The Transformation of Hamartiology in Early Christianity: On Augustine’s Interpretation of Romans 5:12

Abstract

Starting with Augustine’s controversial translation and interpretation of Romans 5:12, this paper compares Augustine’s and the apostle Paul’s different understandings of “sin”: Paul understands “sin” from the apocalyptic eschatological perspective, and regards “sin” as a cosmic power; Augustine, on the contrary, gradually understood sin as an ontological sin in the discussion of the concept of “original sin”. Through the development and transformation from Paul’s theory of sin to Augustine’s theory of sin, this paper further discusses the interactive relationship between the development of early Christian thought and its social and cultural contexts and tries to outline the path of interweaving biblical text and theological thought in history, particularly to teach how Chinese readers should interact with scriptures in the Chinese context.