Original sin: guilt or corruption
- S14.1 East: corruption and mortality (with liability); West from Cyprian: another’s sin remitted in infants; Augustine systematizes (medium–high)
- S14.2 ἐφ᾽ ᾧ = ‘because’; the doctrine does not depend on in quo alone (medium–high)
- S14.3 Difference of emphasis, not contradiction (medium)
- S14.4 Augustine: the desire that remains is called sin because it comes from sin and inclines to it, but in the baptised it is not sin properly speaking; its guilt is removed though it remains (medium)
From the study it came from: Agree on a real fall; Scripture's 'condemnation for all' sits closer to the Western fathers' emphasis than the Eastern one.
Two separate measures, shown side by side; neither is combined with the other (confidence-weighted, out of 4; counts show how many of this doctrine's 4 questions each rests on; ⚠ marks coverage more than 10 points below the median, a less certain rank). This doctrine is second-order (tier weight 2). How scoring works · Scripture and tradition · Glossary · Every score with its citation
Closeness to Scripture
Closeness to the fathers
Charts: closeness to the fathers by question, and timeline
- c. 252 Cyprian S14.1 · fathers varied
- c. 395 Chrysostom S14.1, S14.3 · fathers varied
- c. 415 Augustine S14.1, S14.3 · fathers varied
- c. 415 Augustine S14.2
- c. 415 Augustine S14.4
- c. 415 Augustine S14.4
- c. 415 Augustine S14.4
- 1546 Trent V Catholic
- 1646 Westminster Confession Presbyterian
- 1672 Confession of Dositheus Orthodox
S14 · Original sin: guilt or corruption
Inherited guilt, or inherited mortality and corruption.
Tier: Second-order (scoring weight 2). How the tiers were set: theological triage. Site structure: structure.
Questions
- S14.1 What is inherited (was
original-sin/O2) - S14.2 Romans 5:12 (eph’ hō) (was
original-sin/O3) - S14.3 East and West compared (was
original-sin/O4) - S14.4 Is the sinful desire that remains after baptism itself sin?
Verdicts and trace
S14.1 · What is inherited
| Question | Verdict | Confidence | Reasoning | Key sources | Scripture (benchmark) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S14.1 | East: corruption and mortality (with liability); West from Cyprian: another’s sin remitted in infants; Augustine systematizes | Med–high | S14.1.1 · S14.1.3 weighing | cyprian-osn-s1 · chrysostom-osn-s1 · augustine-osn-s1 | S14.1.4: medium-high |
S14.2 · Romans 5:12 (eph’ hō)
| Question | Verdict | Confidence | Reasoning | Key sources | Scripture (benchmark) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S14.2 | ἐφ᾽ ᾧ = ‘because’; the doctrine does not depend on in quo alone | Med–high | S14.2.1 · S14.2.3 weighing | augustine-osn-s2 | S14.2.4: not a Scripture question |
S14.3 · East and West compared
| Question | Verdict | Confidence | Reasoning | Key sources | Scripture (benchmark) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S14.3 | Difference of emphasis, not contradiction | Medium | S14.3.1 · S14.3.3 weighing | chrysostom-osn-s1 · augustine-osn-s1 | S14.3.4: medium |
S14.4 · Is the sinful desire that remains after baptism itself sin?
| Question | Verdict | Confidence | Reasoning | Key sources | Scripture (benchmark) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S14.4 | Augustine: the desire that remains is called sin because it comes from sin and inclines to it, but in the baptised it is not sin properly speaking; its guilt is removed though it remains | Medium | S14.4.1 · S14.4.3 weighing | augustine-s14x-s1 · augustine-s14x-s2 · augustine-s14x-s3 | S14.4.4: medium |
Post-750 development
Which of this doctrine’s questions each tradition stays closest to, or departs from. Each row links to the tradition’s notes.
| Tradition | Closest to the fathers on | Departs or sharpens on |
|---|---|---|
| Catholic | S14.1 (Augustinian) | Concupiscence not sin (vs. Lutheran and Presbyterian) |
| Orthodox | S14.1 (East); S14.3 | Modern rejection of any guilt goes beyond Chrysostom’s ’liable to punishment’ |
| Oriental Orthodox | partly S14.1; S14.3 | — |
| Lutheran | S14.1 | Concupiscence is truly sin |
| Anglican | partly S14.1; partly S14.3 | — |
| Presbyterian | — | Federal imputation; total depravity |
| Reformed Baptist | partly S14.1; S14.3 | partly S14.3 |
| General Baptist | partly S14.1; partly S14.3 | — |
| Anabaptist | partly S14.1; partly S14.3 | — |
Origin
Plan, overall verdict and verification status of the former original-sin category (shared with the other doctrines that came from it)
Original sin
Method and conventions: docs/conventions.md. Reasoning: original-sin reasoning.
1. Plan
Questions: O1 the fall; O2 inherited guilt vs. inherited corruption; O3 Rom 5:12 (ἐφ᾽ ᾧ); O4 free will after the fall, Augustine versus the East. Sources: Irenaeus AH V.16; Cyprian Ep. 58; Athanasius, Inc. 4; Chrysostom, Hom. Rom. 10; Augustine, City of God XIII.14 and Merit and Forgiveness I; Carthage 418 c. 110. Planned but not yet read: Ambrosiaster on Rom 5:12; Gregory of Nyssa; Theodore of Mopsuestia; Cyril of Alexandria on Rom 5; Maximus the Confessor; John of Damascus II.30. Cross-links: salvation S1–S2 and baptism B2.
2. Verdicts and trace
Weighed under the source-proximity principle: Scripture first, then the father tiers T1–T4. Verdict changes are listed in docs/proximity-changes.md.
3. Post-750 development
4. Overall verdict
Split by region. On O2 and O4 the Orthodox follow the Greek fathers, and the Catholic follows Augustine and Cyprian. Lutheran and Presbyterian sharpen Augustine, the Presbyterian most of all. No tradition departs on O1. Confidence: medium–high.
5. Verification status
- Verified: all entries above; Trent V; Dositheus 6; AC II; WCF VI.
- To verify: Ambrosiaster on Rom 5:12; Gregory of Nyssa; Theodore; Cyril of Alexandria; Maximus; John of Damascus II.30; the lexical survey of ἐφ᾽ ᾧ; Romanides; how far Carthage was received in the East; LSB English.
- S14.4 (2026-10-17): verified in English: Augustine, On Marriage and Concupiscence I.23(25) and I.25(28), Against Two Letters of the Pelagians I.13.27; Trent V.5; Dositheus 6 and 16; AC II; Apology II.36; Art. IX; WCF VI.5; 1689 6.5; Orthodox Creed XV. To verify: the Latin of the Augustine passages.