22; Ephesians 2:3; Hebrews 4:15. A search of the KJV on BibleGateway for “original sin” (8 Nov 2026) returns no verses.
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, 385-412, and 1213-1284 on Baptism.
- Council of Trent, Session V (1546), Waterworth translation.
- International Theological Commission, The Hope of Salvation for Infants Who Die Without Being Baptised (2007).
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1911), Original Sin, and Pelagius and Pelagianism.
- Augustine, City of God, Book XIII, and On Original Sin, which quotes Pelagius.
- Canons of the African Church (Carthage, 419), canon 110.
- John Chrysostom, Homily 10 on Romans.
- Orthodox Church in America, Questions and Answers: Original Sin, and An Infant’s Burial.
- John Romanides, Original Sin According to St. Paul (1955-56).
- Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States, Original Sin and Adam’s Sin.
- Augsburg Confession (1530), Articles II and XVIII.
- Westminster Confession of Faith, chapters 6 and 9.
- Canons of Dort, Third and Fourth Main Points.
- London Baptist Confession (1689), chapter 6.
- Thirty-nine Articles, IX and X.
- Evangelical Catechism (1929) and UCC Statement of Faith.
- Methodist Articles of Religion, VII and VIII.
- John Wesley, Sermon 44, Original Sin, and Sermon 85, On Working Out Our Own Salvation.
- Church of the Nazarene, Articles of Faith.
- The Salvation Army, Doctrines.
- Baptist Faith and Message 2000.
- Evangelical Alliance, Basis of Faith, and Lausanne Movement, The Seoul Statement (2024).
- Assemblies of God, Statement of Fundamental Truths, and its page on free will (archived).
- UPCI Articles of Faith (2023) and position paper Human Life.
- Mennonite Confession of Faith (1963), as reprinted by Keystone Mennonite Fellowship, and Mennonite Church USA, Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective.
- Richmond Declaration of Faith (1887), in Evangelical Friends Faith and Practice.
- Seventh-day Adventist Fundamental Belief 7.
- Jehovah’s Witnesses, What Was the Original Sin?
- Christian Courier, Depravity, Total and Free Will.
- Disciples of Christ Historical Society, Christian Churches/Churches of Christ.
- Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Commission on Theology report, 1989, and Seeking to Be Disciples of Christ, 1995.
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Articles of Faith 1:2, Moses 6 and Moroni 8.
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