The Sins of the Fathers
Question:
Can the sins of the fathers be visited upon the children to the third and fourth generation, according to the Scripture (Exodus 20:5)?
Answer:
Fathers can pass on to their children the physical consequences of their sins.
A father may sin, and as a result of his sin he becomes afflicted with a disease, and the son inherits this disease from him. Sometimes children are afflicted with blindness, neurological or mental illnesses, or certain blood diseases as a result of their fathers’ sins.
Children may also inherit from their fathers a bad temperament or a corrupt character.
At times, the illnesses and sufferings of the children become a cause of pain for their fathers, especially if they know that these are the result of their own mistakes.
The result of a father’s error may also be poverty or debts that the son inherits and suffers from. How many are the consequences that agree with the saying of the poet:
“This is what my father has done to me, and I have wronged no one.”
But as for the judgment of children for the sins of their fathers, the Scripture has completely denied it, as stated in the Book of Ezekiel:
“What do you mean when you use this proverb… ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge’? As I live, says the Lord, you shall no longer use this proverb… The soul who sins shall die…
The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son…
The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself” (Ezekiel 18:1–2).
The wickedness of King Saul was not borne by his righteous son Jonathan. And the righteous King Josiah did not bear the iniquity of his father Amon, nor his grandfather Manasseh, nor the rest of his ancestors…
In any case, the curses of the Law that existed in the Old Testament do not exist in the New Testament.
We say in the Gregorian Liturgy: “You have removed the curse of the Law,” and we cite as an example of this curse Canaan, who bore the sin of his father Ham (Genesis 9:22–25).
The descendants of Canaan continued to bear this curse until the days of the Lord Christ, not only to the fourth generation…
But now, you are in the era of grace and truth. Therefore, do not fear the curse of the Law that was inherited by children from their ancestors… be at peace…
How often it happens that the father is wicked and the son is righteous, refusing to walk in his father’s path, and may even oppose him, according to the Lord’s saying: “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me.”
It is, of course, impossible that God would visit the sins of this wicked father upon his righteous son, who deserves reward…!
An article by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III – in El-Keraza Magazine – Year Eight (Issue Forty-Two) 21-10-1977
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