Original sin: Why adults have a sinful nature

The doctrine of original sin is one of the most misunderstood and misused of Christian teachings. However, at the same time, original sin is the backbone of Christianity - without original sin, there would be no reason for a Christ. In parenting, most people think of children when they think of original sin. Children are clinically entitled, but they aren't legally entitled, as children are sacrosanct under God's Law. Children are still learning what sin is, and how to avoid sin. We as adults need to focus on our own sins, instead of pointing the finger at children.

It says in Romans 3:9-18 KJV:

What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one: Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace they have not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes.

The Apostle Paul was writing this passage to the Roman Christians. The Roman Christians, then, were becoming very prideful and boastful in their Christian faith. They thought they were the righteous ones just for accepting Christ. Paul was convicting them of their original sin, which all mankind is guilty of. Today, this passage is a testament to how God feels about humanity. God hates all mankind, so much that He doesn't want us to even exist in relation to Him. By default, all of mankind is marked for deletion. Only a few of us - the elect - will be saved by our own good works towards God and neighbor. The rest will be punished by suffering the second death, which is the ever-burning lake of fire and brimstone. God hates mankind especially for the one-sided incursion on child-kind by adult-kind. We as adults are, in relation to children, depraved and decadent sinners deserving of absolutely nothing, from children or anyone else.

The core of our sin nature is entitlement, and the core of our entitlement is want. Parental entitlement is at the lowest level of our entitlement, and when you avoid that one, you end up avoiding all the others. The Greek root word denoting all kinds of entitlement, including parental entitlement, and cross-referencing the Tenth Commandment, is πλεονέκτης (Latin: pleonektés) and is defined as, officially speaking, wanting things from children, to the point of imposition. Unofficially speaking, parental entitlement is defined as wanting anything from children, period. It is not good to want anything in life, including from children, but since we all want things from children as depraved and decadent adults, it is good to ask politely and appropriately, accepting when children can't or won't fill our requests. Want is at the very core of our sin nature, and wants from children are at the very core of our wants. If what you want from a child would lead to a temper tantrum if they did not follow your instructions, don't want it, and avoid that want at all costs.

What washes away all sin and entitlement? Christian love, of course! Christian love is denoted by the Greek root word αγαπαο (Latin: agapao) and refers to, in the context of parenting, prioritizing children first, and yourself last, to the point of dutiful and selfless submission to children, expecting absolutely nothing in return, valuing children as extensions of God. True Love does not come from pride or desire, but from a place of fearful conviction, where parents are convicted of being depraved and decadent sinners deserving of absolutely nothing from children or anyone else. This prompts the sinner/parent to pay due penance for their sin nature, and serve the every vulnerable need of their children. In return, children rest securely in the submission of parents, feeling safe and secure in their arms. See Colossians 3:20-21 KJV:

Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord: Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.

The Greek root word translated "obey" is υπακουο (Latin: hupakouo) and refers to secure, vulnerable rest in the love and grace of parents. Children are to rest in the sacrifice of parents, just as parent believers rest securely in the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Parents are to be extensions of Christ, dutifully and selflessly submitting to children as they would God, with children resting safely and securely in the submission of parents. Children are to rest in the presence of parents, following them around like goslings to a mother goose. The word "obey" in the New Testament, when applied to children, refers chiefly to a secure attachment, not fearful compliance based on fear of punishment.

The Greek root word translated "provoke...to anger" is ερεθιζο (Latin: erethizo) and refers to damages or offenses, namely the slightest of personal offense perceived by a child, including, but not limited to, the slightest of offensive touch or speech perceived by a child, coming from entitlement. This commandment was intended by the Apostle Paul, and understood in its original context, as a moral statute prohibiting all forms of punitive parenting, including any punishments or controlling demeanor towards children. In the Old Testament, punitive parents were put to death by way of bloodletting, after punishing their children one last time. Parents who punished their children were charged with kidnapping, with kidnapping being defined under the Law as the slightest of damages or offenses stemming from hostage-taking - child punishment was seen in biblical times as holding your child hostage merely for things they did wrong, thereby treating your own child as a quartered slave. Paul here was lifting up this legal context to a group of Greek Christian parents who brought their pagan custom of spanking and punishing children into the church. Paul, contrary to popular legend, was anti-spanking, and opposed any and all punishment of a child.

Children, in biblical times, wore no clothing, at all, until they became adults. Women only wore clothing when outside the home, otherwise going in the nude in order to serve their husbands and their children, separately. Mothers served their children by way of providing for them nourishment and sustenance, namely breastmilk and skin-to-skin closeness and intimacy. The core aspect of Christian attachment parenting in the 1st Century was skin-on-skin co-sleeping, with mother and child sleeping next to each other, and children soaking up the rays of skin-to-skin contact. Mothers were so humbled by the presence of their child that they went completely naked just to please them, and to feed them with their teat for the first two years of their lives. This humility was because parents in biblical times believed that they were depraved and decadent sinners who were deserving of absolutely nothing from their children, and therefore that children were deserving of everything from them, especially nourishment and sustenance. Attachment parenting was the traditional way of raising children in the Early Christian church communities.

The depraved and entitled parents who provoke children to anger through punitive parenting will not inherit the Kingdom of God! Let them be forever cast into the lake of fire and burning sulfur, which is the second death prepared for Satan and his accomplices! Let them descend into the abyss which is the ever-burning Hell of fire and torment, suffering God's Wrath forever and ever! Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!