plants and animals, were no longer subject to man and a curse came upon
the earth, the necessity for sweat and hard labor (Gen. 3:16-24).
Many passages of Sacred Scripture testify to the truth of original sin:
“For behold I was conceived in iniquity; and in sins did my mother
conceive me” (Ps. 51 [50]:5).
“Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death
came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned ... But
the free gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died through the one
man’s trespass, much more surely have the grace of God and the free gift
in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many. And the
free gift is not like the effect of the one man’s sin. For the judgment
following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following
many trespasses brings justification. If, because of the one man’s trespass,
death exercised dominion through that one, much more surely will those
who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness
exercise dominion in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. Therefore just
as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of
righteousness leads to justification and life for all. For just as by the one
man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s
obedience the many will be made righteous” (Rom. 5:12; 15-19).
“For as by a man came death, and by a man has come also the
resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all
be made alive” (1 Cor. 15:21-22).
“All of us once lived among them in the passions of our flesh, following the
desires of flesh and senses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like
everyone else” (Eph. 2:3).
Throughout history there have been a number of significant heresies that
have either denied the existence or distorted the effects of original sin. The
first of these was Pelagianism. Founded by an Irish monk named Pelagius
(+418 AD), Pelagianism denied the supernatural elevation of humanity by
asserting that Adam and Eve were created only in a natural state without
sanctifying grace. Consequently, the Fall had no effect on them and their
children by way of loss of grace, the only effect of original sin on others
was by way of setting bad example. Hence, sin was not contracted through
natural generation but was learnt from the scandal of others. It followed,
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