Original Sin

[oikumene]

I am trying to understand original sin. The enormity of the sin of Adam and Eve was so great that it took God himself the redeem humanity.

It is a mystery too in order to comprehend all the aspects of original sin however St. Paul had a good notion of it.

Is there a book I can read in order to understand the gravity of the original sin?

 

[Crumpy]

Let’s assume you have read the first couple chapters of the book of Genesis.

chapter one establishes that God is the creator over everything that exists. His words in Chapter One are commands. And, His words are followed by their effect, e.g. let there be light, and there was light.

So, we go along and see that God gives Adam and Eve a command, and – whoa! – they disobey. Something very, very big has happened, in the first place, to them. They are set outside of the garden with an angel with a sword of fire guarding the way to the tree of life.

So, as much as mankind was also blocked from the tree of life, mankind suffered the effects of the disobedience of God, we’re subject to physical death and a life of toil and suffering.

The subject index in the back of the Catechism of the Catholic church gives a list of places where original sin is discussed in one context or another in the Catechism; looks like there are upwards of 50 or more citations in the text.