Solidarity, Original Sin, and Human Sacrifice

By Fr. Jerry Pokorsky ( bio - articles - email ) | Jan 13, 2025

Precocious little children are often annoyed by the inherited stain and suffering of original sin. Like children, we accept the beautiful solidarity of family and friendship. Like children, we also tend to reject the perceived injustice of the inherited “solidarity of sin.”

Adam and Eve disobeyed God because of the Devil’s deception: “You will not die. God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Gen. 3:4-5) In the Garden of perfect bliss, there was no reason for them to know the absence of good contrasting with their happy solidarity of love. After the Fall, suffering and death—and Original Sin and its sinful inclinations—afflicted every descendant.

With grace and honesty, we may accept responsibility for our sins. But it is almost impossible for us graciously to accept affliction for the sins of others or to recognize the communal effect of our sins. Like an inkblot, evil is expansive. I may regret my road rage but think nothing of its consequences. The recipient of my sin may go home and ruin a happy evening with his family.

We grow up in families and communities with shared values and vices. We inherit good and evil communal patterns. Doctors ask patients for their family medical histories. In the Old Testament, we occasionally read that the sins of the father are visited upon his sons. The solidarity of sin doesn’t seem fair. But it’s a fact.

As descendants of Adam and Eve, we spiritually inherit the stain of Original Sin and its consequences. Wounded by sin, we struggle to see and choose the good. The mystery is spiritually entangled with every inherited trait and sociological pattern. As Chesterton observes, “Certain new theologians dispute Original Sin, which is the only part of Christian theology which can really be proved.”

We shouldn’t blame God for suffering and death. “God did not make death, and he does not delight in the death of the living.” (Wis. 1:13) “For God created man for incorruption, and made him in the image of his own eternity, but through the devil’s envy death entered the world, and those who belong to his party experience it.” (Wis. 2:23-24) Suffering and death are the result of our disobedience provoked by the Devil.

The Devil demands our worship, and worship of the Devil is self-destructive. The loathsome ancient practice of human sacrifice is at the core of the solidarity of sin. The Devil hates mankind, human life, and God’s creative handiwork. Human sacrifice expresses all three of those hateful components.

Driven by fear and cultural expectations, it’s unlikely the ancients were fully aware of the evil of human sacrifice. In fairness, we also enshrine human sacrifice using terms such as “reproductive freedom” and slogans that justify mass murder: “We targeted those civilian population centers because it was necessary to win the war.” So let’s cut the Aztecs a little slack.

In the Old Testament, bloody animal sacrifices replaced the bloodlust of demons. The (rather unpleasant) ritual sacrifices of the Mosaic Law expressed the obedience of the Chosen People—and nourished them with fresh meat! There must be something horrible and ugly about even the slightest sin to cause us to spill so much blood. Nevertheless, the Jews had a gnawing sense of the futility of animal sacrifice:

“I am God, your God. I do not reprove you for your sacrifices; your burnt offerings are continually before me… If I were hungry, I would not tell you; for the world and all that is in it is mine. Do I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats? Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and pay your vows to the Most High; and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.” (Ps. 50:7-15)

During his great test of obedience, our father in faith, Abraham, grieved at the prospect of sacrificing his son, Isaac. When the angel stayed his hand after Abraham demonstrated his obedience to God, Abraham unknowingly prophesied the mission of Jesus: “God will provide himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” (Gen. 22:8) Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. As a type of the Father, Abraham’s grief also teaches us that the Heavenly Father did not delight in the suffering and death of His Son. The Heavenly Father delights in the perfect obedience that overcomes all sin, suffering, and death.

More than animal sacrifice, we need a Redeemer to remove the stain of original sin and the graces to restore the solidarity of love and life. The single Sacrifice of Jesus purifies, fulfills, and replaces the sacrifices of the Temple. His Sacrifice conquers the bloodlust of the Devil, and the Sign of the Cross is a sign of His perfect obedience.

God does not break the solidarity of sin without our cooperation. John baptized with the water of repentance but promised that Jesus “will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” (Lk. 3:16) Jesus sanctifies the waters with the flowing waters of His baptism. The Cross and Resurrection fulfill John’s prophecy of redemption, spirit, and the fullness of life.

When we gaze upon the Cross and all human suffering, we see the ever-expanding effects of sin. Our sins destroy us and others. The Devil abuses God’s creation and swallows us up in his solidarity with sin. But God does not delight in suffering and death. Nor does He allow sin to destroy His holy handiwork and claim final victory. Victory is His in the Sacraments, beginning with Baptism.

God rescues His good creation with the matter and form of the Sacraments and defeats the Devil in the Sacrament of Baptism. Baptism restores us to the mysterious and glorious solidarity with Jesus and His Church and sustains our love with the graces of the Sacraments.

Fr. Jerry Pokorsky is a priest of the Diocese of Arlington who has also served as a financial administrator in the Diocese of Lincoln. Trained in business and accounting, he also holds a Master of Divinity and a Master’s in moral theology. Father Pokorsky co-founded both CREDO and Adoremus, two organizations deeply engaged in authentic liturgical renewal. He writes regularly for a number of Catholic websites and magazines. See full bio.

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