Original Sin and Jesus being wholly human

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BigTurkey

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Hey guys,

I have a really quick question: If the doctrine of original sin is true, and Jesus was conceived without original sin, was Jesus wholly human? Was he made to be like us in every way (Heb. 2:17)?

-BigTurkey
 
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BigTurkey:
Hey guys,

I have a really quick question: If the doctrine of original sin is true, and Jesus was conceived without original sin, was Jesus wholly human? Was he made to be like us in every way (Heb. 2:17)?

-BigTurkey
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Adam and Eve were created without sin and they were wholly human. Sin is not part of our nature. To be sinless is our true and full human nature.
 
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BigTurkey:
Hey guys,

I have a really quick question: If the doctrine of original sin is true, and Jesus was conceived without original sin, was Jesus wholly human? Was he made to be like us in every way (Heb. 2:17)?

-BigTurkey
Click to expand...
The more we sin the less human we behave. It is not necessary to have original sin in order to be human. Excuses that people use like,“I am only human” when they sin are a bunch of bologna.
 
Yeah, I thought about the Adam and Eve point. This question came up because a fellow Protestant friend of mine (I’m still Protestant, but studying Catholicism) and I were talking about it yesterday. We are Church of Christ, and the Church of Christ, in general, do not believe in Original Sin. (We believe in the Fall, but not that the sins of Adam was passed down to us.) I am studying Original Sin because it is so central to understanding the Catholic Church’s teaching. Anyway, my friend is curious because he is wondering how Jesus can be made like us in every respect (heb. 2:17) and not have Original Sin. I think I have several good thoughts on it…I just wanted to post it on here to see what answers y’all had.

-Micah
 
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BigTurkey:
Yeah, I thought about the Adam and Eve point. This question came up because a fellow Protestant friend of mine (I’m still Protestant, but studying Catholicism) and I were talking about it yesterday. We are Church of Christ, and the Church of Christ, in general, do not believe in Original Sin. (We believe in the Fall, but not that the sins of Adam was passed down to us.) I am studying Original Sin because it is so central to understanding the Catholic Church’s teaching. Anyway, my friend is curious because he is wondering how Jesus can be made like us in every respect (heb. 2:17) and not have Original Sin. I think I have several good thoughts on it…I just wanted to post it on here to see what answers y’all had.

-Micah
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Well, the Church doesn’t believe that “the sins of Adam are passed down to us”, either! What the Church teaches is that when Adam and Eve fell from grace their nature was corrupted, their intellect darkened, and their will weakened. We aren’t paying for Adam’s sins, but we are burdened with these three effects of the fall. Jesus, as the New Adam–the God-Man, did not inherit these fallen conditions. His humanity was untouched by the fall, which made him the perfect sacrifice for our sins. Of course, the Catechism explains this better than I.
 
Original sin is a way of talking about the human condition as one of (temporary) alienation from God, i.e., we are born alienated from God. Jesus was not born alienated from God, thus no original sin.
 
BigT,

Welcome to the forums!

I just want to point out that in addition to what Paul says in Heb 2:17. . .
Therefore, he had to become like his brothers in every way, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest before God to expiate the sins of the people.
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We must *also look at *what Paul says a bit later in Heb. 4:15:
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has similarly been tested in every way, yet without sin.
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Jesus was not only born without Original Sin, but also lived without any personal sin. So how can He be like us in every way? (Since, we do sin)

If you look at Paul’s language in Heb 2, it looks to me like he is talking about the incarnation – that The Word became man. But He became man constituted in orginal justice, The New Adam, and furthermore did not commit any personal sin (Heb 4).

Just some thoughts to add to your discussion.
God Bless,
VC
 
Sin is not an essential aspect of human nature.

One of the effects of original sin was to damage our human nature in a way that makes us more prone to sin, which is to say, less than fully human.

Grace overcomes this imperfection, first to bring us back to our humanity, and then going further, to raise us to a supernatural level.

Christ shows us what perfect humanity should look like.
 
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