The false contradiction of sin in children attributed to the Book of Mormon Is it really contradictory to the text of Psalm 51:5 to 8:8 Moroni about sin in children?
Author: Israel Gonzalez
As criticism suggests that Psalm 51:5 and 8:8 Moroni allegedly contradict, let's start with a definition of contradiction.
Definition of contradiction The term conflict is defined as the presence of an "affirmation and denial that oppose each other and destroyed each other" (Dictionary Royal Academy, 2011).
During the analysis of each "contradiction" attributed by critics of the Book of Mormon to the literacy of it in supposed opposition to the Gospel contained in the Holy Bible, we see that each fall as false in any of the following three cases :
- The statement puts and biblical criticism really is not the Bible.
- * The Mormon claim that criticism makes it really is not as Mormon Book of Mormon.
- The statements set as opposed criticism does not really contradict each other, ie, not destroy each other but can coexist in one or more contexts, book together, giving a sense of richness to the truth of the Gospel.
* Notes: coined a new meaning to the term "Mormon (a)" to summarize some content follows directly from the Book of Mormon, and we prefer the term "Mormon" that folklore is associated with all canon and culture Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
This is only an excerpt of the future article "The false contradictions attributed to the Book of Mormon" paper still publishing a list of "serious doctrinal alleged contradictions" that the author published in this year 2011, as an apologetic defense of the book and to confirm the faith of Latter-day Saints and their supporters. The method of refutation Since the critical expose contradictions, we followed a method which complies with the definition, so check if it is effective that the statements were destroyed. To do so, follow the following methodology:
- try to identify in a concise manner which two statements are contradictory to each criticism.
- evaluate whether the statement is biblical, making cross-references one and only with Biblical content.
- evaluate whether the claim is Mormon, making one and only cross-references to the content of the Book of Mormon
- In case 2 and 3 themselves are correct, we will assess whether the statements actually contradict each other. To see if it destroys the Mormon claim to the biblical and / or destroy the Mormon Bible, or really can coexist.
- For 2 or 3 are not correct, try to draw a hypothesis of why the criticism come to be described by its author as contradictions. Critical
"The Book of Mormon teaches that Young children are not able to [make] sin
because have a sinful nature (Moroni 8:8). In contrast, the Bible in Psalm 51:5 clearly teaches that we have a sinful nature from birth: "Behold, I was shapen in iniquity and in sin my mother conceived me" (Source:
http://www.irr .org / mit / English / bib-bom-sp.html , annex added in square brackets)
criticism arises, then, these two conflicting claims: Claim
- Bible: Humanity has a sinful nature from birth.
- Mormon Affirmation: Humanity does not have a sinful nature from birth.
The statement itself is biblical For the answer to this criticism define the sinful nature and the presence of corruption in the body and / or spirit do to be spotted in the sky, we refer to an intrinsic nature, of being, which is expressed at the time the acts and will not be visible in the children first.
Thus the Bible contains numerous evidence that the whole of humanity - including infants - is indeed sinful from or after (not before) the fall of Adam:
- For the day that you eat thereof you shall surely die (Genesis 2:17)
- Because there is no man who does not sin (1 Kings 8:46)
- Behold, I was shapen in iniquity and in sin my mother conceived me ( Psalms 51:5)
- Your first father sinned, and thy teachers have transgressed against me (Isaiah 43:27)
- Our fathers have sinned and have died, and we took his punishment "(Lamentations 5:7)
- Who can say : I have cleaned my heart and I clean my sin? (Proverbs 20:9)
- certainly not a just man on earth who does good and never sins (Ecclesiastes 7:20)
- Be remembered before the evil Lord of their fathers, and the sin of his mother be blotted out. (Psalms 109:14)
- death passed upon all men because all sinned (Romans 5:12)
- In Adam all die (1 Corinthians 15:22)
- If we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us (1 John1: 8)
The statement is not Mormon Surprisingly the Book of Mormon also supports downright humanity has inherent sinful nature as is the Bible. The book often refer to this state of sin, as a state "down" and "lost." Sometimes as "nature." Others, such as "sinful," "carnal" and "corrupt." We will see that the book teaches state as "forever." Man alone can not rid of him.
These multiple quotes from different characters from different cultures, different periods of time, directly or indirectly support a fallen nature to all mankind as a race regardless of age (infants, children, youth or adults), sex (men or women) or other pattern classification. Here
add to each appointment, the author, culture and the approximate year in order to demonstrate that this belief was accepted across all the peoples of the Book of Mormon:
- All mankind was in a lost and fallen state, and would forever, unless rely on this Redeemer. (1 Nephi 10:6, the patriarch Lehi, 600 BC)
- And the Lord will set his hand for a second time to restore his people from his lost and fallen (2 Nephi 25:17, Nephi First King and Seer Nephite, 559 BC)
- If knowledge of the goodness of God in this time has awakened you to a sense of your annulment and your worthless and fallen state (Mosiah 4:5, Benjamin King and Seer Nephite, 124 BC)
- The natural man is an enemy of God, and has been since the fall of Adam, and will be forever (Mosiah 3:19, Idem)
- So all humanity was lost, and, behold, would have been lost forever had not God rescued his people from their fallen and lost. (Mosiah 16:4, Abinadi the Prophet, 148 BC)
- But remember that anyone who persists in his own carnal nature, and follow the paths of sin and rebellion against God, remains in his fallen state, and the devil hath all power about it. (Ibid.)
- And the Lord told me: Marvel not de que todo el género humano, sí, hombres y mujeres, toda nación, tribu, lengua y pueblo, deban nacer otra vez; sí, nacer de Dios, ser cambiados de su estado carnal y caído (Mosíah 27:25, Alma Profeta Nefita en su conversión, 82 a.C.)
- Vemos que Adán cayó por comer del fruto prohibido, según la palabra de Dios; y así vemos que por su caída, toda la humanidad llegó a ser pueblo perdido y caído. (Alma 12:22, Alma Profeta Nefita en Tierra de Ammoníah, 82 a.C.)
- ¿Quién se hubiera imaginado que nuestro Dios fuera tan misericordioso como para sacarnos de nuestro estado terrible, pecaminoso y corrompido? (Alma 26:17, Ammón Lamanite missionary ground, 90 BC)
- You say that this is a people guilty and fallen because of the transgression of a parent. Behold, I tell you that a child is not guilty by reason of their parents. (Alma 30:25, Korihor the antichrist in his criticism of the teaching that children also participated in the Fall of Adam taught by the Prophet Alma, 74 BC)
- Because it is necessary to make an atonement, because according to the great plan of the Eternal God, you must be an atonement, or else all mankind must inevitably perish, yea, all have been hardened, yea, all have fallen and are lost, and not for the atonement is necessary to do, must perish. (Alma 34:9, words Amulek missionary companion of the Prophet in his mission Alma Zoramites, 74 BC)
- All men are in a natural state, or rather say, in a carnal state, are in the gall of bitterness and in the bands of wickedness (Alma 41:11, Alma Prophet's words in its commission mission for their children, 74 BC)
- And there would be no means to redeem man from this fallen state, he himself was caused by reason of his disobedience (Idem)
- By the fall of Adam, all men are considered as if dead, both in regard to things temporal and spiritual things. (Helaman 14:16, the words of the prophet Samuel Lamanite, 6 BC)
- We know that you are holy and dwell in heaven, and that we are unworthy before thee because of the fall our natures have become evil continually ( Ether 3:2, Brother of Jared Prophet Jaredite, 4,000 BC)
Therefore the statement is not Mormon and therefore the alleged contradiction is false.
There is no contradiction What may have confused the authors of the original criticism in Moroni 8:8 is very subtle in the teaching of their prophet Mormon letter about infant baptism practiced in the fourth century in the Nephite Church, and is the transverse error committed by his body early centuries of Catholic Bishops in Rome on the same topic.
To do this we quote verbatim the above verse and the verses of context:
"Son, I want you to work diligently to remove from among you this big mistake, because for this purpose I have written this epistle.
Because immediately after I had learned these things of you, I asked the Lord concerning the matter. And the word of the Lord came to me by the power of the Holy Spirit saying
Hear the words of Christ, your Redeemer, your Lord and your God, Behold, I came into the world not to call the righteous to repentance, but sinners, the whole need no physician, but those are sick, so young children are healthy, because they are incapable of committing sin, so the curse of Adam is taken from them in me , so he has no power over them, and the law of circumcision is done away in me .
And so I said the Holy Spirit the word of God, therefore, my beloved son, I know that it is solemn mockery before God that ye should baptize little children.
Behold, I tell you this teach-repentance and baptism those who are responsible and capable of committing sin yes, teaches Parents who must repent and be baptized, and humble themselves as their children, and shall all be saved with their little children.
And their little children need no repentance, neither baptism. Behold, baptism is unto repentance to the fulfilling the commandments for the remission of sins.
But little children are alive in Christ, even from the foundation of the world if not, God is a partial God, and also a changeable God a respecter of persons, for many little children who have died without baptism!
So if young children could not be saved without being baptized, they have gone to an endless hell.
behold, all little children are alive in Christ, and also all those who are without law. For the power of redemption is effective in all those who have no law, so that has not been convicted, or which is not under condemnation, can not repent; and that baptism is useless. "(Moroni 8:6-14,22)
In this context, it is clear that Moroni 8:8 does not say that children are innocent" of themselves. " If it were an essential innocence of being or self. Why Mormon would use the argument of "innocence of Christ", ie, through the merits of Christ himself to appeal to the sanctity of young children? There would be no need for a Redeemer if celestial innocence of babies were an inherent innocence. Moreover, if an essential innocence, no-won by Christ What merits then you have a Savior?. Just do not require redemption and a sanctification for infants. Moroni 8:8
argues a second reason for the innocence of babies in Christ and is "committed no sin." Again here is not the essence of the individual but to the individual's own sinful intention. Mormon never speaks that there is no intrinsic sin nature in children, but speaks of the nature of commission
sinful which obviously was not in infants and children under. Is it the same sinful nature that the commission of sin? No. From the first by genetics Adamic all share, says the Book of Mormon. In the second awareness is needed of the law, because no commission is omission (James 4:17).
A history to take into account is that this innocence won "in Christ", it is clear to Mormon only after a process of reflection and then a new direct revelation from the Lord. So we can assume without fail, even the same Mormon also questioned whether infant baptism was wrong, and this probably because he was absolutely clear that the curse of Adam includes every child of Adam regardless of age. Therefore
this innocence Shall be understood as a sanctification by grace
free but essential cleanup of young children: a free forgiveness in Christ, as free and universal that does not require repentance or any religious sacrament. Thus we can indeed conclude that there is a small and very short lapse of time (8 years, according to tradition revealed in Mormonism) between the conception in the womb of the mother and the awakening of individual conscience, which is forgiven and sanctified through the redeeming grace of the Savior in a free and universal until consciousness is rooted in his being and that individual ceases to be innocent (without knowledge of the gospel) and begin to sin through willful commission (or willful default.)
This "innocence won" by having atoning for sins in a state of innocence, then, may well include those who never could hear the law and the mentally disabled for life or the thousands and millions who never arrived knowledge of the law, the principles and ordinances (sacraments) of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
This "innocence in Christ" has its justification in biblical scriptures also (to mention others such as John 1:10, where the theologian explains that in light of the grace of Christ shines upon each designed independent of any condition) and as in modern revelation of the tradition Mormon, but the most relevant and enlightening, and certainly that occupied the minds of Mormon to meditate on the role of Jesus Christ as High Priest and Redeemer atoning sin nature - as Mormon had access to the Books of Moses - has been the as follows:
"And the priest shall make atonement for the person who sinned inadvertently, when small inadvertently before the Lord, make atonement for her, and be forgiven." (Numbers 15:28)
Thus we see that the law of Moses in ancient times kept the symbolism of forgiveness also for the innocent. They were not innocent of themselves, but Atonement was the forgiveness that allowed such sinners. Such forgiveness by grace require an active action of the sinner only when you become aware of their actions before the law. This is consistent at all with the passage of Moroni 8:8.
the foregoing we have shown that the "contradiction of sin in children" does not exist in the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon never states that children are not intrinsically sinful nature (indeed, says he does; see references above) only argues that Christ is justified and sanctified through His Atonement and that sanctification is valid in early of life or until they understand the Law After this they require repentance and baptism.