AQUINAS UNIVERSITY OF LEGAZPI

RE 101 (From Creation to the Process of Becoming Human)

Prepared by: Sean Jude O. Palenzuela, BSN IV
1. Why is there sin and evil in the world?
I have consulted various references as regards this question but technically, there are
thousands of reasons but none of these answers are based on the Bible. As a Christian, I picked
something which is part of the foundation of what I believed in—my creed---biblical. I can say
that there is sin and evil because of man’s failure to follow God. Man (Adam/Eve as our
representations) embraced temptation and other works of the devil because of their “worldly
desire” to experience happiness and satisfaction ignoring God’s commands.
2. How does Church teaching explain original sin?
Based on what I’ve read about the Catechism of the Catholic Church, it explains that in
"yielding to the tempter, Adam and Eve committed a personal sin, but this sin affected the human
nature that they would then transmit in a fallen state...original sin is called ‘sin’ only in an
analogical sense: it is a sin "contracted" and not "committed"—a state of being.
3. Why is it called “original sin”?
The books and online articles I have consulted define Original Sin as “the sin inherited by
all humankind from Adam in his disobedience of God’s command not to eat from the fruit of the
Tree of Knowledge.” The Original Sin event is also referred to as “The Fall of Man.”
4. What is concupiscence and how do we experience it?
Concupiscence is the term the church uses to describe our own human disordered
inclination to sin. These include disordered desires (desires that go against God’s plan for what’s
best for us). Even after we regain God’s grace in confession we still have this tendency to sin
again. None of us are perfect and we all fall under the weight of concupiscence but because God
knows His creatures so well, he understands our nature and forgives us and gives us the chance to
try again.
We all have things that tie us up and that keep us in their grip–all the things we are tempted
by and that we desire in an unhealthy way can all be attributed to this weak tendency of ours which
we term as our concupiscence.
5. How is original sin and baptism related?
God’s first covenant with humanity, through Adam, was broken through the original sin.
God has created a new covenant in Jesus Christ, the perfect sacrifice. Jesus has given us a way to
enter into this new covenant, through baptism. Baptism removes original sin and any personal sin,
and cleanses the soul making it new and fresh. It makes one a new creature in Christ. God invites
into this covenant with him freely and it is up to us to choose to enter into it and uphold our end
of the bargain.