original sin

[tomday]

I dare say that this has probably been covered before, but I would like to get other people's views about the following:

Since reading this and other atheist forums I have seen a lot of information about what it is that christians are supposed to believe that I had not cottoned onto before.  Previously, it was just about some supernatural being in the sky and his supposed son, all of which has always been a topic of amusement and bemusement to me.  

Kindly correct me if I have got it wrong, but as I now understand it, christianity is about our being born sinners because we are the result of 'the original sin' (i.e. sexual reproduction) and that by 'accepting Christ' that we will be forgiven and will live on after death rather than being punished for that sin by being burnt in hell.

OK, so I am now confused; if being born through sexual reproduction makes us all sinners, why do the christians insist that god created man in his own image (complete with dangly bits!) and then went on to create woman with the appropriate receptacle - surely god knew that by providing the appropriate bits, made to measure for sinning, then he/she/it should take full responsibility for the outcome, not label us all as sinners!  

Why did god not give Adam an asexual reproductive ability and leave the naughty bits off?  :?

[Julia]

I'm not sure that "original sin" was sexual reproduction... though regardless, it would seem the xtian God has a penchant for holding offspring responsible for their parents' actions. Except in the ultimate case - holding himself responsible for the actions of his createes.

I'm not surprised you're confused - it's one of the fundamental logical failures of the judeo-christian system. At least in other religions you have the self-consistent view of Good and Evil as independent balanced forces in conflict. Quite how you can reconcile a god who (i) is omnipotent and omniscient (ii) managed to create a world with evil in (iii) blames the world for the evil bits... it makes my brain hurt.

[McQ]

Original sin refers to the fall in the garden of Eden, not to sexual reproduction.

It was Adam and Eve, those wacky malcontents, who decided they wanted to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and royally piss off god.

Therefore, the all-loving god decided on an appropriate punishment for them going off their diet. All the rest of humanity from that point on would be doomed to hell. You gotta love tough parenting, you know?