Did you know that the religion touting love and compassion is actually based on the torturous idea of sin?
Let us take a look at original sin. This concept comes from the biblical myth of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden as described in the Old Testament, Genesis.
Genesis 2:9 – And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
Genesis 3:3 – But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
Genesis 3:5 – For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
Genesis 3:6 – And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
This has been explained in great detail by St. Augustine. Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate the forbidden fruit, creating original sin. Since Christians consider Adam and Eve to be the first humans, every human born thereafter carries original sin. It means humans are born sinners, predisposed to do bad things and disobey God (even newborn babies!).
One more concept that goes along with original sin is the doctrine of fall. It says that when Adam and Eve disobeyed God, they fell from the perfect image that God had created them in (created in God’s image and likeness), and therefore, brought evil in the world such as war, abuse, exploitation, and genocide.
There is no other way of getting rid of original sin (salvation/redemption) but to accept that Jesus Christ is the son of God, he died on the cross for humanity’s sins, get baptized and then receive grace of God.
Original sin is not only logically absurd but also gives rise to the idea that humans are essentially flawed and can never be inherently good. Looking closely, it also equates free will to bad temptation that brings evil. It also very shrewdly absolves Christian God from all the responsibilities of the evil in the world.
My question – Why does an all loving, compassionate God need to guilt-trap his followers?
If evil was the result of original sin, how would eating the forbidden fruit have granted the knowledge of good and evil?
If Jesus Christ is the answer to the original sin, why there is evil still in the Christian world?
Sources – King James Bible
Roman Catholic Doctrine, Council of Trent
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Is the belief in karma and reincarnation logical?
Yes. The whole world is built upon actions and their consequences. You can’t escape Karma no matter what you may believe.
Aatman can take any form (reincarnation). Any form be it animal, human, plant, is temporary and just a means to live a life.
What doesn’t make sense is that people have to delude themselves into thinking they are sinners and they need salvation.