Peter John,
The problem one quickly runs into when they take the position that the Bible is the be-all and the end-all for theological knowledge and for understanding the plan of salvation, is that they disregard the whole idea that Christ offered and still desires to be the teacher of His “disciples”, who should be students and thus should be learning.
Joseph Smith didn’t take that position. He asked for more knowledge and understanding. God granted such knowledge, quite liberally just as James said as a promise from God–but those with the premise that I noted above, will simply be left out of getting any of that promised knowledge.
Still and all, the “original sin” concept is non-Biblical if it leads to the need for infant baptism, and the teaching that Adam or Eve “rebelled” against God is non-Biblical also.
Catholics do not believe that the Bible is the be-all and end-all of all theological knowledge. The only Bible that the earliest Christians had was the hebrew and greek Old Testament. The only liturgy they had was the Jewish Synagogue. Their practice involved attending synagogue as jews, and then going to a Christian’s home for their own extension of this. Any valid Christian liturgy today would have to demonstrate the reading and expounding of Holy Writ, which comes from the Synagogues, and the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper which the Christian’s added.
As far as what Scripture to read from, the early Christians – before the introduction of the gentiles – accepted the full canon of scripture that Jesus used culturally. these included the Hebrew and Greek Old Testament. I the earliest days those were the only scriptures they had to read from, so the worship practice would include reading from those. Since the people who started this worship practice had observed Christ resurrected, it would reflect a complete awareness of the death as a non-entity, as that was the Gospel – the good news.
After the gentiles started coming into the Church, they did not partisipate in synagogue, but they did get familiarized with the Jewish scriptures. By the time of the destruction of the temple, the Church had settled the issue of gentiles and jews in conversion to Christianity. Following the destruction of the temple and the beginning of the Diaspora, the Jewish leaders adavanced a sort of fundamentalism. Jews affirmning Christianity were no longer admitted to synagogue. Any books not written in Hebrew were removed from the Jewish Canon of scripture – and this was before most books in the New Testament had even been written.
So, after the Bible – as it was at the time - went forth from the Jews to the Gentiles (as the majority of converts to Christianity) the plain and precious parts written in Greek were removed. These constitute the seven books of the Old Testament later rejected in Martin Luther’s apostasy, so removed from Protestant bibles as well. These are what the Christians in the first few centuries used as they developed their religious practice. It was not until after the end of the Diocletianian persecutions in the Fourth Century that the Gospels and letters were standardized for inclusion in the formal order of worship.
So well you speak that the Bible is not all. Tradition informed the selection of the Bible, and hence the Bible is all about the Church of the first few centuries. To think that they did not know what it menat, or to suggest that the documents had some meaning lost ignores that they were selected for their contribution to and reinforcement of existing traditions.Any appearance of lost meaning, or misunderstanding of application is from not understanding the traditions they were selected to support in the first place. If they need extensive clarification or amendment to fit in with a liturgical practice, it is because that practice does not comply with the manner of worship of the first Christians.
“Disciple” means one who “sits at the feet” of the teacher, and your description of that echoes exactly when I used to go to the small local chapel in the middle of the night, and sit for a couple of hours at the feet of my Lord hanging on the Cross where he suffered so much. I knew that having been divorced twice, and now being married, I might have a hard choice in being baptized Catholic.
That was when my wife and myself prepared to live as brother and sister the rest of our lives in case any of my prior marriages were deemed valid Christian marriages.,Otherwise we would have been living in adultery, according to the words of the Good Shepherd, and I could not be baptized if living in adultery. Fortunately, that did not have to happen, but I was ready for it. Neither of my prior marriages were deemed valid Christian marriages.
In a prior thread you already defended the practice of baptizing people legally living in adultery, though I do not recall if you defended it from a Biblical perspectiv. I believe you argued it from reason.
You have now stated that Original Sin is not Biblical because it leads to infant baptism, but you have defended neither concept Biblically. Therefore, it is not necessary to discuss whether or not infant baptism is valid. You already affirm it appripriate under original sin.
So, how do you refute original sin Biblically?