The Doctrine of Original Sin - the ancestral sin of Adam and Eve

The Doctrine of Original Sin is based on the ancestral sin of Adam and Eve

• Adam and Eve sinned against God when they disobeyed orders and ate from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil - this is known as 'the original sin' as it is the first instance of disobedience from humanity to God
• It constitutes what Augustine understood as a 'turning away' from the divine

Augustine's Doctrine starts by stating that the consequence of original sin is that sin became a radical defect of all humans

• This defect was a wounding of Adam and Eve's original perfect nature
• Augustine called this defect, which is a tendency towards sinning against God, 'concupiscence'
• Concupiscence means that moral agents have a longing for earthly desires as opposed to having the desire to love and know God

Concupiscence is passed on from Adam and…