Christianity and Judaism
In contrast to the Jewish view of being morally balanced, Original Sin refers to the idea that the sin of Adam and Eve's disobedience (sin "at the origin") has passed on a spiritual heritage, so to speak. Christians teach that human beings inherit a corrupted or damaged human nature in which the tendency to do bad is greater than it would have been otherwise, so much so that human nature would not be capable now of participating in the afterlife with God. This is not a matter of being "guilty" of anything; each person is only personally guilty of their own actual sins. However, this understanding of original sin is what lies behind the Christian emphasis on the need for spiritual salvation from a spiritual Saviour, who can forgive and set aside sin even though humans are not inherently pure and worthy of such salvation. Paul the Apostle in Romans and I Corinthians placed special emphasis on this doctrine, and stressed that belief in Jesus would allow Christians to overcome death and attain salvation in the hereafter.
Apostasy in Christianity
The Epistle to the Hebrews is the classic text on the subject of apostasy in the New Testament. New Testament scholar Scot McKnight argues that the warning passages (2:1–4; 3:7–4:13; 5:11–6:12; 10:19–39; 12:1–29) should be read and interpreted "as an organic whole, each of which expresses four components of the author’s message." These four components are "(1) the subjects or audience in danger of committing the sin, (2) the sin that leads to (3) the exhortation, which if not followed, leads to (4) the consequences of that sin." McKnight concluded from his study that (1) the subjects of this letter were genuine "believers, persons who . . . had converted to Jesus Christ,” (2) The sin "is apostasy, a deliberate and public act of deconfessing Jesus Christ, a rejection of God's Spirit, and a refusal to submit to God and His will," (3) the exhortation is "to a persevering faithfulness to God and his revelation of the new covenant in Jesus Christ," (4) the consequences involve "eternal damnation if a person does not persevere in the faith." B. J. Oropeza concludes that apostasy threatens the community in Hebrews on two fronts: mistreatment by outsiders (persecution) and malaise involving reluctance to listen to godly exhortation.