Catholic
Roman Catholic
Adam’s sin lost original holiness for the whole race; original sin is a contracted state, not a personal act — erased in Baptism, though concupiscence remains.
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Original Sin
Are we born sinful? Six traditions on Adam, the fall, and what it means for every person born since.
Key versesRomans 5:12Psalm 51:5Ephesians 2:3Genesis 8:21Romans 5:19Genesis 3:6-71 Corinthians 15:22Job 14:4Romans 3:23
Review status: initial-release
Genesis tells of Adam and Eve’s disobedience, and Paul traces sin and death to "one man." But what exactly did their descendants inherit — guilt, corruption, mortality, or all three? The traditions answer differently: Catholics speak of a contracted state of deprived holiness, the Orthodox of ancestral corruption without inherited guilt, and Protestants of a wholly corrupted nature. The stakes include infant baptism, human freedom, and the necessity of grace.
Content review notice: Initial release — under theological review. Positions summarize official denominational sources; named reviewers from each tradition are being onboarded.
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In 30 seconds
Are babies born sinful? All Christians agree that something went wrong with the human race back at the beginning — Adam and Eve disobeyed God, and we’ve been dealing with the fallout ever since. The disagreement is about what exactly gets passed down. Some traditions say we inherit Adam’s guilt along with a broken nature. Others say we don’t inherit his personal guilt, but we do inherit a wounded, dying nature that pulls us toward sin. Everyone agrees on the cure, though: nobody outgrows the problem on their own — we all need what Christ did for us.
At a glance
Six traditions, one line each
Tap a tradition to jump to its full column below. Traditions aren't ranked — shown in historical order, with your tradition first if you've picked one.
| Tradition | In one line |
|---|---|
| Catholic | Adam’s sin lost original holiness for the whole race; original sin is a contracted state, not a personal act — erased in Baptism, though concupiscence remains. |
| Orthodox | Through Adam we inherited mortality, corruption, and the inclination to sin — "ancestral sin," without inherited personal guilt. |
| Lutheran | Since Adam’s fall all are "born with sin" — a real corruption of nature, truly sin, removed in Baptism yet battled daily. |
| Reformed | In Adam all sinned and fell: his guilt is imputed to his posterity, and the corruption of nature makes all "by nature children of wrath." |
| Baptist | By free choice man sinned and the whole race fell, inheriting "a nature and an environment inclined toward sin." |
| Methodist | Original sin is "the corruption of the nature of every man" — yet prevenient grace restores to all the freedom to respond. |
Orthodox
Eastern Orthodox
Through Adam we inherited mortality, corruption, and the inclination to sin — "ancestral sin," without inherited personal guilt.
Lutheran
Lutheran
Since Adam’s fall all are "born with sin" — a real corruption of nature, truly sin, removed in Baptism yet battled daily.
Reformed
Reformed
In Adam all sinned and fell: his guilt is imputed to his posterity, and the corruption of nature makes all "by nature children of wrath."
Baptist
Baptist
By free choice man sinned and the whole race fell, inheriting "a nature and an environment inclined toward sin."
Methodist
United Methodist
Original sin is "the corruption of the nature of every man" — yet prevenient grace restores to all the freedom to respond.
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How we got here
The story of this doctrine across the centuries — how the early church practiced it, where the traditions diverged, and why.
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What the early church said
Quotes from the early church on this topic — its writers, councils, and creeds: what Christians believed before the traditions split, with full source citations.
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Common objections, answered
The pushback each view tends to hear — and how that tradition answers it, steelmanned fairly with sources.
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Verse breakdowns
The key passages behind this topic, verse by verse — tap any verse to see how each of the six traditions reads it.
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Word studies
The Greek and Hebrew terms where the meaning shapes the debate — what each word actually says, and why traditions read it differently.
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Go deeper
Keep exploring
Related topics where this conversation continues.
Salvation →
Original sin is the disease; salvation is the cure. Compare how each tradition’s view of the fall shapes its view of what Christ had to do — and what grace must do in us.
Baptism →
What baptism does to original sin divides the traditions: washing away a contracted state, uniting to Christ against death, or the sign of the new birth. See how each tradition connects the two.
Free Will →
How fallen is the will? The fall’s effect on human freedom — bondage, wounding, or restored by prevenient grace — is the hinge of this topic. Compare each tradition’s answer.
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- Patristic voices — what the early church said before the traditions split
- Word studies — the Greek and Hebrew terms where meaning shapes the debate
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Teach this topic
Class-ready resources for apologetics teachers and study leaders: key passages to assign, discussion questions, the toughest objections answered, and fathers to quote.
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