Comparative Theology · Common Ground
No one bears another's burden
Handle with care. This is a sensitive passage for Christians. Handle it with care and without triumph.
In short
- 1.Deuteronomy 24:16 forbids executing children for their parents' sin.
- 2.Ezekiel 18:20 states individual accountability directly.
- 3.The Qur'an repeats the principle in the same terms.
The claim being examined
Deuteronomy and Ezekiel state that children shall not die for their parents' sin, and the soul that sins is the one that dies.
The Islamic position
Islam holds exactly this: no soul carries the burden of another, and each person is accountable for their own deeds.
Analysis
Ezekiel 18 is an extended argument for individual moral responsibility against a proverb of inherited guilt. It sits uncomfortably alongside later doctrines of inherited sin and substitutionary atonement.
From the Qur'an
Qur'an 53:38
That no bearer of burdens shall bear the burden of another.
From the Bible
Deuteronomy 24:16
Parents are not to be put to death for their children, nor children put to death for their parents; each will die for their own sin.
Read it in their BibleEzekiel 18:20
The one who sins is the one who will die. The child will not share the guilt of the parent, nor will the parent share the guilt of the child.
Read it in their BibleSources
The Holy Qur'an · The Bible (NIV / KJV) · Common Ground collection
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