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7 - Original Sin

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 February 2020

Daniel W. Houck
Affiliation:
John Leland Center for Theological Studies
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Summary

Chapter 7 proposes a new Thomist view of original sin. The core of Thomas’s proposal – that original sin has more to do with the lack of a right relation to the Triune God than the inheritance of personal guilt or corruption – is defensible today. His mature teaching stressing the necessity of supernatural grace for original justice, however, implies that he should have denied that original sin has a necessary connection to Adam’s failure to sexually transmit justice. I propose a “new Thomist view,” on which original sin is the lack of sanctifying grace. Grace is the Father’s gift of the Holy Spirit that orients the person to Jesus Christ. Every infant is born with human nature but called to exist in Christ. I construct this account in dialogue with biblical scholarship and respond to the challenges posed by evolution. I sketch two possible views of the Fall compatible with the new Thomist view of original sin.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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  • Original Sin
  • Daniel W. Houck
  • Book: Aquinas, Original Sin, and the Challenge of Evolution
  • Online publication: 22 February 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108642927.008
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  • Original Sin
  • Daniel W. Houck
  • Book: Aquinas, Original Sin, and the Challenge of Evolution
  • Online publication: 22 February 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108642927.008
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Original Sin
  • Daniel W. Houck
  • Book: Aquinas, Original Sin, and the Challenge of Evolution
  • Online publication: 22 February 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108642927.008
Available formats
×