Deconstructing the Fundamentals: Original Sin | Belief It Or Not

This one is all about why we are bad, or at least why Christians believe we are bad

Created by Trevor Poelman

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[isiahromero]

The concept of original sin ruined my self-esteem for years when I was a believer.

[raydientSkeleton]

I've always hated the "were born sinful" because I feel that fuels this whole "your children manipulate you" narrative. Like no, your baby isn't crying bc they're malicious, they need soemthing

[ladyblakeney]

The whole baby section made me remember a Sunday school teacher who told us that baby Jesus could never have cried because crying is a sin and I suddenly realized holy crap, that's probably why I try so hard never to cry in front of people

[runicspyder]

Evangelical ProLifers: babies are precious!
Also Evangelical ProLifers: kids are sinful and evil and we must beat them!

Also this series has helped me as someone trying to heal from all the abuse I suffered growing up fundamentalist baptist.

[ToastedFox]

Tbh this is one of the reasons I reject Christianity. This idea that we are always guilty. It’s so negative at its base. Our whole life will have to be filled with asking for forgiveness for just existing.

[thatcarguyUZ]

Something I have yet to get a good answer to is how Adam and Eve could possibly have committed a sin by "eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge of Good and Evil" if before eating from that tree they didn't know what good and evil were and therefore could not know what this disobedience or sin was.

[Aziara]

The 'viper in a diaper' guy makes my heart hurt.

So many people justify abuse of infants and children with this horrible logic. I was one of those children.

When I had my own child, I did a lot of research into child psychology, I wanted to understand how an infant understood the world around them. The answer? They DON'T.

It takes at least 6 months before an infant even has any sense of self at all. They don't see other people as separate from themselves.

And then I had her... and she only cried when she had a reason to. Hungry, lonely, dirty, frightened... How is it 'manipulative' for her to communicate in the only way she could, to say "please don't let me starve" "I'm all alone and scared" "I'm cold"??

I'd been deconstructing for a long time, and letting go of the concept of original sin was one of the last things.

[NimWithRandomNumbers]

My youth leader, (who was also my Uncle) once asked me to show him where in the bible it said that babies go to heaven. Which I couldn’t do.

My little brother died at two days old because he was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome. A condition that back in ‘87 made him “incompatible with life”. So according to my faith community, my brother was fearfully and wonderfully made… and destined for hell.

I credit my uncle with opening the door that led me out of fundamentalism. He caused years of internal torment before I finally realized it was all BS, but in the end I’m free and he (unintentionally) led me there.

[darkninjafirefox]

Life gets so much brighter when you're not terrified that any thought or feeling you have is ontological evil. It's hard to break free from that mindset, but it's so worth it

[cookierill]

Darn, Voddie’s “viper in a diaper” joke has some major “children with leukemia have the power in society because you can’t make fun of them” energy

[Jezebel]

My mother still says “it’s hard to believe that sweet face is rotten to its core, but it is. We are all born sinful.”
We don’t visit Mamaw anymore. Being an atheist has been the first time I’ve experienced peace in my whole life.

[kimchiteagames]

"Babies cry because they're evil" is some "To Train Up a Child" bullshit, like it's not just not funny it's literally encouraging abuse. Hearing that extended laughter is legit bringing me back to being a kid hearing church group parents trade "funny anecdotes" about hitting their children, and just that helpless realization that everyone around you is fucking insane.

[martin]

Like many things in the Bible, the concept of original sin is both profoundly evil and completely ridiculous.

[JustPeachyMind]

The lasting damage of learning that I was "born evil" as a child has stuck with me into adulthood and I think is part of the origin of my depression, alcohol abuse and low self esteem.

[Simplychelsea]

My father (a pastor) would absolutely say a baby that died was going to hell. My childhood was as fun as you can imagine knowing that.

[TrepidDestiny]

I had an argument with a born again coworker over original sin once and how "god is allegedly all knowing all powerful".
His whole defense boiled down to hand waiving it away and saying "Our mortal minds simply can't comprehend the motives and plans of a higher being". That stuck with me because he relinquished all critical thought willingly and eagerly. I was blown away.

[curlzOdoom]

I grew up a form of methodist; those "fearfully and wonderfuly made"/"made in gods image" type of folk. Out of all the trouble I had, I somehow escaped (for the most part) being told I was awful by nature. My husband, on the other hand, was southern Baptist.

We visited his side of the family in the Bible Belt South and politely attended church with them. The service started out with a baby dedication, with several newborns and one newly adopted 10 year old boy standing in the row alongside parents holding their babies. The pastor began preaching and started out pleasantly enough saying how these children were "wonderful children of god." But then pivoted with his full chest, proclaimed: "and they are all dirty sinners to their CORE."

My methodist raised mind could not understand. I had only ever seen things like that said on TV! I still think about that 10 year old boy :/

[HandofOmega]

Religion has a funny idea of "God's love". If you had a bunch of kids in your house, and they accidentally poisoned themselves with poison you left on the kitchen table, would you A) immediately give them the antidote, or B) lock yourself away and hide from them in the attic, leaving only your diary with clues how to find you; when they find you and bang on the door, you DEMAND that they beg you for help, swear eternal loyalty to you...oh yeah, and fork over 10% of all your earnings for the rest of your life, in order to get the antidote...Does B) sound like "love" to you?

[Mj-lrnc]

I really appreicate your format of playing sermons and responding to them; it avoids straw man fallacies and shields against "well that's just that one church/sect/pastor." Plus the movie/tv clips you play along them make it bearable 😂

[TheManCalledDrHorse]

I would love to see someone try to use this logic in court. "Your honor, it's unfair to blame me for the death of my baby, I told them not to drink that bleach before I let them play unsupervised under my sink."

Teaching someone that they're fundamentally evil and worthy of punishment in a way that is entirely out of their control is also a great way to get them to automatically internalize and blame themselves for everything if you, say, decide to abuse them for years and years in secret.