The Holy War — Page 167
Proceedings—Debate 30 May 1893 167 whom sin is committed has not appointed everybody the avenger and judge of these sins. Sixth— The court of justice in this world is not the true court of justice; it is just the name of a mere administrative system, because it does not make any recompense but causes crimes to decline stead- ily. Similarly, worldly intercession is not the name of real interces- sion, but it is the name of some respite of time because God has full power to stop and eliminate the sinner in this very world. However, at the request of His beloveds, He grants them respite to seek for- giveness. We have answered the issue of the intercessors who have no authoritative role. Nevertheless, with the permission of God, man can be granted respite time so that he may seek forgiveness. According to us, there are only two types of responsibilities, but there is really only one type, as Prophet David said, I have sinned against You alone. Therefore, the sins regarding the rights of man- kind have come in this, but what you refer to as innate sin—perhaps what you mean by this is ‘inherited sin’—we mean by inherited sin that by Adam falling into sin, the trials of mankind became hardest still so that pain developed in the body and death became fearful. In this manner, this is regarded as the sin of Adam; otherwise, as you referred to Prophet Ezekiel, it is true that whichever soul sins will die, the progeny does not taste the bitterness of the grapes which their forefathers ate. Seventh— The plan that you find disgusting, that one should commit a sin and another should suffer the punishment, the answer to it is that even in the world, the debt of one can be discharged by another through the use of his wealth. But yes, a sinner cannot bear the weight of the sin of another because he is not free from his sins and one who is already in debt cannot become a guarantor for the debt of another person. So wherefrom is this disgust regarding the atonement offered by Jesus