I
don’t understand how babies can be considered sinful. What is our Catholic understanding of
original sin?
We believe that human beings are a fundamentally good
creation and sin is anything that keeps us from communion with God, others and
our true selves; anything that distances us from God's mercy or causes
alienation. But, how can we possibly
imagine our perfect newborn babies as carrying this "original sin"?
Our understanding of Sin, Grace, Redemption, is
called Soteriology and is a rich field of study that is never really
‘complete.’ But here is one
understanding of sin for your consideration…
Theologian Donald Goergen proposes four “stages” of
sin. In the first stage (Victimization), we are victims of our circumstances
and surroundings because we are we are born a good creation into a troubled and
sinful world. Just like the old saying "you are what
you eat," similarly each person is a product of his/her environment; an
environment that we can't escape. No one can choose to be born somewhere
else, like Mars or the moon. We all are
born into this global culture and are a product of what we see, hear, taste,
touch and feel. It is this stage that
most closely defines what we mean when we speak of 'original sin.’ It simply means each of us was born into this
world…
In the second
stage (Internalization) we begin to internalize that which we are learning,
for good or for bad. Eventually, we begin to believe what we
inherit. All the bad patterns and damaging beliefs (and the good ones) of
our parents, families and the pervading culture become our own. If our
families and culture are plagued with things like shame, pride, consumerism,
racism, sexism, addictions, we are much more likely to inherit these characteristics
ourselves.
In the third
stage (Manifestation) we begin
to manifest what we have internalized. What
we believe ultimately makes its way into our behavior. At this stage we
begin exhibiting outwards signs of our internal, inherited reality. We begin to BE that which we have been molded
into by our families and cultures.
It's important to note, that at this stage we may not even be aware that our
behavior is sinful because it is all we know; it’s what we have been
taught. Nonetheless we have become
contributors to the disorder in the world; we are products and now propagators
of the sin that is present in our world.
Only the fourth
level can be called “personal, conscious sin" and it is most certainly
an adult experience. At this stage we become aware that what we
have inherited is less than acceptable and that we, with our sinful behavior,
are contributing to the sin that permeates our world.
As St. Paul says we finally realize that rather
than "practicing what I {would} like to {do,} I am doing the very thing I
hate." (Romans 7:15) But, by now,
it’s often too late to overcome by our own willpower all that has been
engrained in us; our patterns are all but cemented in place. So, by the time we become aware of our
sinfulness, we are already captives of it; we are addicts, in a sense.
And this is when we know we need the grace of God to live.
We believe Jesus conquered sin through his life and
death and bestowed on us the great, gratuitous gift of God's grace which makes us
whole and restores us to our best selves as God intended us to be. Though
we may always struggle with sin, given our surroundings, we know that there is
no sin that is bigger than God's love and mercy. Phew….
