Genetics can be a difficult science to understand. Each human being has twenty-three pairs of chromosomes. Twenty-three come from the male (father) and twenty-three come from the female (mother) for a total of 46 in each offspring. Each of those forty-six chromosomes carries information (DNA) that determines physical characteristics, such as complexion, eye color, hair texture, hair color, etc. Those are outer physical characteristics that are viewed as the person, but human nature is much deeper than superficial physical characteristics. Unfortunately, some people are stereotyped and stigmatized by how they look, especially by religious Christians who think that a person’s image should portray what they think a Christian should look like.

In some cases, depending on heritage, environmental conditions, biological transference, inner personality traits, and habits can also be transmitted biologically. This means that we can inherit some of the inner character traits and habits of our parents—bad or good. Although a paradox, note that those traits are nurtured more than genetically transmitted through a cycle of mental conditioning. In the field of human psychology it’s called the “tabula rasa,” and it means right or wrong information begins to be recorded on innocent minds from childhood and forms our thinking as adults. This is a good reason why Scripture admonishes believers to be “transformed by the renewing of their minds” (Romans 12:2). So, what you hear may sound a little strange, but if you continue reading it will make sense. But first, let me immediately demythologize the infamous “curse of the generations” that riddles the mind with thinking that we have been cursed because of what our parents or ancestors did which will have a harmful effect on current relationships.

—The Myth of the Curse of the Generations—

We do not suffer because of the sins of our fathers and mothers or their ancestors. When I describe and demythologize the “curse of the generations” on the diagram “The Image of God in Man,” it indicates that there is an “invisible spiritual sin gene” that can be passed on but is broken when Christ comes into the human constitution by confessing the Lord.

The idea of “ancestral sin” or “generational sin” has its roots in the concept of “Original Sin” derived by “translation hermeneutics”—adding the translators' spin to Scripture—from Adam’s transgression being transmitted to future generations. We’ll look at that shortly, but the “fall of man” has nothing to do with inheriting “identical” sins of those before us. The Fall of Man is about human nature falling out of communion (relationship) with God because of the propensity to disobey God inherited from Adam’s transgression. (That biblical concept will be displayed on the diagram.) The ”Good News” is the broken relationship between God and man is restored in Christ, eliminating the “so-called” curses of the past. “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us (because it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”).

The formalization of the idea of ancestral sin into the “curse of the generations” is seen in several world religions, even the occult practices of witchcraft, which should be a huge “red flag.” But the Christian idea of the curse of the generations comes from the proponents who herald it from their interpretation of Exodus 20:5-6, where it speaks of “the sins of the fathers being visited upon the children from the third and fourth generation.”

The idea of generational curses became a proverb saying or cliché among the Israelites due to their exiles and persecutions—they changed the meaning from its original concept in Exodus 20:5-6. The proverb was, “The fathers have eaten sour grapes and the children's teeth are set on edge.” In Jeremiah 31:29, the prophet rebukes the idea of children suffering because of their fathers, forthcoming under the public ministry of the Lord and the era of grace, not law. He states, “When that time comes, people will no longer say, ‘The parents have eaten sour grapes, but the children’s teeth have grown numb (other translations say “set on edge,’ meaning buck teeth.) Rather, each person will die for his own sins. The teeth of the person who eats the sour grapes will themselves grow numb.” In Scripture, personal responsibility for sin overrode the proverbial saying of blaming a son’s sin on his father.

Generational curses aren’t biblical but a philosophical theory and tradition. Christ stated, in rebuke, that religious Pharisees nullified God’s Word by the traditions of men.

There was an occasion when Christ was asked if a blind man’s parents sinned to cause his blindness. His answer was an emphatic “No,” and He explained that it was “predictive prophecy,” an isolated situation for God’s glory and not a pattern of life (John 9:1-38). As strange as the passage may sound, and concerning the providence of God and predictive prophecy about the Messiah, the man’s malady would be healed by the Lord as proof of the Lord’s Messiahship.

There is also the concept of “individual reaping” or reciprocity recorded in Galatians 6:6 but it has nothing to do with suffering because of the sins of our fathers. If that were the case the whole world would be in the chaos of suffering because “all have sinned.” The “Good News” is “generational reaping” is broken when we accept Christ as our Personal Savior. Why? First, believers in Jesus Christ are not under a curse. It has been broken by Christ and His cross (Romans 8:2; Galatians 3:13). Second, the generational lineage of curses is broken because believers become a “new creation” (1 Corinthians 5:17). When that happens our spiritual genetic heritage transfers spiritually to Christ and His lineage. Remember, Christ was without sin because He did not have an earthly father, therefore, He did not inherit the sin gene through the male lineage, and in Him, there is no sin. When we accept Christ, the “invisible spiritual sin gene” is broken. (I call it the invisible spiritual sin gene because it is not detected by science or under a microscope.) But, it is a good idea and assures believers to REPUDIATE, DENOUNCE, and RENOUNCE evil habits from past family heritage. You have that authority as a believer. BIND THE STRONGMAN, but, as a believer, don’t live under a superstition that you are under a curse! “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge . . .” (Hosea 4:6a). #Go Deeper—The Mind of Christ.

Stay Tuned For Part V, Which Displays The Diagram Of “The Image Of God In Man” That Gives A Visual Of What Happens In The Human Constitution Before Christ And After Christ.

A FINAL NOTE

That idea of the curse of the generations comes from theology because of inherited sin. I rather not use the translated word “sin,” which carries implications of a “bad person” and is used indiscriminately to condemn a person when they violate social morality and values that are manmade. Everyone isn’t a bad person because they sin. Even believers make mistakes and can fall into a “season” of sin, but God’s Spirit in them will enable them to bounce back through conviction, repentance, and faith, and be converted from the error of their ways. The truth is everyone sins by commission, omission, thought, and deeds. The word is too broad and complicated to apply to everything wrong that a believer does. The original word for sin that comes from the Koine Greek, “Hamartia,” basically refers to “fallen” human nature; flawed imperfect people who “fall short “of obeying God. In simple language, it refers to the unregenerate—those who have not experienced the “new birth” in Christ and have received a new nature. The new nature gives believers a new status before God as “Sons of God, or “saints.” (Note here that the term “saint” in Scripture is not a reference to the pantheon of Catholic heroes who were deified. Rather it means “set apart spiritually” and all believers are set apart in Christ. The label sinner does not apply to their new status. STAY TUNED FOR CLARITY ON THIS ISSUE.

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