Part of the protestant reformation is the belief of Adam as being our representative. Once we understand this concept of Adam as our representative (not as our “Federal Head” which is a concept dependent on us all being descendants of Adam and our being somehow guilty of the sins or our ancestors and carriers of some strange apple derived genetic pollution) anyway, once we understand the concept of Adam being our representative who simply made the same choice in the Garden of Eden to choose to have knowledge of what is Good and what is Evil, then we can correctly interpret Genesis 2 and all of the verses in the bible without having to spin them to protect an artificial concept of “original sin” which is not itself a biblical concept, but rather an inherited concept from Aristotle which is incorrect. The more correct interpretation of Genesis 2 is that we all suffer from “ubiquitous sin” as a result of not being God which means not being perfect. If we are different than perfect, then we are imperfect and prone to sin. God knows this. . . he is all-knowing. So, this raises the ethical question of “if God knew in advance that we would sin, then creating a world full of sinful people is in itself sinful, because justice would require our punishment and creating sinful people just to punish them is in itself sinful/evil” It is exactly this ethical conundrum that is resolved by Adam and Eve in Eden. Adam and Eve in Eden prove that we all (humanity) choose to know the difference between good and evil. We choose to be culpable. Even when specially created out of dust in a perfect garden where there is no death and all of the animals are herbivores and we can eat from any tree in the garden but one, we all would still choose to have knowledge of good and evil. The irony is that once we have the knowledge of good and evil, we no longer have the moral defense of ignorance. Also, we are no longer suited to live in a perfect and safe environment. We crave challenge and danger and achievement and therefore have to be kicked out of the perfect garden into a more suitable habitat. Eden, inhabited by culpable people would be wrecked by them, and would become a padded cage. Adam and Eve were kicked out of a padded cage into a playground where they could run and skin their knees, and where their kids could exercise their free will by killing each other.
YEC’s are afraid that losing the concept of original sin destroys the work of Jesus on the Cross. That is simply incorrect. There are multiple theories of Atonement, and most of them are not mutually exclusive. Jesus lived a perfect life. Jesus was murdered. Jesus forgave his murderers. Might does not make right. God is all powerful, but that is not the source of his moral authority. God’s moral authority derives from his moral perfection. Jesus’ death is inarguable proof that Jesus is better than we are, and “we” means everyone who has ever lived. We do not have the moral authority to judge one another. Who are you to judge me when you are just as bad? Who am I to judge you when I am just as bad as you? Jesus, being blameless, is literally morally superior and has the moral authority to judge each and every one of us. One of the possible outcomes of judgement is forgiveness. Jesus is morally able to offer us forgiveness. Jesus commands us to forgive one another, and because he has the moral authority to forgive us, he offers us a simple and perfectly morally just deal. Matthew 6:14-15 says, “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” Similarly, Luke 6:37 states, “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned.” This is simply how salvation works. This may be news to people who have been taught that simply by having faith, one is saved, however when you look at the verses that teach about saving faith, they lead you back to the verses that tell us like Luke 6:46, “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” If we have saving faith, then we follow the dictates of that faith to do what Jesus commands, and that is to forgive others.
Jesus also tells us to repent, ie. Mark 1:15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” Repent literally means “to turn around”. But what is sin anyway? Why does God care about sin in the first place, and how can sin disqualify a person from the Kingdom of God or from the New Jerusalem? Why are some resurrected to eternal life and some resurrected to eternal torment? How can a perfect and just God allow anything like eternal torment? Jesus when asked what the most important commandment was, turned the question around and we are told that there are two commandments that are the most important. Mark 12:29-31 states, “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” Interestingly, the 10 commandments fit inside these two new testament commandments. The first 4 of the 10 commandments are about loving God and not loving idols (including money, sex, power, all of the modern and timeless idols). Commandments 6 through 10 are all of the things that we do to hurt one another which then require our forgiveness one to another. So, repenting means not hurting each other, and giving God his due credit and not worshiping things that are not God. Most of what people consider to be victimless crimes or victimless sins are shown to be idolatry when examined. So, sin disqualifies idolaters because idolaters would never want to enter the New Jerusalem because there is no barrier between us and God there, and the idolater would be forced to give up his idolatry. Similarly, sinners who do not forgive others cannot carry their grudges into the Kingdom of Heaven because there can be no hate or resentment in the Kingdom of Heaven. So if you want to keep your hate and keep fighting and keep worshiping idols, then there has to be somewhere else for you to go. That place is called Hell. In Hell you get to keep your idols and your grudges. In Hell you get to be separated from God, and in fact God, who knows the hairs on your head while you are on earth, in Hell, God does not look on you at all. So, what kind of place must Hell be then? We can get some idea by looking at places and times in history when God was rejected in favor of hate. So, for instance, you can go on the internet and see people in orange jumpsuits being beheaded and set on fire as a result of others rebellion against Jesus. Similarly, we can look at times in history, such as the 288 or so protestants that were burned alive by “Bloody Queen Mary” which was the result of her idolatry of wealth and power. I believe that the fires of Hell are lit by Hell’s inhabitants, and to try to blame God for Hell is the ultimate hypocrisy. Long story short, God is perfect, we are not, YEC is not biblical. @Paul_Allen1