John the Baptist

[Tom]

Thus, if he was free from original sin, and there is nothing in Scripture to suggest such a momentous event as a second Fall from grace, he must have been free from personal sin also.

Poor logic. Wasn’t Adam free of original sin? He wasn’t created in sin. Yet he sinned. Being free, either by Baptism, or never having the stain like Mary, doesn’t guarantee you’ll not sin. The glory of Mary is that she could have rejected the offer. She could have sinned, she chose obedience rather than disobedience. She had a choice. Original sin gives us a predisposition to sin, not a guarantee that we will. Being free from original sin does not mean we can’t sin. Certainly an infant can’t sin, nor an adult with diminished mental capacity who can’t judge right from wrong. We don’t sin by accident.