Orygenes’ teachings on sin

Social upheavals in the 3rd century AD, caused by the decline of the paganism, growth of the influence of Gnosticism and strengthening of Christianity, as well as the decline of morals accompanying these social changes, led Orygenes to deep reflection on the subject of evil and towards searching for the best ways to eliminate it. To have a chance of victory, the nature of evil and sin had to be described first. The author proposes that humans have an innate tendency to evil, that evil is a natural attribute of humanity and sin appears in human existence naturally, as an external compulsion. The only way to free oneself from this series of misfortunes is to make an effort towards the conversion to good. Evil that affects human beings is dualistic: it’s not a gradual phenomenon but an opposite of good. And thus, if humans are inclined to evil, one needs to accept it as an inherent part of the world and learn how to both reluctantly coexist with it, and how to battle it with the help of spiritual beings. Orygenes’ analysis of sin is based on an allegorical interpretation of the Revelation of the Holy Scriptures.