Throughout Church history, there have been those (such as Pelagius) who deny original sin and instead say that we are all born inherently good. However, the doctrines of Pelagius have been deemed a damnable heresy since at least the 4th century by many Church councils.

Original sin does not refer to the first sin but to the result of that first sin. The Scriptures speak repeatedly of sin and death entering the world through "one man's transgression." As a result of Adam's sin, all men are now sinners. And because everyone has a sinful nature, that is why they sin. The sinful nature means that people naturally cannot do anything but sin. The Fall was great. It had radical repercussions for the entire human race because Adam was the representative for all mankind.

Logical Reasons why there must be Original Sin

"For those that deny original sin, one of the most crucial failings of their viefwpoint is that it actually offers nothing by way of explanation for the universality of sin. If each one of us is born without a sinful nature, how account for the universality of sin? If six billion people were born with no inclination to sin, with no corruption to their nature, we would reasonably expect that at least some of them would refrain from falling. If our natural moral state is one of innocent neutrality, we would statistically expect that half of the human race would remain perfect. I grant that to' account for one innocent person's fall presents an enormous intellectual problem. But when we compound that difficulty by the billions of people who have fallen, the problem becomes several billion times more difficult. We also grant that if one person created in the image of God could fall, then it is indeed possible that billions can likewise fall. It is the statistical probability here that is so astonishing. When we think of one person falling, that is one thing. But if everybody does it, without exception, then we begin to wonder why. We begin to wonder if man's natural state is all that neutral.

The standard reply of the advocates of the myth view is that people are not universally born in an idyllic environment like Eden. Society is corrupt. We are born into a corrupt environment We are like Rousseau's "innocent savage" who is corrupted by the negative influences of civilization.

This explanation begs the question. How did society or civilization get corrupt in the first place? If everyone is born innocent, without a trace of personal corruption, we would expect to find societies that are no more than half corrupt. If birds of a feather flock together, we might find societies where all the corrupt people band together and other societies where no evil is present. Society cannot be a corrupting influence until it first becomes corrupt itself. To explain the fall of an entire society or civilization, one must face the difficulties we have already pointed out.

Another thorny question that arises concerns the relationship of sin and death. The Bible makes it clear that death is not "natural" to man. That is, death is repeatedly said to have come into the world as a result of sin. If that is so, how do we account for the death of infants? If all men are born innocent, with no innate corruption, God would be unjust to allow as yet unfallen babies to die." (R.C. Sproul, http://www.the-highway.com/fall_Sproul.html)

Biblical support for Original Sin

• "Through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin" (Romans 5:12).
• "By the one man's offense many died" (Romans 5:15).
• "Through one man's offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation" (Romans 5:18).
• "By one man's disobedience many were made sinners" (Romans 5:19).
• "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one." (Romans 3:10-12)
• "For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out." (Romans 7:18)
• "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me." (Psalm 51:5)
• "The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?" (Jeremiah 17:9)
• "among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind." (Ephesians 2:3)
• "Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child." (Proverbs 22:15)
• "...the intent of man's heart is evil from his youth." (Genesis 8:21 )
• "What is man, that he can be pure? Or he who is born of a woman, that he can be righteous?" (Job 15:14)
• "...the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil, and insanity is in their hearts through their lives." (Ecclesiastes 9:3)
• "And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone." (Mark 10:18)

To deny original sin is heresy

The reason why it is a heresy is because it deals with the nature of man, which also ties in with salvation. For if Adam's descendents are not born with a sinful nature, it is possible that they could live a sinless life and should not die (no need for Christ). Secondly, even if someone sins, salvation then is not purely by God's grace alone, it is by their unguided free choosing of Christ (for according to this heresy, they have no sinful nature which would make them unable to naturally choose Christ). Thus people have clear reason for boasting for they were smart enough to choose Christ by their own free choosing. But this goes splat in the face of the Biblical doctrine of justification by grace through faith alone (Eph 2:8-10), thus making it a heresy and meaning that if someone believes the heresy, they are not a Christian.