[QUOTE=danman916;692718]I am most certain that you are sincere.


Have you looked at the catechism on the subject of the fall and Original sin.
It is in paragraphs 385 to 421
http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/ccc_toc2.htm[/QUOTE]

"Adam and Eve immediately lose the grace of original holiness."

That's the key point where I began to get lost. Does that imply that they are incapable of choosing good?

"All men are implicated in Adam's sin."

This is where I became a bit more confused. Does this mean that we carry the guilt of Adam's sin? I understand that we suffer from the consequences of others' sins (in this case, death, and by extension, the inclination to sin), but are we responsible for their sins?

The answer was given:
"Original sin does not have the character of a personal fault in any of Adam's descendants. It is a deprivation of original holiness and justice, but human nature has not been totally corrupted: it is wounded in the natural powers proper to it, subject to ignorance, suffering and the dominion of death, and inclined to sin - an inclination to evil that is called concupiscence"

This seems to agree with St. John Cassian as well as St. Augustine.


[QUOTE]Also, there is another article that had a lot of influence in my formation that talks about the relationship of the fall, original sin, the cross, and our redemption.

http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/inquirers/christcross.aspx

This article may help you to understand how original sin is tied to the cross and is related to the resurrection of the body (which is related to what we celebrate today in the feast of Mary's Assumption).
It is an Eastern Orthodox resource. And except for one polemical comment (that I think is inaccurate) about Catholicism, it is in agreement with Catholic belief.[/QUOTE]

This statement stands out: "The first man was not deified at the time of his creation, but he was created for deification, for union with God."

It seems that Catholicism and Orthodoxy don't disagree on as much I had previously thought.