How does one reconcile the principle of justice with the doctrine of original sin? How does one reconcile the idea in modern democracy that every person will be judged purely based on their own actions, with the doctrine of the belief in the state of sin in which humanity exists since the fall of Man?
This is especially relevant with respect to people who lived before the advent of Christianity, where there are no external factors such as the belief in a sacrifical crucifixion to &quot;restore the balance&quot;, so to speak (unless a kind of retroactive effect of this on these people is believed in, violating causality).
It is clear that the two principles are logically incompatible with each other, as evidenced by the dogma of total depravity telling us, even in its highly softened Roman Catholic form, that man cannot &quot;be justified before God by his own works, …without the grace of God through Jesus Christ&quot;.
On the other hand, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, arguably the foundational document of modern democracy, in Article 11, states that


Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.

No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed.



If it is in fact the case that they cannot be reconciled within the same logically consistent system, in what ways and domains is the subsequent doublethink applied?
Original sin is not so much an action of a person, but rather a position into which one is born.  As such, the idea of justice (merit of reward or punishment) does not even enter the equation in understanding original sin.


  But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
  Gen 2:7


The sin of Adam was doing what was forbidden.


  And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
  Gen 3:11


Here's the question.  Did Adam die that same day?  Not physically, right?  Adam was cast from the garden and lived with Eve and children for years thereafter.


  Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. ... And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.
  Gen 3:23, 5:5


So, did God lie because Adam did not die the day he ate?  Or is there more to the story?  There is; in what sense did Adam die?

Adam died spiritually.  It is into that state, that position, that all are born.  It is not because of your action good or bad, but simply is a state of fact. 


  For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
  1 Cor 15:22


The word "die" is present tense.  We are born physically alive and spiritually dead.  (to be clear, some religions will teach all people are born with a "light", alive spiritually, that may or may not go "out" later in life, but this is the Christianity explanation)

Flesh gives birth to flesh.  Spirit gives birth to spirit.  We must be born again.


  That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.  Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
  John 3:6-7


Now, as mentioned, justice is defined as merited rewards or punishment.  It should be clear by now that the concept of justice does not even apply to the idea of original sin.  We are born dead.  We didn't do anything upon exiting the womb either good or bad.  Justice does not even apply.  We are simply born dead.

To apply justice to original sin would be akin to believing that good works will merit your salvation.

God, however, has provided a way out of death.  It is called Christ Jesus the Son of the Living God.  It is salvation by grace through faith.


  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.
  Eph 2:8