I agree, it is a fundamental problem. My interpretation of Original Sin is very much restricted to the idea of moral frailty, which is indisputable. But the rest of it, especially that which seems to condemn us to Hell, doesn't, to me, make a lot of sense.
Of course it doesn't make sense. The doctrine doesn't exist because it makes sense, it exists because it is necessary to the entire structure of the myth: without original sin, the drama of the crucifixion becomes pointless.
Of course it also doesn't make sense that an omnipotent God would have to have someone crucified in order to redeem people, since redemption could be as easily accomplished simply by willing it.
There is really not much sense in the whole story, but of course sense is not a necessary element in any mythic structure, and Christianity is as much a part of the history of human mythology as the worship of Zeus, Odin, or Ra. People don't believe because it makes sense; they believe because they want to believe. |
