I appreciated recent discussion online around this website in relation to Original Sin and especially the Western mistranslation of Romans 5:12.
Romans 5:12 reads:
Διὰ τοῦτο ὥσπερ δι’ ἑνὸς ἀνθρώπου ἡ ἁμαρτία εἰς τὸν κόσμον εἰσῆλθεν καὶ διὰ τῆς ἁμαρτίας ὁ θάνατος, καὶ οὕτως εἰς πάντας ἀνθρώπους ὁ θάνατος διῆλθεν, ἐφ’ ᾧ πάντες ἥμαρτον
Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned— (NRSVue)
We refer to the translations of the scriptures into Latin, made in the early centuries of church history, as Vetus Latina. Jerome (in the late 4th Century) revised a lot of Vetus Latina. Romans 5:12 was translated as
Propterea sicut per unum hominem peccatum in hunc mundum intravit, et per peccatum mors, et ita in omnes homines mors pertransiit, in quo omnes peccaverunt (Vetus Latina)
propterea sicut per unum hominem in hunc mundum peccatum intravit et per peccatum mors et ita in omnes homines mors pertransiit in quo omnes peccaverunt (Vulgate)
Wherefore as by one man sin entered into this world and by sin death: and so death passed upon all men, in whom all have sinned. (Douay-Rheim)
A key difference between the Greek and the Latin is that the Latin has “in whom [Adam] all have sinned”. The Greek does not. Before continuing, it is worth noting:
the Vulgate became the standard Latin Bible used by the Catholic Church, especially after the Council of Trent (1545–1563) affirmed the Vulgate translation as authoritative for the text of Catholic Bibles. However, the Vetus Latina texts survive in some parts of the liturgy (e.g., the Pater Noster).
Augustine, and Western Christianity following Augustine, holds that “All people have sinned in Adam”. All people inherit the guilt of Adam’s sin. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches:
How did the sin of Adam become the sin of all his descendants? the whole human race is in Adam “as one body of one man”.
By this “unity of the human race” all men are implicated in Adam’s sin, as all are implicated in Christ’s justice. Still, the transmission of original sin is a mystery that we cannot fully understand. But we do know by Revelation that Adam had received original holiness and justice not for himself alone, but for all human nature. By yielding to the tempter, Adam and Eve committed a personal sin, but this sin affected the human nature that they would then transmit in a fallen state.
It is a sin which will be transmitted by propagation to all mankind, that is, by the transmission of a human nature deprived of original holiness and justice. and that is why original sin is called “sin” only in an analogical sense: it is a sin “contracted” and not “committed” – a state and not an act.
It is worth noting that, although the Catechism of the Catholic Church notes the Protestant Reformation in the debating of Original Sin, I cannot see there (let me know if there is, please) the difference that this Western view has with the Eastern view of Orthodoxy. Eastern Christianity has never taken on board this Latin mistranslation that all people have sinned in Adam, and that all people inherit the guilt of Adam’s sin.
There is an excellent discussion of the Greek and its translation into Latin here. Further good discussion is to be found here.
Both Martin Luther (1483–1546) and John Calvin (1509–1564) represent a radical Augustinian shift: equating concupiscence with original sin, maintaining that it destroyed free will and persisted after baptism. Luther asserted that humans inherit Adamic guilt and are in a state of sin from the moment of conception. …
Calvin developed a systematic theology of Augustinian Protestantism with reference to Augustine of Hippo’s notion of original sin. Calvin believed that humans inherit Adamic guilt and are in a state of sin from the moment of conception. This inherently sinful nature (the basis for the Reformed doctrine of “total depravity”) results in a complete alienation from God and the total inability of humans to achieve reconciliation with God based on their own abilities. Not only do individuals inherit a sinful nature due to Adam’s fall, but since he was the federal head and representative of the human race, all whom he represented inherit the guilt of his sin by imputation.
Anglicanism tends to follow this Western understanding of Original Sin [See Article 9], although Anglicans would generally not be disciplined for denying this Western understanding, or even denying the historicity of Adam and Eve and the literalness and historicity of the Genesis account of “The Fall”.
The Eastern half of Christianity, as I indicate above, does not follow the Latin mistranslation of Romans 5:12, but has reflected on the original, Greek text. For Eastern Christianity, there is not guilt transmitted to all from Adam. For Eastern Christianity, it is mortality that is transmitted. I regularly advocate for a more public acknowledgement by Christians of Science and evolution. Death is, obviously, integral to evolution. Death was present before humans evolved. If you want to pursue this from an Eastern Christian perspective, there are a number of resources provided here. Eastern Christianity would highlight that humanity is fallen but not totally depraved.
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Very helpful article. Re the Eastern view, which I also follow, I wouldn’t even say “mortality is transmitted.” In other words, I don’t think this is about transmission of anything (like some kind of fluid passed along, and again, How?) but a simple matter of consequence. Looking at the mythological portrayal: Adam lost access to the tree of life, and so lost immortality. Every other human since never had access to the tree. Nothing was transmitted because, this is about the loss of something. As one Eastern Father said, (I can’t recall who on the off hand): The West is concerned with the inherited guilt of Original Sin, the East with the consequences.
Thanks, Tobias – I think that’s an excellent clarification. Blessings.