Original Sin or Original Sinfulness?

Fitzpatrick, Joseph P.

doi:10.1111/j.1741-2005.2009.01290.x

Cited by 1 publication

(6 citation statements)

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“…He defines it as follows: 'The 'proto' of 'prototypical' suggests that it is the first of its kind; the 'typical' suggests that we are dealing with kinds or types and not with individuals; and the noun 'action' indicates we are dealing with a deed; we are dealing with a kind or type of deed.' 52 Fitzpatrick identifies two implications of this concept. First, it 'depersonalises the action that is being described; secondly, it removes from it any causative function, any suggestion that the action caused or brought about the actions later described in the narrative.'…”

Section: Augustine and 'Prototypical Action'mentioning

confidence: 96%

“…65 Fitzpatrick's view is therefore that the Fall of Genesis 3 is not the cause of the 'original sinfulness' described in Genesis 4 to 11. He suggests that Adam and Eve eating from the tree should be seen in 'the role of acting as 'overture' to the later sections of Genesis and, indeed, of the whole 'historical' bible'.…”

Section: Carol Harrison Is In No Doubt About the Importance Of Creatimentioning

confidence: 97%

“…He further observes: 'You might say that it is an inherited situation, but in saying so you would not be required, as Augustine felt himself to be, to explain how humans came to inherit it.' 69 This is surely unsatisfactory: 'an inherited situation' has to be inherited from somewhere. In seeking, rightly as I believe, to avoid an historical account of the origin of sin, Fitzpatrick is compelled to place an arbitrary limit on explanation.…”

Section: Carol Harrison Is In No Doubt About the Importance Of Creatimentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Fitzpatrick writes that Adam's sin begins 'the story of Man's making of the human world -civilisation, art, artefacts etc.' 17 In Aeschylus' version of the Promethean myth, Prometheus seizes the secret of life, symbolised by fire, from Zeus and teaches humanity the arts of civilisation. Fitzpatrick's inversion of the Augustinian interpretation of Adam's story bears more than a passing resemblance to Aeschylus' use of the story of Prometheus as recounted by Hesiod.…”

Section: The Psychology Of Sinmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…62 One of the grounds on which Fitzpatrick recommends 'prototypical action' is that it 'helps us to keep in mind that we are dealing with a narrative that uses the devices and conventions of imaginative literature'. 63 Augustine's use of allegory would suggest that he is in no need of such a reminder. And, of course, allegorical interpretation is depersonalising in the manner of Fitzpatrick's 'prototypical action' hermeneutic.…”

Section: Carol Harrison Is In No Doubt About the Importance Of Creatimentioning

confidence: 99%

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Original Sin or Original Sinfulness? A Comment

Heans

2011

The Heythrop Journal

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My purpose is to defend Augustine's doctrine of original sin against Joseph Fitzpatrick in his series of articles in New Blackfriars (July 2009–Jan 2010). I begin by arguing that Fitzpatrick's criticisms of it as psychologically inadequate fail because they do not take seriously enough the metaphysical structure of this doctrine, viz, creation from nothing. The second part begins with a critique of Fitzpatrick's interpretation of Genesis 3 and continues with a critical analysis of his proposed alternative to Augustine on original sin (‘original sinfulness’) with reference to the scriptural passages he cites in its support. The conclusion I reach is that ‘original sinfulness’ is not an acceptable biblical hermeneutic. In the third section, I discuss Fitzpatrick's concept of ‘prototypical action’ and, using recent work of Carol Harrison on Augustine's early theological writings, I argue that, far from being incompatible with Augustine's theology of original sin, as Fitzpatrick maintains, this concept enables us to understand Augustine's position in a way that overcomes Fitzpatrick's objections to it.

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Section: Augustine and 'Prototypical Action'mentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Carol Harrison Is In No Doubt About the Importance Of Creatimentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Carol Harrison Is In No Doubt About the Importance Of Creatimentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: The Psychology Of Sinmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Carol Harrison Is In No Doubt About the Importance Of Creatimentioning

confidence: 99%

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