The Old Testament has no formal concept of Original Sin. It is aware of sin and especially of its corrupting effects (Genesis 6:12). But Genesis 2:8-3:24 (the account of the first sin of Adam and Eve) should not be read apart from chapters 4-11. Genesis 3 is only an introduction to what amounts to a series of anecdotes intended to show sin, once admitted into the world, spreads everywhere, bringing death and destruction in its wake . . . Although the later doctrine of Original Sin has been read back into Paul’s Letter to the Romans, neither biblical scholar nor theological would agree that it is, in fact, there. Paul’s intention was simply to assert that we are all sinners and that we share in a situation that has been universal from the beginning. His real focus I not on Original Sin, but on Christ as our Saviour.
Richard P. McBrien, Catholicism rev
ed. Pp. 185, 186-87
