Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Kirk Lowery <KirkLowery AT xc.org>]

Ben Crick wrote:

>  Someone was asking about the "seed of the serpent" (Genesis 3:15). I have
>  always taken this as a reference to "Original Sin". Jesus said to his
>  enemies "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye
>  will do" (John 8:44). He said to Nicodemus "Ye (plural) must be born
>  again" (John 3:7). David lamented "in sin did my mother conceive me"
>  (Psalm 51:5). David's mother was the (unnamed) wife of Jesse; there are no
>  grounds to think that he was begotten by Jesse of a prostitute, as some
>  have claimed. Compare Psalm 58:3: "The wicked are estranged from their
>  birth: they go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies".
> 
>  But here I go digressing into the realms of "doctrine", verboten on
>  b-hebrew.

Ben, the b-hebrew staff has discussed your posting, and we judge it to be
*within* the normal parameters of discussion on this list, as we understand
the charter and normal practice.

There has been discussion in the past on the place of "doctrine" on our forum.
Let's clarify a bit. If by "doctrine" we're talking about the "teaching" of 
the
Hebrew Bible, the meaning or message of the text, then "doctrine" is 
definitely
inside the circle. The question, how has the Hebrew Bible (or any part of it)
been interpreted to support the proposition of  original sin?, is a legitimate
question for our group.

If by "doctrine" we mean "dogma" and sectarian debate, then, no, that's not 
what
this forum is about. For example, the question, is original sin primarily a
Christian "doctrine" imposed on the Hebrew Bible?, is outside the boundary.

And considerate, polite and thoughtful expression is always in order. ;-)

Hope this helps.

Blessings,

Kirk
_____________________________________________________________________________
Kirk E. Lowery, Ph.D.                              voice: (215) 572-3845
Associate Director of Academic Computing             fax: (215) 887-5404
Adjunct Professor of Old Testament                 email: <KirkLowery AT xc.org>
Westminster Theological Seminary              
Philadelphia, PA 19118