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RESEARCH PAPER: ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY AND TOPIC SELECTION
Statement of Topic:
This research paper will cover the topic of, “origin of sin nature.”
Bibliography Information for Resource #1:
De Cruz, Helen, and Johan De Smedt. “Schleiermacher and the Transmission of
Sin.”TheoLogica : An International Journal for Philosophy of Religion and
Philosophical Theology$7, no. 2 (2022).
Brief statement regarding the author and his or her credentials as an authority:
Helen De Cruz, a Belgian philosopher, is Chair of Philosophy at Saint Louis University and
specializes in philosophy of religion, experimental philosophy, and philosophy of cognitive
science. Her work has advanced the understanding of human relationship to multiple religious
doctrines and how the mind works in its divinely crafted structure.
Johan De Smedt is a professor of Philosophy at Saint Louis University. His research looks at the
cognitive predispositions in Science, Religion, and the cognitive basis of human artistic
behavior. His interest in how the human cognitive process has brought forth such tremendous
artisitic and religious understandings drive his work.
A crisp statement regarding the relevance of this article for your topic:
Transmission of Sin: A Biocultural Evolutionary Mild, states that the concept of sin has
developed as part of the moral and social developments of society over time. The authors’ belief
that the origin of sin is deeply intertwined with the evolution of the human consciousness leads
the work to interesting and thought provoking questions regarding the role of sin in the human
experience. Sin is viewed through both a holistic and theological lens, with many theories being
supported by the work of Schleiermacher.
A salient or meaningful quote from the article that you would likely cite if you were to
write an essay on this topic:
“Theodicies that appeal to human free will do not, as a primary aim, account for the
pervasiveness of sin.They might explain why we sin, but not why it seems impossible to refrain
from doing so.”1
Bibliography Information for Resource #2
Ziegler, Philip G. “‘Bound Over to Satan’s Tyranny’: Sin and Satan in Contemporary Reformed
Hamartiology.”$Theology Today75, no. 1 (2018): 89–100.
1 Helen De Cruz and Johan De Smedt. “Schleiermacher and the Transmission of Sin.”TheoLogica : An
International Journal for Philosophy of Religion and Philosophical Theology$7, no. 2 (2022): 61.
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Brief statement regarding the author and his or her credentials as an authority:
Philip G. Ziegler, a Canadian theologian, is a professor in Christian dogmatics at the University
of Aberdeen. His work covers the theological implications of sin over a broad armature of
Christian dotrine, with special attention to eschatology and redemption. Much of his work details
the role sin plays in man’s separation from God, based on the fall. His beliefs’ express a rooting
of sin’s origin beginning in the Garden with Adam and Eve.
A crisp statement regarding the relevance of this article for your topic:
Bound over to Satan’s Tyranny: Sin and Satan in Contemporary Reformed Hamartiology,
explores the communal dimensions of sin and the affect it plays in humanity beyond man’s
control. Aligning with traditional Christian theology Ziegler highlights the broken relationship
between man and God, and man’s dependence on God’s grace to have a redeemed life. Evil is
described as a living agent whose purpose is the promotion of beliefs that first lead to the
fractured relationship between God and man.
A salient or meaningful quote from the article that you would likely cite if you were to
write an essay on this topic:
“The burden of my case is that the idea of Satan, while undoubtedly "hazardous,” is anything but
"incidental” to the saving gospel of God.”2
Bibliography Information for Resource 3:
Dupont, Anthony. “Signs of an Augustinian Original Sin in Milan? The Origin and Nature of
Human Sin According to Ambrose.”$Journal of Theological Studies$74, no. 2 (2023):
706–740.$
Brief statement regarding the author and his or her credentials as an authority:
Anthony Dupont holds three Master degrees in the fields of Philosophy, Religious Studies, and
Theology. His doctorate dissertation awarded him the Fonds voor Wetenschappelijk
Onderzoek$and two postdoctoral fellowships. Today he is a research professor in Christian
antiquity and leads a team of thirteen in the respected field.
A crisp statement regarding the relevance of this article for your topic:
Signs of an Augustinian Original Sin in Milan? The Origin and Nature of Human Sin According
to Ambrose, looks at the theological contributions of Ambrose to the doctrine of original sin as
an inherited condition. Sin is said to be rooted in the fall of Adam and Eve, now affecting all of
humanity. Dupont points out the inevitability of sin and looks closely at the corruption it has on
human nature from its original design. Dupont shows how the origin of sin is a moment in the
Garden that is still going on today.
A salient or meaningful quote from the article that you would likely cite if you were to
write an essay on this topic:
2 Philip G. Ziegler, “‘Bound Over to Satan’s Tyranny’: Sin and Satan in Contemporary Reformed
Hamartiology.”$Theology Today75, no. 1 (2018): 93.
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“Had Adam and Eve not been tempted by their own ambition and desire to become equal to God,
they would not have succumbed to anything improper. Virtue and immortality were possible, but
not fixed. Herein lay human freedom, the freedom to achieve perfection or to fall.”3
Bibliography Information for Resource 4:
Kozman, Rony. "When Law Came to Adam: The Origin Story of Sin and Death in Romans
5."$Religions 15, no. 12 (2024): 1552-1584.
Brief statement regarding the author and his or her credentials as an authority:
Rony Kozan specializes in the New Testament and early Judaism. His work looks closely at the
interpretation of the Old Testament through New Testament and Jewish literature of the Second
Temple period. His current work is looking at how ancient Jewish understanding of law
redefines our understanding of Romans.
A crisp statement regarding the relevance of this article for your topic:
When Law Came to Adam: The Origin Story of Sin and Death in Romans 5, is an exegetical and
theological analysis of Paul’s depiction of sin and death in Romans 5. An emphasis of the
relationship between Adam’s transgression and the introduction of the law is evident in
Kozman’s work. Adam is presented as the main figure whose actions gave cosmic implications
that are still playing out today. The sin of Adam is explored as more than an individualistic
decision but an inescapable corruption that has continued to disturb the relationship between God
and man.
A salient or meaningful quote from the article that you would likely cite if you were to
write an essay on this topic:
“We should search for a different law—a law before which sin did not abound, and after which
sin increased. If we look to the opening chapters of Genesis, we will find another law that fits
this description—the law that came to the$adam$in Eden (Gen 2:15–17).”4
Bibliography Information for Resource 5:
Wickman, Eric. “General Baptist Origins and Original Sin.”$Baptist Quarterly51, no.2 (2019):
47–55.
Brief statement regarding the author and his or her credentials as an authority:
Eric Wickman is an adjunct at the College of Christian Studies at the University of Mary Hardin-
Baylor. His research focuses on early Christian soteriology. He has given special attention to the
historical work of past theologians and his work covers an array of varying interpretations,
beliefs, and theologies to the idea of sin’s origin.
A crisp statement regarding the relevance of this article for your topic:
3 Anthony Dupont, “Signs of an Augustinian Original Sin in Milan? The Origin and Nature of Human Sin
According to Ambrose.”$Journal of Theological Studies$74, no. 2 (2023): 715.$
4 Rony Kozman, "When Law Came to Adam: The Origin Story of Sin and Death in Romans 5."$Religions
15, no. 12 (2024): 1561.
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General Baptist Origins and Original Sin, examines the theological understanding of sin from
the General Baptist early movement. Taking place in the 17th century, the General Baptists held a
view distinctly different from the Calvinist interpretation of original sin. Through comparision
and contrast, Wickman weighs the arguments and brings modern day interpretation into the mix.
The contradicting belief between the two groups brings a thoughtful reflection on how Adam’s
transgression began and continues to play out today.
A salient or meaningful quote from the article that you would likely cite if you were to
write an essay on this topic:
“Based, in part, on Riedemann’s conclusions, later Anabaptist confessions, such as the
Waterlander (Mennonite) Confession of 1580, would come to assert that there was no such thing
as original sin, dropping the term altogether except to reject it.”5
5 Wickman, Eric. “General Baptist Origins and Original Sin.”$Baptist Quarterly51, no.2 (2019): 50.
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