Chapter 5, . . . Qui Tollis Peccata Mundi Summary and Analysis

When Christianity emerged from Judaism, one of the chief differences was its attitude towards purity and defilement. While Judaism had always conceived of impurity as a material, exterior reality, Christ taught that impurity was something that was in a person's soul. Moreover, the impurity is something which can never be obliterated—there is no equivalent to the many rites of ritual sacrifice in Judaism. A person is born with original sin and, as long as they live, will always bear it. Of course, this does not necessary negate the notion of free will. A person is free to sin or not to sin, at least on many accounts, but this freedom is always tainted by the "original sin" of Adam.

Like Judaism, Christianity makes heavy usage of the notion of division and...