From time to time I...
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From time to time I am called upon to explain the doctrine of original sin. In Genesis we read of the fall and of the punishment placed by God upon the snake, and upon Adam and Eve. But nowhere in Genesis does it say that because Adam sinned we all have sinned. This is found in Romans. I once made a purchase at a large department store, and the clerk gave me too much change. She gave me change for a twenty, but I had only given her a ten, for an item that cost four dollars. (I got sixteen dollars in change when I had only given her ten dollars.. Moving out of the checkout line, I again counted my change to make sure that I was correct. I was; she had given me too much change. Do you know what my first reaction was? To keep the money! I could even justify doing this -- a large store like Hills wouldn't miss the money, and besides it wasn't my fault if the clerk couldn't count. This caused quite a battle within me. Finally, I decided to return the money. The sales clerk was surprised. She said that she would have kept the money. But why would she have done this? And why was my first reaction to keep what wasn't mine? Why do we have this desire to do what we know is wrong? Could this have something to do with Adam's sin? -- Frank
