Original sin passed on how

[Berhane Selassie]

I know original sin is passed on by propagation, but recently Protestants have been telling me it is passed on in the blood. I have not found anything in Catholic teaching, the Fathers, Catechism, or the bible really to justify this doctrine. And it seems gnostic to me to claim blood is sin. Are any of you familiar with this claim about the "sin being in the blood"?

[richgr]

Well, if the Catechism states that "the transmission of original sin is a mystery that we cannot fully understand" (CCC #404), then anyone, other than the proper teaching authority of the Catholic Church, who claims to know how that transmission is effected must be incorrect otherwise surely the Catechism would tell us how the transmission of "original sin" occurs.

The Catechism also tells us in paragraphs 404 and 417 that "original sin" refers to our wounded human natures and the deprivation of original holiness and justice that Adam and Eve had. But holiness and justice aren't physical things, like blood. In fact, our very nature is both physical and spiritual, so to identify "original sin" with only half of whom we are would be to neglect the fullness of our natures (and so also the fullness of the consequences of "original sin" and perhaps then even the fullness of Christ's saving grace). Although...I may be incorrect on that, so please correct me if I am wrong. I would think that any explanation of the transmission of "original sin" would have to at least take account of our full human nature, which is both physical and spiritual.

The Catechism references St. Augustine in paragraph 406, saying, "The Church's teaching on the transmission of original sin was articulated more precisely in the fifth century, especially under the impulse of St. Augustine's reflections against Pelagianism.... The Church pronounced on the meaning of the data of Revelation on original sin especially at the second council of Orange and at the Council of Trent." So maybe you could look into those sources.

And lastly, since the Catechism really does make use of the entire Catholic Tradition and the Scriptures, if the Catechism tells us that we don't understand it, then it'd be no wonder why you wouldn't be able to find anything about it in the Fathers or the Bible. That's how I see it, but I may be wrong. If that is wrong, please, someone correct me!

[JohnK]

I suspect you misunderstood the metaphor. If original sin were transmitted like Hepatitis (or any known blood-borne disease), it would be simple enough to avoid. Simply don't consume or touch blood and you won't get it.

They, obviously, don't refer to physical blood. Rather, it is the same type referred to in the saying "blood is thicker than water." This refers to familial relation. Since we are descended from Adam, we are all of "Adam's blood."

Sometimes, blood is also invoked as the instrument of our salvation, as in the reading from Revelation last Sunday.

I would posit the most dangerous aspect of such a line of thinking is that it could lead one perilously close to St Anselm's refuted satisfaction theory. Indeed, many evangelical Protestants have bought it, hook, line and sinker.