Original Sin and Baptism

[ChristIsLord]

my Priest told me that baptism does not wash away original sin because after Baptism we still retain our fallen nature. he said Baptism gives foregivenss for all prior sins including original sin, however it is not washed away. If it were washed away from baptism then we would never sin, we would be incapable of sinning after baptism. Is this accurate?

 

[Scoobyshme]

Unfortunately, your priest is lacking in this area of Church teaching.

Baptism does, indeed, wash away Original sin. The EFFECTS of Original sin remain, however. These effects are darkness of intellect and weakness of will. God, though, in His infinite love and mercy, makes it possible to get right with Him after we sin. The angels who fell, cannot be made right with God, because they have no excuse like we do (darkness of intellect/weakness of will). They have what’s called instant discernment. They decide in an instant whether to follow God or not. Once they decide, they cannot change their minds. They can’t say, “Oh, wait. I made a mistake because I’m afflicted with darkness of intellect or weakness of will.” They’re “stuck.” We, on the other hand, can say that. And, we CAN, with God’s grace, repent and confess our sins and be made right again with God.

 

[Tom]

my Priest told me that baptism does not wash away original sin because after Baptism we still retain our fallen nature. he said Baptism gives foregivenss for all prior sins including original sin, however it is not washed away. If it were washed away from baptism then we would never sin, we would be incapable of sinning after baptism. Is this accurate?

No, you either misunderstood the priest, or he said something which is not Catholic teaching.

1263 By Baptism all sins are forgiven, original sin and all personal sins, as well as all punishment for sin. In those who have been reborn nothing remains that would impede their entry into the Kingdom of God, neither Adam’s sin, nor personal sin, nor the consequences of sin, the gravest of which is separation from God.

Actually, if he were correct sin would not exist. Adam and Eve were created without sin. If the priest were correct they could never have sinned since they did not have original sin.

 

[CentralFLJames]

my Priest told me that baptism does not wash away original sin because after Baptism we still retain our fallen nature. he said Baptism gives foregivenss for all prior sins including original sin, however it is not washed away. If it were washed away from baptism then we would never sin, we would be incapable of sinning after baptism. Is this accurate?

I think you misunderstood what the priest was trying to tell you since you contradict your first sentence by later saying the priest said: “baptism gives forgivness for all prior sins INCLUDING original sin”. This is correct - baptism gives us 100% forgivness for all personal and original sin AS WELL AS RELEASE FROM ALL TEMPORAL DEBTS. Those that were to die right after baptism without committing new sins would go straight to heaven and completely bypass purgatory.

What I think the priest was probably trying to tell you (perhaps somewhat in a clumsy way) is that the desire (concupescence) to sin is still present in us all even after baptism. This means we are still subject to temptation to sin and still retain our fallen nature - we will all still die for example. But baptism does radically reconfigure our souls toward Christ and bring an indwelling of The Holy Spirit that will teach us and reveal to us great truths. Later in the sacrament of Confirmation the Holy Spirit will bring forth special spiritual gifts that you must discern since they are for the benefit of yourself and The Church at large.

If one has a later life adult baptism and has previously led a very sinful life (with a lot of prior habitual personal grave sins) this concupescence can still be very strong and the occasions to sin must be avoided until one can discipline oneself and perfectly repent (which can take a lifetime). Sin has an addictive nature that tries to call us back to repeat past forgiven sins - if we yield to it. However God can easily help you control this and diminish its lure through the graces received from the sacraments (especially eucharist), prayer and adoration in the chapel before the eucharist and fasting.

Hope this helps.
James

 

[RosaryFan]

Original sin is washed away. The EFFECTS of original sin still remain.

Just say sin is a nail driven into a board: Baptism removes the nail, but leaves a hole in the board.

Sin = nail
Effects of sin = hole in the board

The sin is washed away.

 

[By_His_Mercy]

my Priest told me that baptism does not wash away original sin because after Baptism we still retain our fallen nature. he said Baptism gives foregivenss for all prior sins including original sin, however it is not washed away. If it were washed away from baptism then we would never sin, we would be incapable of sinning after baptism. Is this accurate?

Isn’t this similar to what Luther thought? Didn’t he equate our sin nature (inclination to sin) with sin itself? At least, that’s what I remember…