THE CURSE OF NATHAN. ON THE QUESTION OF THE BIBLICAL PUNISHMENT OF CHILDREN BORN OF FORNICATION

Georgy Vladimirovich Andrianov

Kostroma Theological Seminary, Kostroma, Russia

Email: rector44@mail.ru

ORCID: 0000–0001–7534–6776

Issue: № 4 (28), 2024

Pages: 11

Annotation

The article examines the most common arguments in favor of the statement that the Bible speaks about punishing children for the sins of their parents. This statement is considered by the author in the context of the fate of children born from a fornicatory relationship. For the convenience of presenting the material, the author uses the technical term "the curse of Nathan" in memory of the prophet Nathan's prediction of the death of King David's firstborn, born as a result of his illegal relationship with Bathsheba. The available material is systematized in the form of a table, which sets out the biblical passages in favor of the "curse of Nathan" and the existing counterarguments. In addition to the biblical aspect of this problem, the author presents an attempt at a pastoral approach to the issue under study. The article is based on the theses of the author's report "The Personal drama of the Builder King David: On the question of the biblical curse of children born in fornication", read at the All-R ussian Scientific Conference "Actual problems of Biblical Archaeology of the Holy Land" in the Vologda Theological Seminary

Keywords

King David, King Solomon, Bathsheba, Archbishop Alexy (Frolov), St. John of Tobolsk, Blessed Theodoret of Kirsk, St. Nicholas of Serbia (Velimirovich), St. Luke (Voino- Yasenetsky), Bible, non-canonical books, children, fornication, responsibility for sin

For citation

Andrianov G. V., priest. The curse of Nathan. On the question of the biblical punishment of children born of fornication // Ipatievsky vestnik. 2024. № 4. Р. 11–21 (In Russian). https:// doi.org/10.24412/2309–5164–2024–4–11–21