ABSTRACT
On the theological level, this chapter expresses the delicate Calvinist balance between the sombre doctrine of Original Sin and the promise of divine pardon. The changing views of Original Sin touch, however, upon more than purely theological issues. The concept of Original Sin was one of the central theological ideas in the Christian West from St Augustine in the early fifth century until at least the late seventeenth century. Original Sin was what made Divine Grace an indispensable necessity on the way to salvation, according to both Catholics and Protestants. Most Catholics, by contrast, while continuing to adhere to the notion of Original Sin, including original guilt, regarded the sacramental system, particularly Baptism and Confession, as a way of ‘cleaning’ man from this stain and its consequences. The chapter discusses both the changing theological views of Original Sin in the Protestant world on the eve of the Enlightenment and, more importantly, the emotional significance of these changes.
