Original Sin vs Blank slate

I'm really not sure if i agree with all i wrote here but its the current thought going through my mind...hope its coherant


The Pelagians believed that we are born as a blank slate free from sin and that we sin because we are given bad examples as all that have gone before us have also sinned. Augustine believed that we are born into a state of sin. I find both of these ideas very tempting and yet can't agree with either of them. If we all start without sin and only sin by imitation we should all just shelter our children so they never are exposed to sin and therefore keep their innocence as they never will be able to imitate sin. On the other hand if we are born into a state of sin than even a child who dies minutes after being born would be guilty of sin and therefore would be separated from God. I believe when Jesus says "Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." in Matthew 19:14, he is acknowledging that children have a grasp on the kingdom of heaven (which i believe to be as much of a state of living on earth as a state after death)... I think that this implies that there is a further separation that occurs as we grow older. So in a sense I do believe in original sin, as without an inherited sin we would be able to achieve salvation without Christ, but I also believe that our state of sin is acquired. Original sin began with mankind gaining the knowledge of good and evil, therefore I think that original sin is linked to that concept. If a child is too young to understand the difference from good and evil I believe that they have not yet entered into our state of sin. Once a child is able to grasp this concept of good and evil I believe that a change takes place. The child now is able to recognize the sins that they have committed and therefore enter a state of sin (note the connection between sins and sin, this is very close to the pelagian view) ... therefore I think that both the Pelagians and Augustine had a grasp on the concept of sin, but in the end i believe that sin is an issue much bigger for the human mind to understand completely. Now just because we don't understand every aspect of the problem of sin doesn't mean we can't know the answer. God is much bigger than the mind can comprehend and therfore I believe very much that God can solve any problem, even ones we can't understand completely.