What Do Islam And Judaism Think About Original Sin – OpEd

Both Islam and Judaism agree that the Christian belief in ‘Original Sin’ is an unwarranted and overly negative and pessimistic evaluation of the nature of human beings. The Qur’an and the Torah both teach that Allah/God made humans with a tendency toward, and a capacity for, both good behavior and bad behavior, but that they are not born into this world with the guilt of someone else’s sin.

Islamic and Jewish concepts of sin are virtual opposites to Christian concepts in many aspects. For example, there is no concept of “sinning in the mind” in Islam and Judaism. To a Muslim or a Jew an evil thought becomes a good deed when a person refuses to act upon it.

Overcoming and dismissing evil thoughts which frequently assail our minds is considered deserving of reward rather than punishment. The teaching of both Islam and Judaism is that an evil thought becomes sinful only when it results in evil behavior or at least a solid intention and plan to carry out that evil behavior.

But humans do need to be limited by societal and religious restrictions. Humanity has historically dined on the banquet of life with lust and abandon. Examples of orgies of self-indulgence and power-seeking —including the Greek, Roman and Persian empires, as well as those of Genghis Khan and Alexander the Great— show how shameful highly civilized societies can be. But while there are many examples of communal decadence, cases of individual corruption are even more common.

So, good thoughts are not always the first instinct of humankind. As such, the Islamic and Jewish understanding is that the very intention to do good deeds is in itself worthy of reward, even if not acted upon. When a person actually does that intended good deed, God multiplies the reward even further.

Before we focus on the unacceptability of the post-Jesus Church doctrine of Original Sin, let us look at the teaching of Jesus himself.

Jesus was an idealistic perfectionist who strongly condemned bad thoughts as evil temptations:

“But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman to lust after her, has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.” (New Testament, Gospel of Matthew 5:28-29)

But even then Jesus would not have accepted the later Christian concept of Original Sin. How can we know that? Because he also taught, “Let the little children come to me, and do not forbid them, for of such is the kingdom of heaven” (New Testament, Matthew 19:14).

How could little children be of “the kingdom of heaven,”as Jesus taught, if —as the Church teaches—no children are going to heaven if unbaptized in the Church? So, little children must not be born with original sin. And if God is just and merciful those unbaptized children are going to the kingdom of heaven —entirely without reference to the ‘Original Sin’ of Adam and Eve . As the Torah in Deuteronomy 24:16 states clearly: “Parents are not to be put to death for their children, nor children put to death for their parents; each will die for their own sins.”

And the Torah also states that humans have free will to make moral decisions; and the moral responsibility to do so: “Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.” (Genesis 4:6-7)

So why did early Christianity desire to develop the strange religious concept of Original Sin —the concept that the guilt of the disobedience of Adam and Eve was passed on to each and every one of their subsequent descendants?

Because without that clearly defined concept, the central doctrine of the Church, that Jesus had to die for every human being, would not be needed. So to provide a reason why every human being, even very kind, loving and moral monotheist human beings, need to believe that God’s own Son had died on the Cross as a vicarious atonement for mankind’s ancestral original sin; as well as all their own later sins.

And they also had to believe that God’s own sinless ‘Son’ had died on the cross as a vicarious atonement to ‘pay for’ all humans’ original sin. This became the required belief of Christianity for all humans; otherwise, they would never enter Paradise.

As St. Paul wrote in what is now Christian Scripture: “Therefore, as by the offense of one [Adam] all men were taken to condemnation; so also by the Justice of one [Jesus] many shall be made just.” (Romans 5:18–19)

Paul, the real founder of Christianity wrote:, “For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead [on judgement day] has also come through a human being; for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ.” (Corinthians, 5:21-22)

These words of Paul made it plain to the Fathers of the Church that all human beings inherited Adam’s sin; and were in need of Christian theological beliefs to be saved from hellfire. Thus, once it got the power to do so, the Church started pushing people to be baptized and convert to Christianity; and later, forcibly, with the establishment of the Catholic Inquisition in Spain and Portugal, it started burning Jews, Muslims and non-conforming Christians at the stake when they secretly continued to practice their own religion in private.

This never happened in Muslim states that were guided by the Qur’an’s admonition: “And had your Lord willed, everyone on earth would have believed [the same religion] all of them entirely. Then, [O Muhammad], would you compel people in order that they become believers? [NO] it is not for a soul to believe except by permission of Allah, and He will place defilement upon those who will not use reason. [10:99-100]

This is why most Muslim rulers were guided by “There is no compulsion in religion” [ 2:256] and not by “we shall drive them out from there in disgrace, and they will be abased” ( 27:37)

Like many other Christian beliefs, the doctrine of “inherited sin” finds no support in the words of Jesus or of the prophets who came before him, who all taught that every man is accountable for his own actions and that children will not be punished for the sin of their parents.

As Prophet Ezekiel states: “The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.” [Ezekiel 18:20]

This is why the Qur’an also states: And they say, “None will enter Paradise except one who is a Jew or a Christian.” That is [just] their wishful thinking; say, “Produce your proof, if you should be truthful.” Yes [indeed], whoever submits his face in submission to Allah while being a do-gooder, will have his reward with his Lord. And no fear will there be concerning them, nor will they grieve. [2:111-2]

The Qur’an condemns the idea that heaven is reserved only for members of one religious community. Biblical and early rabbinic Judaism also opened the gates of heaven to non-Jews who do righteous deeds; as is found in the Jerusalem Talmud and in Tosefta (Sanhedrin 13:2) where Rabbi Joshua held that “the righteous of all peoples (even polytheists) have a share in the World to Come” and this became the official view of Judaism.

However, during the 3rd to 6th centuries, Christians started persecuting Jews for not believing that “God’s own Son” had died on the Cross as a Vicarious Atonement for their sins; therefore, Church authorities said, no Jews could enter heaven’s gates. So in response, the rabbis were forced to reply in kind —by excluding Trinitarian Christians from heaven. The Qur’an states that both types of exclusion are misguided and false [in the case of Jews who follow the Torah and for Christians who follow the Gospel], and lack any clear scriptural proof; and that no human can know how gracious God will be on Judgement Day.

“We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], the Book in truth, confirming that which preceded it of the Scripture and as a criterion over it. So judge between them by what Allah has revealed and do not follow their inclinations away from what has come to you of the truth. To each of you We prescribed a law and a method. Had Allah willed, He would have made you one nation [united in religion], but [He intended] to test you in what He has given you; so compete to [do all that is] good. To Allah is your return all together, and He will [then] inform you concerning that over which you used to differ.” [5:48]

And the Qur’an also states, and then repeats: “Verily, those who believe, and those who are Jews and Christians, and Sabians; whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day and does righteous deeds; shall have their reward with their Lord. On them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.”  [2:62 & 5:69)

Thus, Rabbi Jesus condemns insincere or misguided teachers of Torah; and is a Teacher who treats justly and humanely the non-Jews who seek him out. Was Jesus not then a religious Pluralist for his followers to imitate!