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Original Sin In Christian belief, all human beings inherit their sinful nature from Adam and Eve, who acquired it after they disobeyed God's instructions in the Garden of Eden. When God created Adam and Eve, he originally made them sinless, and he intended for them to remain that way. But the eating of the forbidden fruit somehow transformed human nature so that we are all naturally sinful and can only obtain salvation by divine grace. Some Christians believe that our natural tendency to sin is transmitted from generation to generation by male semen.
The disobedience of Adam and Eve and their resulting loss of innocence is called the "Fall of Mankind". It is often regarded as the basic cause of all the misery subsequently experienced by the human race. According to a biblical passage at Genesis 3:16-19, this misery started with some punishments that God announced to Adam and Eve as they left the Garden of Eden. God told them that Adam would have to toil and sweat in order to survive, and that Eve would feel severe labor pains when she gave birth to children. Many Christians interpret this passage to mean that God inflicted these punishments not only on Adam and Eve, but also on all of their descendants, so that all human beings must pay the same price.
Some people think that God acted unfairly when he decided to punish all humankind just because two people disobeyed him. Some also think that the punishments are unduly harsh, especially the infliction of labor pains on all women. After all, Eve wouldn't have eaten the forbidden fruit if a serpent hadn't tricked her into doing it. God could have forgiven her and let her have another chance. But instead, he decided to punish not only her, but all other women too.
Note: Some Christians believe that God exempted the Virgin Mary from the punishments, so that she didn't feel any labor pains when she gave birth to Jesus.
