Q&A Home > B > Holy Bible

How can I respond to children regarding: “What is our business with Adam’s sin?”

The amount of detail and abstract thinking of which the children are capable will determine how much you can really explain. By the grace of God, first ask the children what they think, so you can assess what needs to be clarified. The scenario around Adam's sin consists of, on the one hand, disobedience, pride, temptation, deception, and distrust, and on the other hand, love, forgiveness, redemption, sacrifice, and restoration. Adam disobeyed God and so did Eve. The serpent deceived Eve and Eve tempted Adam. Adam and Eve distrusted God and tried to hide from Him. Both Adam and Eve fell into pride and did not take responsibility for their actions. Their sentence included a separation from God. Adam and Eve were sent into exile (i.e., had to leave Paradise). Their children (all of the human race) inherited their new status, distorted image, and burdens. The children of God no longer resembled His image of love and obedience, but took on a new image of a tendency to sin. Before executing their sentence, punishment, and exile, God put a plan in place for their return. Divine Justice and love were at the cornerstone of His plan for their restoration. Out of His love for Adam and his children, God provided the plan of the only acceptable Sacrifice through the shedding of the blood of His Only Begotten Son who would absorb the wrath of God and provide for the penalty required by Divine Justice. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, we were adopted with a new image of the children of God through the Holy Sacrament of Baptism which washed away and destroyed that original sin caused by Adam. A sentence or penalty only has authority while one is still alive. By dying in Christ (the immersion in the baptismal font), the new Christian emerges from the waters with the restored image of Christ, the true Son of God. Through the Holy Sacrament of Confirmation, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit of God who dwells in us. Through the Holy Sacrament of Repentance and Confession, the Christian is continuously being renewed when he confesses his sins to the priest, who through the Holy Sacrament of the Priesthood can provide absolution of sins. Through the Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist, we eat of the True Sacrifice of the Holy Body and the Holy Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, for the remission of our sins. All in all, it is a love story between God and His people and His desire to save us and keep us forever.