This topic is god to combine with Psalm 51, HERE
- The person who sins is the one who will die. A son won’t suffer punishment for the father’s iniquity, and a father won’t suffer punishment for the son’s iniquity. The righteousness of the righteous person will be on him, and the wickedness of the wicked person will be on him. (Ezekiel 18:20)
I will first post a section from pages 30-31, 35 of Calvinism: A Biblical and Theological Critique
Romans 5:12
Augustine found support for inherited guilt in a misinterpretation of the Latin version of Rom 5:12. At the end of the verse, Paul wrote that all die eph hō pantes hemartōn (“because all sinned”). Reading from a Latin text, however, Augustine saw the phrase in quo omnes peccaverunt and wrongly interpreted it to mean “in whom all sinned.” The resulting interpretation was that all humanity dies because all humanity sinned in Adam. The Greek phrase eph hō, however, which corresponds to the Latin in quo, means “because.” As support for this interpretation, we may simply consult major English Bible translations.51 Against Augustine’s interpretation, Rom 5:12 states all die because all sin. Though Rom 5:12 provides the primary biblical support for an Augustinian view of original sin, the verse became significant for his view only when he began to debate Pelagians on original sin.52 For Pelagius, Adam’s sin brought death into the world, but each person is held responsible for their own sin. Adam’s sin was the first and primary example of sinful behavior, but his descendants are indicted as guilty for the same reason as Adam—because of their own acts of rebellion against God.53 The early
church interpreted Romans as well as Adam’s relationship to humanity in similar ways. For Augustine, however, the Adam-Christ parallel represented two processes of being born: sinful people are born naturally by the natural man (Adam), but children of God are born spiritually by grace through Christ.54 This Adam-Christ parallel is seen when Augustine paired the verse with 1 Cor 15:22, which he quoted, “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.”55 For Augustine, Adam passed sin to his descendants by procreation, resulting in all people being destined for eternal damnation, including unbaptized infants.56
Though some interpret Rom 5:12 like Augustine, other Christian scholars reject inherited guilt. James D. G. Dunn wrote on Paul’s view of Adam and sin from Rom 5:12–21: “Guilt only enters into the reckoning with the individual’s own transgression. Human beings are not held responsible for the state into which they are born. That is the starting point of their personal responsibility, a starting point for which they are not liable.”57 Donald G. Bloesch explained, “The text in Romans to which Augustine often appealed (5:12) does not tell us how Adamic sin is related to general human sin and therefore cannot be used to argue for inherited sin or guilt; it simply informs us that death pervaded the whole human race ‘inasmuch as all have sinned’ (REB).”58 Joseph Fitzmyer cautioned readers of Rom 5:12 to distinguish between Paul’s writings and the later teachings of the church. This Catholic scholar explains that the doctrine of original sin (the view that all people inherit both a sinful nature and guilt) is a later teaching of the church rather than the explicit teaching of Paul. The doctrine of original sin was developed from later Augustinian writings and solidified through the Sixteenth Council of Carthage, the Second Council of Orange, and the Tridentine Council.59
[….]
Stanley Grenz (1950–2005) wrote, “Romans 5:12–21, like Ephesians 2:3, does not clearly and unequivocally declare that all persons inherit guilt directly because of Adam’s sin. The biblical case for original guilt is not strong.” Grenz concluded, “Our human nature has been corrupted.”81 He described the development of moral responsibility. “Somewhere in childhood we move from a stage in which our actions are not deemed morally accountable to the responsibility of acting as moral agents. In short, we cross a point which some refer to as the ‘age of accountability.’”82
51 The CSB, ESV, LEB, NASB, NET, NIV, NKJV render the phrase in question as “because all sinned.” Other translations use different words to communicate the same idea. For example, the KJV used the phrase “for that all have sinned.” Even the NABRE (New American Bible, Revised Edition), the translation used on the website of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, translated the phrase with a variation of “all sinned.”
52 Augustine quoted Rom 5:12 only three times before his debates with the Pelagians, and none of those occurrences of the verse concerned the transmission of sin. Beatrice, Transmission of Sin, 102.
53 See Pelagius’s views in Pelagius’ Commentary on St Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, trans. Theodore de Bruyn, Oxford Early Christian Studies (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993), 92–93 (5:12); 94 (5:15); 99 (6:19); 104 (7:17).
54 Augustine, On the Merits and Remission of Sins, and On the Baptism of Infants 1.19, in NPNF1, 5:22.
55 Augustine, Tractates on the Gospel of John 3.12, in NPNF1, 7:22.
56 Augustine, On the Merits and Remission of Sins, and On the Baptism of Infants 1.21, in NPNF1, 5:23: “Such infants as quit the body without being baptized will be involved in the mildest condemnation of all.”
57 James D. G. Dunn, The Theology of Paul the Apostle (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998), 97.
58 Donald G. Bloesch, Jesus Christ: Savior & Lord (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1997), 43–44.
59 Joseph Fitzmyer, Romans: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary, Anchor Bible 33, ed. William F. Albright and David Noel Freedman (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1993), 408–9.
[….]
81 Stanley J. Grenz, Theology for the Community of God (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000), 205.
82 Grenz, 209.
This clip is taken from the Naked Bible Podcast. It was part of an answer to a question about abortion and what happens to babies who are aborted.
Dr. Leighton Flowers walks through the doctrine often referred to as “original sin” and looks at where the scripture seems to fly in the face of the concept that mankind is held morally accountable for that which is beyond their control.
And 2-pages from the book Anyone Can Be Saved (as well as 3-pages from Adam Harwood’s book, Christian Theology. Both say similar things)
Romans 5:12
ROMANS 5:12
Joseph Fitzmyer cautions readers of Rom 5 to distinguish between Paul’s writings and the later teachings of the church. The Catholic scholar explains that the doctrine of original sin (the view that all people inherit both a sinful nature and guilt) is a later teaching of the church rather than an explicit teaching of Paul. The doctrine of original sin was developed from later Augustinian writings and solidified through the Sixteenth Council of Carthage, the Second Council of Orange, and the Tridentine Council.
Romans 5:12 begins with the word “Therefore.” What was Paul’s previous argument? In Rom 5:1–2, Paul explains that we have been justified by faith and have peace with God through Christ. Also, through Christ we have access by faith to this grace. In vv. 3–5, those who have been given the Holy Spirit can hope in their suffering because of what God produces in them. Christ died for “the weak,” “ungodly,” people who were “still sinners” (vv. 6–8). Verse 9 begins in a way that is similar to v. 1 (“Since, therefore, we have been justified. . .”). Verse 1 mentions being justified by faith; verse 9 mentions being justified by his blood. Verses 9–11 provide assurance that we will be saved from God’s wrath by the life provided by Jesus.
In verse 12, Paul states that “just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men” (v. 12). Sin entered the world through one man, Adam. Death entered the world through sin. Death spread to all men. Why? The answer is found in verse 12, “because all sinned.” The text states neither “in whom all sinned” nor “because all sinned in Adam.” Death spread because people sinned. Even worse, “death reigned from Adam to Moses” (v. 14). But Christ is anticipated, and Adam is described as “a type of the one to come” (v. 14).
The remark that “one trespass led to condemnation” (v. 18) is clarified in v. 19, “For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners” (ESV). Do these verses teach that all people inherit the guilt and condemnation of Adam? If this is pressed as the meaning intended by Paul, then the parallel to all people inheriting guilt and condemnation is all people inheriting justification and life (v. 19). In order to affirm universal sinfulness but deny universal salvation, Millard Erickson posits a “conditional imputation” of Adam’s guilt. People must ratify the work of Adam by personally and knowingly sinning just as they must ratify the work of Christ by personally and knowingly repenting of sin and confessing Christ as Savior and Lord.
What does the text of Rom 5:12–21 not say? The text makes no mention of a covenant between God and Adam and it makes no mention of imputation of Adam’s guilt. Can those concepts be found in various volumes of systematic theology? Yes. Can those concepts be found in this passage? No. In his monumental work The Theology of Paul the Apostle, James D. G. Dunn articulates his rejection of inherited guilt as follows: “Nevertheless, guilt only enters into the reckoning with the individual’s own transgression. Human beings are not held responsible for the state into which they are born. That is the starting point of their personal responsibility, a starting point for which they are not liable.”
Perhaps other biblical texts support the doctrine of inherited guilt. Perhaps not. Either way, they are not discernible in Rom 5:12–21. Instead, we see that death spread to all of humanity because of the sin of one man, Adam. Thankfully, God answered the spread of death and condemnation through Adam with the hope of justification and life through Christ.
[I did not include foot notes in the excerpt above. I did – however – below]
ROMANS 5:12
Augustine found support for inherited guilt in a misinterpretation of the Latin version of Romans 5:12. At the end of the verse, Paul writes that all die eph hō pantes hemartōn (“because all sinned”). Reading from a Latin text, however, Augustine saw the phrase in quo omnes peccaverunt and wrongly interpreted it to mean “in whom all sinned.” The resulting interpretation was that all humanity dies because all humanity sinned in Adam. The Greek phrase eph hō , however, which corresponds to the Latin in quo , means “because.” As support for this interpretation, simply consult major English Bible translations. 34 Against Augustine’s interpretation, Romans 5:12 states all die because all sin. 35
Though Romans 5:12 provides the primary biblical support for an Augustinian view of original sin, the verse became significant for his view only when he began debating Pelagian views of original sin. 36 For Pelagius, Adam’s sin brought death into the world, but each person is held responsible for their own sin. Adam’s sin was the first and primary example of sinful behavior, but his descendants are indicted as guilty for the same reason as Adam—because of their own acts of rebellion against God. 37 The early church interpreted Romans as well as Adam’s relationship with humanity in similar ways. For Augustine, however, the Adam-Christ parallel represented two processes of being born: sinful people are born naturally by the natural man (Adam), but children of God are born spiritually by grace through Christ. 38 This Adam-Christ parallel is seen when Augustine paired the verse with 1 Corinthians 15:22, which he quotes, “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.” 39 For Augustine, Adam passed sin to his descendants by procreation, resulting in all people being destined for eternal damnation, including unbaptized infants. 40
Though some interpret Romans 5:12 like Augustine, other Christian scholars reject inherited guilt. James D. G. Dunn writes on Paul’s view of Adam and sin from Romans 5:12–21, “Guilt only enters into the reckoning with the individual’s own transgression. Human beings are not held responsible for the state into which they are born. That is the starting point of their personal responsibility, a starting point for which they are not liable.” 41 Donald G. Bloesch explains, “The text in Romans to which Augustine often appealed (5:12) does not tell us how Adamic sin is related to general human sin and therefore cannot be used to argue for inherited sin or guilt; it simply informs us that death pervaded the whole human race ‘inasmuch as all have sinned.’ (REB).” 42 Joseph Fitzmyer cautions readers of Romans 5:12 to distinguish between Paul’s writings and the later teachings of the church. The Catholic scholar explains that the doctrine of original sin (the view that all people inherit both a sinful nature and guilt) is a later teaching of the church rather than the explicit teaching of Paul. The doctrine of original sin was developed from later Augustinian writings and solidified through the Sixteenth Council of Carthage, the Second Council of Orange, and the Tridentine Council. 43
CONCLUSION ON AUGUSTINE’S VIEWS OF ORIGINAL SIN AS INHERITED GUILT
Augustine’s view of inherited guilt was based on distorted views of humanity, sexual union, Christian marriage, and his poor interpretations of key biblical texts. Augustine misinterpreted Job 14:4; Psalm 51:5; Ephesians 2:3; Hebrews 7:4–10; and Romans 5:12. The best-known example is that Augustine quotes Romans 5:12 to affirm that all sinned in Adam, which is not what the apostle Paul wrote. Augustine viewed infant baptism as the solution for the problems among infants of inherited guilt and demonic possession. The early church affirmed human sinfulness, but Augustine’s interpretations of Scripture and views of inherited guilt were innovations that were rejected by many of his contemporaries as well as subsequent generations of Christians.
34 The CSB, ESV , LEB , NASB , NET, NIV , NKJV render the phrase in question as “because all sinned.” Other translations use different words to communicate the same idea. For example, the KJV uses the phrase “for that all have sinned.” Even the NABRE, the translation used on the website of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, translates the phrase as “inasmuch as all sinned.”
35 Another possible interpretation of Rom 5:12 is that humans die and, as a result of their nature inherited from Adam, all sin. According to that view, eph hō serves as a consecutive conjunction meaning “with the result that.” In this case, the sin of Adam is the primary cause of our sinful condition; the result of that sin is the history of sinning on the part of all who enter the human race and sin of their own accord. For a summary and evaluation of major interpretations, see Robert H. Mounce, Romans, NAC 27 (Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1995), 142 . He suggests this alternate interpretation does justice to the language involved and conforms to the apostle’s theological outlook as he builds his case in the book of Romans.
36 Augustine quoted Rom 5:12 only three times before his debates with the Pelagians, and none of those occurrences of the verse concern the transmission of sin (Beatrice, Transmission of Sin, 102).
37 See Pelagius’s views in Pelagius’s Commentary on St Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, trans. Theodore de Bruyn (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993), 5:12; 5:15; 6:19; 7:17.
38 Augustine, On the Merits 1.19.
39 Augustine, Tractates on the Gospel of John 3.12 (NPNF 1 7:22). See other quotations of 1 Cor 15:22 in Letter 140.8–9; 166.7; 169.4.
40 Augustine, On the Merits 1.21 (NPNF 1 5:23), “Such infants as quit the body without being baptized will be involved in the mildest condemnation of all.”
41 James D. G. Dunn, The Theology of Paul the Apostle (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998), 97.
42 Donald G. Bloesch, Jesus Christ: Savior and Lord (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1997), 43–44.
43 Joseph Fitzmyer, Romans: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary, AB 33 (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1993), 408–9.
Adam Harwood, Christian Theology: Biblical, Historical, and Systematic (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Academic, 2022), 364-366
Children and Depravity – Two Shorts
(Left video) 5-minutes plus; (Right video) 15-minutes plus
(See more about who introduced such “determinism into the church in a previous post, HERE)
Augustine’s Influence
Did Augustine actually invent the modern idea of original sin—and was it influenced by Gnosticism and Manichaeism rather than Scripture? In this eye-opening conversation, we unpack how Augustine’s shift from a traditional view of free will to a deterministic theology changed the course of Christian thought for centuries.
You’ll discover how Augustine’s 10 years as a Manichaean may have shaped his later teachings on infant baptism, predestination, and the imputed guilt of Adam—concepts that eventually inspired Calvinist doctrine and debates that still divide the Church today.
Join us as we trace the timeline of Augustine’s writings, his secret revisions, and the pivotal debates with Pelagius that gave birth to one of the most controversial doctrines in church history. Whether you’re a theology student, pastor, or just curious about Christian origins, this episode will challenge what you thought you knew about sin, salvation, and sovereignty.
However, I think this next video is the winner. However, it is long, but it shows the hypocrisy of some Calvinists in rejecting the “T” in TULIP to say babies go to heaven:
Dr. Leighton Flowers plays a clip from Jeremiah Notier, aka The Apologetic Dog, in which he accuses Dr. Flowers of being a “Pelagian” because I do not affirm the concept that all babies are born guilty and deserving of Hell.
BONUS PDF
Chapter 4 of Adam Harwood’s book, The Spiritual Condition of Infants: A Biblical-Historical Survey and Systematic Proposal (Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2011), chpt title: “What Do Infants Receive from Adam? (Romans 5:12–21)” (PDF)
