The transferability of sin: punishing
the innocent for the sins of the guilty

Overview:

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Conflicting quotations:

About the transferability of sin:

Most secularists and followers of the major religious traditions active in North America believe that a person is responsible for their own sinful behavior, and not for the sins of others. They believe that in a just society:

Comments on the transferability of sin:

Professor Gregory Millema of the philosophy Department at Calvin College describes that, in North America, sin is considered a personal matter and does not spread throughout a culture:

"People in contemporary Western culture think in terms of individual rights, individual liberties, and, presumably, individual responsibilities. According to this characterization of contemporary Western culture, the individual bears moral responsibility for what he or she has done. Moral responsibility is a personal, individual matter, and we should never be expected to bear responsibility for the wrongdoings of another (unless we have agreed to do so voluntarily, as when we take responsibility for the actions of our child, our subordinate, or our senile parent). Moral responsibility is not something which can somehow spread spontaneously through a whole group of people; it is confined to each individual exactly in proportion to what the individual has done or failed to do." _3,4

Retired Bishop John. Shelby Spong of the Episcopal Church, USA described a church service in his parish church during 2007-JUN. He was distressed when a passage from 2 Samuel 12 was read to the congregation. It describes a prophecy by the prophet Nathan that as punishment for David's adulterous affair with Bathsheba and David's subsequent murder of Bathsheba's husband, God would cause David and Bathsheba's infant son to sicken and die. Bishop Spong wrote:

"One of the three lessons from the Bible that Sunday was so dreadful that I first cringed as I heard it read, then I railed against it silently. What I really wanted to do was to shout loudly: 'That is not true.' ... When lessons are read from the Bible the reader normally concludes the reading with the words: 'This is the Word of the Lord!' to which the people dutifully respond like well-trained sheep: 'Thanks be to God.' ... All of these well practiced liturgical acts were designed over the years to surround the Bible with authority, to enhance the power of scripture and to train the minds of the lay people to revere the Bible. Christians have been taught consciously and subconsciously not to confront or to challenge something for which God's authorship is being claimed. ..."

I am not now and have not been for years prepared to acknowledge that the words of the Bible are in fact the words of God in any literal sense. In worship, therefore, when I hear a biblical passage read that portrays God as a kind of monster, whose behavior would not be recognized as moral by any standard today, I am offended. ..."

That approach to the Bible must be challenged as must the debilitating message that so many hear in church. The Bible is filled with dark, unlearned themes that in the hands of 'the righteous' give rise to an abusive use. It has in its pages what I have called: 'The Sins of Scripture.' It is time for the Christian Church to say that publicly, openly, honestly.  ₅

The Bible vs. modern culture:

In most cultures, sin is attributed to the sinner, and is not transferable to another person or group of people. This belief forms the foundation of the world's justice systems. Modern secular and religious moral codes affirm the thought expressed in Deuteronomy 24:16 which states that children are not to be executed for the sins of their fathers, or vice versa:

"The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin."

Many would reject the concept that the children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and great-great grandchildren of a person who hates God are to be punished. This thought is found in Exodus 20:5, which is part of the most frequently cited version of the Ten Commandments:

"Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them (idols), nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me." ₁

Yet, the concept mentioned in the Ten Commandments that sin can be transferred from the guilty to the innocent is found throughout the Bible:

References:

1. From the King James Version of the Bible.
2. "Bishop Spong Q&A," Beliefnet, 2005-JUN-08.
3. Gregory F. Millema, "Collective Responsibility: Introduction", Rodopi, (1997). Read reviews or order this book safely from Amazon.com online book store
4. Online at: http://www.calvin.edu/
5. J.S. Spong, "This is Not the Word of the Lord," A New Christianity for a New World series, 2007-JUN-27. http://secure.agoramedia.com/