Sermons

June 22, 2008
Is There A Truly Original Sin?

Is There a Truly Original Sin?
A sermon by the Rev. Mark Worth

READINGS:
1. From Elaine Pagels, Adam, Eve and the Serpent, Vintage Books, New York,1988:
"For unlike all other views, the Augustinian theory of original sin claims that our moral capacity has been so fatally infected that human nature as we know it cannot be trusted. Consequently, Augustine does not urge people to remedy their situation, as the Hopi shaman might, nor, like a rabbi, does he call them to moral reform; for humanity’s moral disease is not only universal, but also, apart from grace, incurable... From the fifth century on, Augustine’s pessimistic views of sexuality, politics, and human nature would become the dominant influence on western Christianity, both Catholic and Protestant, and color all western culture, whether Christian or not."


2. From Thomas Campbell (1777-1884), “To a Young Lady, Who Asked Me to Write Something Original For Her Album.”
"An original something, fair maid, you would win me
to write – but how shall I begin?
For I fear I have nothing original in me –
except Original Sin."

3. From Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic’s Notebook, 1963:
"Many are saved from sin by being so inept at it."

THE SERMON
My sermon title, “Is There a Truly Original Sin?” is a bit tongue-in-cheek. I do want to take a serious look at the subject, and I’ll talk quite a bit about Augustine of Hippo, who gave us the Doctrine of Original Sin. Augustine said that “original sin” is passed down from generation to generation through the sexual act, and so we’ll also talk a little about sex today. But when we talk about sin and sex it can get a little heavy, and so while I will take the subject seriously, I won’t be solemn
As a matter of fact, let’s start by quoting one of the great American authorities on sin and sex, Mae West. She, in fact, suggested my title, for she once said, “There is no such thing as a truly original sin.” Regarding temptation she said, “I generally avoid temptation unless I can’t resist it.” On the subject of human nature she said, “I used to be Snow White but I drifted.” Defining sex she said, “Sex is an emotion in motion.” She also had thoughts on the relationship between men and women. “It’s not the men in my life that counts,” she said, “it’s the life in my men.” And she added, “When women go wrong, men go right after them.” Finally, as West explains it, “When I’m good I’m very good, but when I’m bad I’m better.”

Sin and evil ~
While we might make light of it, we know that the subject of evil is a serious one. Agatha Christie writes, “There is evil everywhere under the sun.” We confront the issue of evil nearly every day just by reading the newspaper. You know the stories: terrorist bombings, war, rigged elections, economic exploitation, the continuing threat of nuclear weapons, ethnic cleansing, shootings in schools, rapes, kidnapings, domestic violence, child neglect and abuse, and gay bashing. We all have heard of Hitler, Stalin, Idi Amin, Pol Pot, Augusto Pinochet, Ossama bin Laden, Robert Mugabe and others who have caused the tortures and/or deaths of millions of people. We know about the Holocaust, the “Killing Fields” of Cambodia, and
“ethnic cleansing” in the Balkans.Although our nation has often acted nobly and generously, we made war on the native peoples of this continent, cheated them, and took their land from them. We kidnaped people from Africa, enslaved them, and for 100 years after the end of slavery we denied them their basic rights. We fought a brutal war of conquest against the Philippines in 1889-1901. We have helped to overthrow democratically elected governments in places like Iran in 1953, and Chile in 1973, and replaced them with brutal dictatorships. We continue to debate our current policies, including the use of torture, in places like Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo.
We religious liberals usually emphasize the human potential for good, and I believe that there is much love, compassion and goodness in people. Yet we also know that there is real evil in the world. And all people are capable of evil acts. We are all imperfect, and our own sins are generally acknowledged in hindsight, if at all. Simone Weil says, “Evil, when we are in its power, is not felt as evil but as necessity, or even a duty.”
Some people sincerely disagree about what is evil and what is not. Lillian Hellman said, “Fashions in sin change.” The Bible gives us permission to own slaves (Leviticus 25:44-46), and even gives instructions regarding selling your own daughter into slavery (Exodus 21:7-9). The Hebrew Scriptures (or “Old Testament”) assume that wealthy men can have as many wives as they can afford. That’s how people thought in biblical times – but today the vast majority of Americans would disagree with the Bible’s teachings regarding slavery and polygamy. Years ago the legalistic churches attacked dancing, and the music of Elvis Presley, as sinful. Before Elvis and rock ‘n’ roll came along they were against Frank Sinatra, swing music, and jazz. Today the conservative churches label homosexuality as a sin – while I believe that the real sin is prejudice and discrimination against gays and lesbians.
Because we don’t like the way fundamentalists define sin, I’ve heard some Unitarian Universalists say that there is no such thing as sin. Yet I do believe that we need to be able to say that some things are clearly wrong. Rape is a sin. Child abuse is a sin. Prejudice is a sin. Gay bashing is a sin. Domestic assault is a sin. Murder is a sin. Slavery is a sin, in spite of what the Bible says about it. Torture is a sin. Going to war based on a deception is a sin. Putting corporate profits ahead of human welfare and the environment is a sin. The late great Protestant clergyman William Sloane Coffin declared that the nuclear arms race is Original Sin.
What do we mean by the words “sin” and “evil”? When I taught at North East Leadership School about a decade ago I put the question to my students. They said : “Sin is the commission of an evil act. Evil is the state of mind that leads to the sin.” The students also suggested that sin is individual, while evil can exist in structures. Very thoughtful

Augustine and Pelagius ~
Christian theologians tell us that sin began in the Garden of Eden, when Adam ate the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Popularly, we say it was an apple, but the Bible doesn’t actually say what kind of fruit it was.
In pre-scientific times it was commonly assumed that every species, the human included, was descended from a pair of ancestors who had been created directly by God. In the 19th century Charles Darwin altered our view of human origins. So we know that Adam and Eve aren’t our literal ancestors. But I accept the story of the Garden of Eden for what it appears to be: a Hebrew story of human origins having much in common with the myths of other ancient peoples. The religious value of the story remains, because myths are not lies – they are classic
stories that tell us truths about the human condition.
The early leaders of Christianity defined sin as a transgression of divinely sanctioned law – and believed that Adam brought sin into the world when he disobeyed God and ate the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. But they did not say that the guilt of the first man, or the corruption of his nature, was passed on to all humans. The early Church Fathers maintained that Adam’s transgression (and they always spoke of Adam’s sin, because Eve was a woman and therefore of no significance) did not eliminate our own individual freedom to choose good or evil. Adam sinned, but we still have free will, they said.
It was Augustine (354-430 C.E.), Bishop of Hippo in North Africa, who gave us the Doctrine of Original Sin. Augustine transformed Christian thinking on freedom, sin, sex and redemption for all future generations of Christians. Augustine maintained that Adam’s sin corrupted humanity’s whole nature; that his guilt and his penalty pass on to all of Adam’s descendants; that all human beings are born in a state of sin; that sin is passed on to each generation through the act of sexual intercourse; and that because of Adam’s original sin, humans are subsequently incapable of satisfying God and are naturally disposed to pursue evil. Human nature is utterly depraved; human beings lack the free will to do good, and cannot do the will of God without divine grace.
Augustine’s doctrine was popular with the Roman emperors, because Augustine maintained that because of original sin, human beings couldn’t be trusted to govern themselves. By Augustine’s time Christianity was the official religion of the Roman Empire, and in fact it was illegal to worship the old Roman gods. Pagans, and those who were considered heretics, were persecuted. And the emperors found that they could use Augustine’s doctrine to give theological support to the idea of an authoritarian state.
Opposed to Augustine was a British monk, Pelagius (354?-420?). Pelagius was a radical dissenter to the doctrines taught by Augustine. He taught that we do not inherit an inclination for evil. Yes, Adam was responsible for his disobedience, but Adam’s sin did not cause a basic change in human nature. Adam merely set a bad example, and sin is spread by bad example – but we do not inherit “original sin” from Adam or Eve or anyone else. Pelagius maintained that humans were created in God’s image and have always had the free will to choose good or evil.
Augustine said that we all die because of Adam’s sin; Pelagius said that we die because it is the natural order of living things to die. Augustine claimed that because of human depravity and our inability to do God’s will, Christ’s grace is the only thing that can save us. But Pelagius said that Jesus brought salvation, not by dying on the cross, but by instructing us how to live. He also said that many Pagans and Jews have lived good or even perfect lives. And Pelagius also said that if Augustine is right – that we are sinful by our very nature – then God punishes us in hell for doing what comes naturally.

Augustine and Portnoy’s Complaint ~
But Augustine stuck to his position. As an example of original sin and our lack of freedom, Augustine offered Exhibit A: sex. Human nature, Augustine said, was created good by God, but something went wrong, and it was all Adam’s fault, not God’s. Adam’s sin had nothing to do with sex, it was disobedience. But since the time of Adam that sin has been passed on in the procreative act. We are no longer free to choose between good and evil.
The evidence of our slavery to sin is sexual arousal, or lack of it. A man can be aroused without intending to be. And at other times, when we want to be aroused, nothing happens. Spontaneous arousal in men, said Augustine, is our punishment for Adam’s sin. And if spontaneous arousal is one punishment, impotency is an even greater punishment. Augustine called this dilemma “a sign of man’s inner dividedness.” Author Philip Roth called it “Portnoy’s Complaint.”
Eve’s punishment, Augustine said, is pain in childbirth. As a result of the act of disobedience in the Garden of Eden, Augustine said, women suffer the nausea, illness, and pains of pregnancy as well as the painful contractions that accompany labor. According to Augustine, this suffering is not natural. Instead, it is proof that nature itself, as we now experience it, is diseased.
Suffering came into the world because of original sin, and free will was taken away. And the sexual act – male sperm, to be exact – is the way that sin is passed on from one generation to the next. Only Christ was immune from sin, because no sperm was involved in Mary’s pregnancy. Well, it’s an ingenious theory
Pelagius and his disciple, Bishop Julian of Eclanum (386-455), argued against Augustine. Julian said that Jesus himself, when asked if a man had been born blind because of his sin or because of his parents’ sin, had answered, “Neither” (John 9:3), and proceeded to heal the man, restoring his sight. Jesus himself, Julian argued, did not believe that we are punished for our parents’ sin. Why then should all people be punished for the sin of Adam and Eve? Julian argued that the sin of a single person could not be so great that it changed the structure of the universe.
For a while the Church went back and forth. At one point Pope Zozimus declared Pelagius to be orthodox. Later he reversed himself and declared Pelagius to be a heretic. Augustine was declared to be a saint. Since that time, St. Augustine’s doctrines have been accepted by both Catholics and Protestants, and both Catholic and Protestant doctrines condemn Pelagianism. Martin Luther, originally an Augustinian monk, brought St. Augustine’s doctrines with him into Protestantism.

The faith of a heretic ~
As a teenager growing up in the Methodist Church, I believed the Doctrine of Original Sin to be completely unfair. Like Pelagius and Julian, I could not believe that a loving God would be so cruel as to punish all people today for something two mythical people are said to have done thousands (or millions) of years ago. I simply could not believe the nonsense that God was so angry because Adam ate a piece of fruit that he condemned everyone to sin and death, but that he was so happy because we murdered his only son that he forgave us all
If the Church is right, I reasoned, God is either cruel or idiotic. I decided that the Church – Catholic and Protestant alike – was wrong. I thought about what I was taught in church, and I became a Pelagian heretic, even though I had never heard of Pelagius or his teachings.
So here I am now, a heretic. The word “heresy” comes from a Greek root that means “to choose.” A heretic chooses something other than the accepted doctrines of the Church. And I am proud to be able to make choices, and to choose something other than the odious Doctrine of Original Sin. And I am happy to be in this “church of the heretics,” the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations, where we are not required to accept such doctrines.
Rebecca Parker, president of our Unitarian Universalist seminary in Berkeley, California, argues against Augustine’s view of “original sin.” Augustine said that the root cause of sin was rebellion against God. Parker says that the root cause of sin is fear, not rebelliousness. It is fear of death, fear of isolation, fear of lack of control, fear of threat. Feeling lack of control, we find someone to control. Fearing death, we arm ourselves to create death at will. Fearing isolation, we let others define whom we should be, hoping that they will accept us.
“The consequence of our inadequate handling of fear,” she writes, “is alienation from ourselves and from one another... The sinful brokenness of our lives is experienced as loneliness, powerlessness and worthlessness... The search for salvation is the search for healing from the wounds inflicted by a fear-centered culture and for the freedom from fear.”
The answer to evil and sin, then, is right relationship with the people around us, with God (as we understand that concept) and with the natural world. Right relationship is achieved by living an ethical and compassionate life, establishing a sense of creative and cooperative power, and the acquiring of a deeply felt knowledge of one’s intrinsic worth and joy in being.
While I reject Augustine’s Doctrine of Original Sin, I will concede that it does tell part of the truth. We are fallible and finite. That is, we all make mistakes, we all do some things wrong, and we all die some day. We are imperfect by our very nature. And I believe Pelagius was probably wrong on one count – we are told that he claimed that it is possible to live a perfect life. I don’t think so. I think we all mess up from time to time, no matter how good we would like to be. As Charlotte Bronte wrote, “I was no pope – I could not boast infallibility.”
Now for those who are waiting for the answer to the question posed by the sermon title, “Is there a truly original sin,” I would say that no, there are no new sins. There is merely new technology. Human nature is the same today as it was in the time of Augustine and Pelagius. We have not changed, only our technology has. But we could refer back to Mae West for the answer. She said, “Between two evils, I always pick the one I never tried before.”
In conclusion I will quote a great 20th century Unitarian preacher, A. Powell Davies. He said, “We are all sinners. About that there is no possible doubt... But it is absolutely not true that we are nothing but sinners, or that we are drowning in sin and cannot be saved.... We are good people as well as bad people. And we do good deeds as well as bad deeds... And our hope is not in a miracle from the skies, but in the health that is in us We should not be defeated by fate; no, if we are defeated, it will only be by letting the health that is in us decay and become a mortal sickness.
“If the world is to be saved – it seems to me – it will be by those who bring to God their sweat and toil, not by those who have nothing to bring but their tears.”
And today we will let those words of A. Powell Davies be our final “Amen.”