Expert: Dean Gade - 4/4/2007

Question
How many citations of the doctrine of original sin are there in the New Testament? When did it become canon? Did Augustine invent it?

Answer
The phrase "original sin" is not in scripture.  It is a theological construct used by theologians to cover a topic.  St. Augustine is the first Church Father to have published the phrase:
(St. Augustine's statement: "the deliberate sin of the first man is the cause of original sin" )

In its simplest form, "original sin" means the sin of disobedience that Adam and Eve practiced when they believed the "serpent" rather than obey the clear command of God about not eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

But the phrase came to include all of the consequences to mankind because of this act of disobedience found in other parts of the Bible.  These passages include the hiding of Adam and Eve from God, their shame now at being naked, the statement that Seth was born "in the image of Adam" and not the image of God...and many other passages throughout both the old and new testaments.