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III. The Transmission of Sin
Scripture and experience both teach us that sin is universal, and according to the Bible the
explanation for this universality lies in the fall of Adam. These two points, the universality of sin,
and the connection of Adam’s sin with that of mankind in general, now call for consideration.
While there has been rather general agreement as to the universality of sin, there have been
different representations of the connection between the sin of Adam and that of his
descendants.
A. HISTORICAL REVIEW.
1. BEFORE THE REFORMATION.
The writings of the Apologists contain nothing definite
respecting original sin, while those of Irenaeus and Tertullian clearly teach that our sinful
condition is the result of Adam’s fall. But the doctrine of the direct imputation of Adam’s sin to
his descendants is foreign even to them. Tertullian had a realistic conception of mankind. The
whole human race was potentially and numerically present in Adam, and therefore sinned
when he sinned and became corrupt when he became corrupt. Human nature as a whole
sinned in Adam, and therefore every individualization of that nature is also sinful. Origen, who
was profoundly influenced by Greek philosophy, had a different view of the matter, and
scarcely recognized any connection between the sin of Adam and that of his descendants. He
found the explanation of the sinfulness of the human race primarily in the personal sin of each
soul in a pre-temporal state, though he also mentions some mystery of generation. Augustine
shared the realistic conception of Tertullian. Though he also spoke of “imputation,” he did not
yet have in mind the direct or immediate imputation of the guilt of Adam to his posterity. His
doctrine of original sin is not entirely clear. This may be due to the fact that he hesitated to
choose between Traducianism and Creationism. While he stresses the fact that all men were
seminally present in Adam and actually sinned in him, he also comes very close to the idea that
they sinned in Adam as their representative. However, his main emphasis was on the
transmission of the corruption of sin. Sin is passed on by propagation, and this propagation of
Adam’s sin is at the same time a punishment for his sin. Wiggers states the idea very briefly in
these words: “The corruption of human nature, in the whole race, was the righteous
punishment of the transgression of the first man, in whom all men already
existed.”[Augustinism and Pelagianism, p. 88.] Augustine’s great opponent, Pelagius, denied
such a connection between the sin of Adam and those of his posterity. As he saw it, the
propagation of sin by generation involved the Traducianist theory of the origin of the soul,
which he regarded as a heretical error; and the imputation of Adam’s sin to anyone but himself
would be in conflict with the divine rectitude.