Man
|
Man is born sinless |
|
Mormons
deny the doctrine of original sin, for they say that ‘divine justice forbids
that we be accounted sinners solely because our parents transgressed’ (James
E. Talmage, A Study of the Articles of
Faith, Salt Lake City, Utah (USA), 42nd edition, 1968, page 475).
According to Mormons, ‘modern Christendom has the false doctrine of original
sin’ (Bruce McConkie, Mormon Doctrine,
1993, page 550). Men are born sinless: ‘Every spirit of man was innocent in
the beginning; and God having redeemed man from the fall, men became again,
in their infant state, innocent before God’ (Doctrine and Covenants 93:38). |
|
The
doctrine of original sin is denied also by Jews, for they believe that man
enters the world free of sin, with a soul that is pure and innocent and
untainted. ‘According to Judaism, a child is born pure, completely free from
sin. We pray daily "Oh God, the soul which you gave me is pure. You
created it, you fashioned it, you breathed it into me’
(http://www.jewfaq.org); as well as by Muslims: ‘A true Muslim believes that
every person is born free from sin and good, like a blank book’ (The Fundamental Articles of Faith in Islam,
10; in Encyclopedia of American Religions: Religious Creeds, 1st
edition, page 780) |
|
|
|
Confutation |
|
|
|
The
Scripture teaches that man is born with sin, for David says: “Behold, I was
shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Psalm 51:5). All
this because of the disobedience of the first man, that is, Adam, for Paul
says: “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin;
and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Romans 5:12). |
|
It
is, of course, true that on the day of judgement sinners will be judged
according to their works, but it remains still true that when men are born
they are sinners and they are under condemnation because of the sin of Adam.
Therefore, it is not true that men are born good and sinless, and then with
the passing of time they become sinners and corrupted. For the Scripture
says: “The imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth” (Genesis |