Original sin is a message of hope for our screwed-up world. It says that the world, and each person, is created to be good and beautiful, and that all the crap in the world (and in us) is an add-on, not part of our nature.

No matter what you believe, it's obvious that bad things happen. Are these bad things part of the nature of the universe, or are they an addition? The teaching of original sin says that bad things are not inherent to the universe--that the universe was created to be good and only became bad later on. This holds out the hope that the change could somehow be reversed and that harmony can someday be restored.

Since Saige's analogy of original crime is persuasive (albeit off-base), I'd like to present my own analogy.

  • Your grandparents all come from one small town, where they all work in a toxic waste dump. Even though they knew that there was a good chance they would have health problems, they were lured to the town by good money. Unbeknowst to them, they all are affected by a mutation that predisposes their children to alcoholism.
  • Your aunts, uncles, and parents all inherit this gene. They start drinking and showing signs of alcoholic behavior. When your grandparents express concern about their drinking problem, your uncles and aunts stop drinking. Your parents, on the other hand, get angry and decide not to see your grandparents anymore. After you're born, they're abusive to you because they're always drunk.
  • You are born and raised into this alcoholic and abusive family, with a genetic predisposition to drink. Your chances of becoming an alcoholic and continuing the miserable chain are very high.
  • Your grandparents are very concerned about you, and so one day they track you down, tell you about your family history, and offer to help you deal with your family and personal issues.
What happens now? That depends on how you react. But note a couple of things:
  1. Your grandparents have both the ability and the desire to help you. They can tell you how you ended up the way you did and give you the tools to avoid a miserable life.
  2. You're going to be suspicious of your grandparents because of what your parents told you about them, and your own upbringing is going to make it difficult to change.
  3. Even if you go off with your grandparents, you're permanently stuck with the genetic predisposition toward alcoholism. Unlike them, you might never be able to enjoy a nice glass of wine without getting into trouble.
  4. None of this is your fault! From the moment you were born, your parents' decisions set you up to have problems.
  5. All of this is your responsibility. Even though you had a whole lot of past garbage dumped in your lap, you still have to choose whether to wallow in it or move on.