ASK FR BITAJU | KAIROS GLOBAL | OCTOBER 2023

Author: Fr Bitaju

Q. If someone commits evil, are their offspring affected by it?

Thank you for your query on whether the ‘sins of fathers visit their children.’ Certain passages in Scripture, taken in isolation, would seem to endorse this saying. In particular, Exodus 20:5 – You shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I, the Lord, your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me. 

Scripture, taken in its totality condemns the idea that children are punished or suffer for the sins of their parents. The above passage from Exodus apparently contradicts that, and this misinterpretation was so prevalent at the time of Prophet Ezekiel. He vehemently addressed this issue in the following manner: What is the meaning of this proverb you recite in the land of Israel: ‘Parents eat sour grapes, but the children’s teeth are set on edge’?  As I live – oracle of the Lord God: I swear that none of you will ever repeat this proverb in Israel. For all life is mine: the life of the parent is like the life of the child, both are mine. Only the one who sins shall die! (Ezekiel 18:2-4). 

It is important to note the context of Exodus 20:5-6, that tells the consequences of violating the commandment against false gods and idolatry. The Lord says that the practice of idolatry can be inserted into a cultural heritage, and subsequently, children raised in such a tradition will be hard-pressed to overcome it. 

Moreover, the Exodus passage gives a clear message that the iniquity of the parents gives a bad example for their children to imitate.  Consequently, it is not only the parents who will experience the negative impacts of their sins but also the children who follow their bad example. This bad example may be ingrained in a family that it will last generations to come, and they too will bear the bad consequences for their sins. For example, alcoholic parents or those who practise the occult. It is a warning passage from the book of Exodus for the parents that not only do they suffer for their own sins but that their bad example might condemn even their future generations.

Further, there are a number of Scriptural passages that confer to man being judged for his own sin, not that of another. For example: in 2 Kings 14:6 we read, every man shall die for his own sin. Jeremiah 31:30 says, but every one shall die for his own sins… Ezekiel 18:20 makes it very clear that The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffers for the iniquity of the son. 2 Maccabees 7:32 says, For we are suffering because of our own sins. Jesus affirmed the same idea when he said, Neither this man nor his parents sinned… (John 9:2-3).

Therefore, we can conclude that the idea that ‘children are punished for the sins of their parents’ is not in accordance with the teaching of the Bible. The Catholic Church teaches that each person is responsible for their own actions and is not held guilty for the sins of their ancestors (CCC 1738). This means that although the consequences of sin can affect future generations, individuals are not condemned for the sins committed by their forefathers.  

You Cat 69

Are we compelled to sin by original sin?

No. Man, though, is deeply wounded by original sin and is inclined to sin. Nevertheless, with God’s help he is capable of doing good. 

In no single case are we obliged to sin. In fact, however, we sin again and again, because we are weak, ignorant, and easily misled. A sin committed under compulsion, moreover, would be no sin, because sin always involves a free decision.