- 32 - 8. 6 The Origin of the Human Spirit and Original Sin It is because Christianity of today has no true understanding of the larger picture of world events that it is so helpless in all the most important questions relating to the Beyond. That is why it is unable to explain the origin of the human soul, or the sin weighing upon that soul as a result of the revolt against God, or the purpose of material Creation. Its doctrines in regard to all of these questions are wholly erroneous. Fourth: Whenever an explanation is sought from today’s Christian denominations as to the o r i g i n o f t h e h u m a n s p i r i t , the answer is: ‘The human spirit is created by God at the moment of conception. It is, nevertheless, burdened with the so-called “o r i g i n a l s i n ”, because Adam, the ancestor of all mankind, sinned in earthly paradise and his sin has descended upon all of his progeny.’ They do not stop to consider how absurd such a doctrine is. • They do not pause to think that everything God creates comes out of His hand p u r e a n d f l a w l e s s, and that the contamination of a spirit can occur only through its own fault.. Consequently, if the human spirit were created by God at the instant of conception, it would be entirely pure and spotless. In this case there could be no question of any ‘original sin’, for why should Adam’s descendants be punished with the bondage of sin and exile from God’s kingdom because of their ancestor’s fault? And that, by a God Who once said: Ezekiel 18: 20: ‘The soul that sins, it shall die; but the son shall n o t b e a r the iniquity of the father.’ According to this, Adam’s descendants cannot be punished by God for their ancestor’s fall if they did not themselves take part in it. As a matter of fact, they themselves did personally fall – as I have already told you – by following Adam’s spirit’s example, thereby like him incurring banishment from God’s kingdom with all of its dire consequences by their own fault. • It is therefore true that the human spirit bears from birth an iniquity which you call ‘original sin’. But it is f a l s e t o a s s e r t , as you do, that the human spirit comes into existence only at the moment of human conception and that it bears a sin without itself having sinned. How can you, in the light of your false doctrine as to the origin of the human spirit, explain all the suffering that exists on earth? Do you imagine that God brought forth His creatures to suffer through life and to die in agony without having been personally guilty of any wrongdoing? Think of the millions of children who die amidst the greatest suffering every year! What have they done to deserve such a fate? Have they by any chance so affronted God during their life on earth as to merit such a punishment? They were incapable of sinning, being as yet unable to distinguish right from wrong. Would an infinitely good and just God torment innocent infants?
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