Genesis
...e “original sin,” a reasonable argument could be made that the God of the Hebrew Scriptures is not one of retribution and punishment. Rather, He is an omniscient creator who cared for His creation with such an unfathomable love, that He bestowed upon humanity the gift of mortality, that in death, we might be saved. After eating of the forbidden tree of knowledge of good and evil, Adam and Eve were cast out from the Garden of Eden, thus living in a state of separation from God. In holding the belief that Adam is the father of all of humanity, every human is consequently born into a state of vulnerability and susceptibility to sin. Humanity is not guilty of Adam’s sin, but we do live under the effects of his sin. It is as if a couple received a life sentence for committing a heinous crime and while in prison, they had a child. This child is not guilty of the crime of its parents, but it does grow up surrounded and affected by the violent atmosphere of the prison. The vile atmosphere of the prison would harden the child and force the child to adapt certain aggressive mannerisms, possibly leading the child to commit certain crimes in attempts to defend him/herself against the elements which surround him/her. Therefore, knowing that all men would be susceptible to sin, the Lord “placed the cherubim, and...