Question About Original Sin

[Bashful]

Why are babies born with a sin if they are not capable of sinning? It is like being convicted and jailed for a crime that one is completely innocent of which is not justice. I have always found the concept of original sin to be completely questionable to the point of unbelief of this teaching…

I just don’t see how in the world God can just send a baby who is completely innocent to hell for a sin Adam and Eve committed.

Plus not all babies never get an opportunity to get baptized and it is completely 100% unjust for an unbaptized baby (especially those that are aborted) to suffer eternal punishment or any punishment for something that they had no control over. And also especially if some parents who cannot afford the administrative fee for baptism which is around like $30 - $100 which is way too astronomical for parents with a very low income which in that case would constitute an emergency where the parents can baptize the baby themselves instead of having a priest do it.

 

[FrStevenJones]

Why are babies born with a sin if they are not capable of sinning? It is like being convicted and jailed for a crime that one is completely innocent of which is not justice. I have always found the concept of original sin to be completely questionable to the point of unbelief of this teaching…

I just don’t see how in the world God can just send a baby who is completely innocent to hell for a sin Adam and Eve committed.

Plus not all babies never get an opportunity to get baptized and it is completely 100% unjust for an unbaptized baby (especially those that are aborted) to suffer eternal punishment or any punishment for something that they had no control over. And also especially if some parents who cannot afford the administrative fee for baptism which is around like $30 - $100 which is way too astronomical for parents with a very low income which in that case would constitute an emergency where the parents can baptize the baby themselves instead of having a priest do it.

When Adam sinned, he sinned for the whole human race. That is Catholic theology. Don’t disbelieve it, or you are denying God’s truth. Study it but then submit your intellect. It’s a good question you are asking, many have asked this, over 2000 years.

 

[1love]

I just don’t see how in the world God can just send a baby who is completely innocent to hell for a sin Adam and Eve committed.

Do you believe that God does this? There is no Catholic teaching stating this.

I hope that doesn’t look rude, I just want to clarify that point. If you believe that all unbaptized babies are going to hell, it’s no wonder you are concerned about original sin.

 

[Bashful]

Do you believe that God does this? There is no Catholic teaching stating this.

I hope that doesn’t look rude, I just want to clarify that point. If you believe that all unbaptized babies are going to hell, it’s no wonder you are concerned about original sin.

I don’t believe that but I have read that God does not allow anybody in sin to enter heaven. I tried to understand why there is original sin since all sin is bad. Unfortunately I never had anybody willing to help me out so far and I was left completely in the dark to my own devices. I do understand that everybody was born of a sinful nature but I never could understand why an innocent baby would be born with a sin as a sin would have been acquired when that person committed it themselves. I’m sorry if my post sounded offensive but this is how I felt since I have tried to get someone to explain it to me for years to no avail. This is just the way I am feeling especially since my sister is going through a rough time and had one baby who had died in her womb. We have tried desperately to save the baby.

 

[1love]

That doesn’t sound offensive at all. On the heels of such a tragic loss it is understandable to question this. I’m so sorry for your family’s loss.

According to the Catechism:

As regards children who have died without Baptism, the Church can only entrust them to the mercy of God, as she does in her funeral rites for them. Indeed, the great mercy of God who desires that all men should be saved, and Jesus’ tenderness toward children which caused him to say: “Let the children come to me, do not hinder them,” allow us to hope that there is a way of salvation for children who have died without Baptism. All the more urgent is the Church’s call not to prevent little children coming to Christ through the gift of holy Baptism.
CCC 1261

Our priest gave a wonderful homily on this. I wish there was a recording of it on our church’s website so I could send you a link. He talked about unborn babies. Half the women in the church were tearing up…probably those who have lost a baby…when he talked about how we should never assume that a loving and merciful God would turn these innocent children away. I imagine Our Lady reaching out her arms to these unborn children and taking them into her lap.

A Catholic Answers apologist once posted:

We have to reconcile two things:

1. Babies are not guilty of personal sin and therefore are not deserving of punishment
2. Without sanctifying grace we cannot see God.

The only way we know that a baby’s soul receives sanctifying grace is through baptism. But God is not limited as we are. There may be ways known only to him that allow babies who die before baptism to go to heaven. We must entrust these babies to our all-just, merciful and loving God.

I hope that is somewhat helpful. Again, I am very sorry for your loss. When I experienced a loss I made the decision to pray as if my unborn child had been taken in to Heaven and sometimes ask her to intercede for her siblings.

 

[Bashful]

That doesn’t sound offensive at all. On the heels of such a tragic loss it is understandable to question this. I’m so sorry for your family’s loss.

According to the Catechism:

As regards children who have died without Baptism, the Church can only entrust them to the mercy of God, as she does in her funeral rites for them. Indeed, the great mercy of God who desires that all men should be saved, and Jesus’ tenderness toward children which caused him to say: “Let the children come to me, do not hinder them,” allow us to hope that there is a way of salvation for children who have died without Baptism. All the more urgent is the Church’s call not to prevent little children coming to Christ through the gift of holy Baptism.
CCC 1261

Our priest gave a wonderful homily on this. I wish there was a recording of it on our church’s website so I could send you a link. He talked about unborn babies. Half the women in the church were tearing up…probably those who have lost a baby…when he talked about how we should never assume that a loving and merciful God would turn these innocent children away. I imagine Our Lady reaching out her arms to these unborn children and taking them into her lap.

A Catholic Answers apologist once posted:

I hope that is somewhat helpful. Again, I am very sorry for your loss. When I experienced a loss I made the decision to pray as if my unborn child had been taken in to Heaven and sometimes ask her to intercede for her siblings.

Thank you for your help and I was also wondering since I have looked online at many church websites, many of them I found charge an administrative fee of like $60 - $100. If the fee is unaffordable and creates financial hardship, would this constitute an emergency to where the parents can baptize the baby themselves?

 

[George_Stegmeir]

Why are babies born with a sin if they are not capable of sinning? It is like being convicted and jailed for a crime that one is completely innocent of which is not justice. I have always found the concept of original sin to be completely questionable to the point of unbelief of this teaching…

I just don’t see how in the world God can just send a baby who is completely innocent to hell for a sin Adam and Eve committed.

Plus not all babies never get an opportunity to get baptized and it is completely 100% unjust for an unbaptized baby (especially those that are aborted) to suffer eternal punishment or any punishment for something that they had no control over. And also especially if some parents who cannot afford the administrative fee for baptism which is around like $30 - $100 which is way too astronomical for parents with a very low income which in that case would constitute an emergency where the parents can baptize the baby themselves instead of having a priest do it.

You are confusing modern social thinking with Religion. Others on this thread have explained the theology far better than I could.
With reguards to parents who could not afford the administrative fee for Baptism, or for that matter, Marriager, in my 77 years on this earth , I have never heard of a parish or priest who would not wave such fees.
It seems that the old canard that the Catholic Church charges money for its Sacraments and for attending Mass is still around!.

 

[FrStevenJones]

I don’t believe that but I have read that God does not allow anybody in sin to enter heaven. I tried to understand why there is original sin since all sin is bad. Unfortunately I never had anybody willing to help me out so far and I was left completely in the dark to my own devices. I do understand that everybody was born of a sinful nature but I never could understand why an innocent baby would be born with a sin as a sin would have been acquired when that person committed it themselves. I’m sorry if my post sounded offensive but this is how I felt since I have tried to get someone to explain it to me for years to no avail. This is just the way I am feeling especially since my sister is going through a rough time and had one baby who had died in her womb. We have tried desperately to save the baby.

We have hope for unbaptized babies, but we do not know their fate, for certain. Pray for them, and then let God be God!

 

[1love]

Thank you for your help and I was also wondering since I have looked online at many church websites, many of them I found charge an administrative fee of like $60 - $100. If the fee is unaffordable and creates financial hardship, would this constitute an emergency to where the parents can baptize the baby themselves?

I would hope that if the fee is a hardship, the parish would waive it.

We have never had to pay a fee to baptize a child.

The Catechism states (bolding mine):

**The minister should ask nothing for the administration of the sacraments beyond the offerings defined by the competent authority, always being careful that the needy are not deprived of the help of the sacraments because of their poverty. **The competent authority determines these “offerings” in accordance with the principle that the Christian people ought to contribute to the support of the Church’s ministers. “The laborers deserves his food.”
CCC 2122

In other words, this would not be an emergency requiring the parent to baptize the baby; if a church refuses to baptize a baby without payment, the pastor or possibly the Bishop should be alerted and you could call other parishes to find a priest who will help you.

 

[grannymh]

The Catholic theology of Original Sin begins with the relationship between God the Creator and Adam the creature who is created in the image of God. In simple language, God is a transcendent (supernatural) Divine Pure Spirit without restrictions.
Adam’s nature is an unique unification of the* both* the spiritual world and material world. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition, paragraphs 355-368)
Because of his spiritual principle (soul) which is a [partial] image of God’s [total] spiritual nature, Adam begins his life in relationship/friendship with God.

Catholic theology teaches that not only was Adam the first human being, the whole human race is in Adam “as one body of one man.” We know by Revelation that Adam had received original holiness and justice not for himself alone, but for all human nature. His descendants would be born in the state of friendship with God. (CCC 404-405)

Adam is not God.

Because of his creaturely status, the only way that Adam could maintain his original friendship with God was to live in free submission to God. The interesting thing about Original Sin (besides knowing what kind of organic fruit was so tempting ) is that Adam wanted to be just as smart and all-knowing as his Creator. What other knowledge is there besides that of good and evil? Instead of following God’s command, Adam preferred his own pride-filled desires and by that very act scorned his Creator. “He chose himself over and against God, against the requirements of his creaturely status and therefore against his own good.” (CCC 396-400) The result shattered humanity’s relationship with divinity

It is Adam’s broken relationship with God which is transmitted by propagation to human descendants. We contracted a state deprived of original holiness and justice otherwise known as Original Sin because the original human did it. Baptism which imparts the life of Christ’s grace erases Original Sin and restores the original relationship with God. Romans 5: 12-21 is fact.

Regarding children in the womb or out. We turn to the fact that God is the Creator and therefore, He is in charge. “Since Christ died for all, and since all men are in fact called to one and the same destiny, which is divine, we must hold that the Holy Spirit offers to all the possibility of being made partakes, in a way known to God, of the Paschal mystery.” (CCC 1260) Who are we to limit the ways God can bring a child to Himself? Is God limited by the wall of the womb?

The last sentence of CCC 1257 explains: “God has bound salvation to the sacrament of Baptism, but He Himself is not bound by His sacraments.”

Link to the Catechism: scborromeo.org/ccc.htm