JWs like to use the genetic illustration to avoid confronting the true ugly reality of what the bible shows.
JWs - Watchtower - love to turn a blind eye to what the bible says in preference for sugar-coated spin, when the bible says something unpalatable to Watchtower doctrine or modern ethics. A perfect example of this was found in last week's bible reading. An elder, commented on the passage that says a bad spirit from Jehovah terrified Saul. He basically denied what the text said by saying the text means something other than what it is saying, and the Watchtower explanation he gave clearly did not fit the context of what the text was saying. It was just so transparently dishonest - a willful denial of a plain scripture. That's one of things that infuriates me the most about JWism, Watchtower's penchant for willful dishonesty.
The sin of Adam was actually passed on to all humans as a curse. Adam was essentially cursed by God when he sinned. Because all his offspring was in his loins at the time, the curse placed on Adam also came upon them. Another way of looking at it is that Adam didn't sin by himself. All of humankind sinned with him because all his offspring were still in his loins when he sinned and thus sinned with him. This is the same kind of reasoning the bible uses at Hebrews 7:9-10 to make the point that Levi paid tithes to Melchizedek centuries before he was even conceived:
(Hebrews 7:9, 10) . . .And, if I may use the expression, through Abraham even Le′vi who receives tithes has paid tithes, 10 for he was still in the loins of his forefather when Mel·chiz′e·dek met him.
This argument also appears to be supported by what Romans 5:12 says:
(Romans 5:12) . . .That is why, just as through one man sin entered into the world and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men because they had all sinned. . .
Notice this text says all men had sinned - past tense. How is that possible when there are future unborn generations who have not yet lived and sinned voluntarily? I think the text is essentially alluding to the fact that when Adam sinned all mankind - all unborn mankind yet to be conceived - sinned with him because of being in his loins at the time. So the bible seems to be suggesting that all mankind sinned with Adam and were cursed with Adam. Adam served as a proxy agent for all mankind just as Hebrews 7:9,10 suggests that Abraham served as a proxy agent for Levi, so that Levi paid tithes to Melchizedek.
Saying that all mankind was cursed by God because of the sin of Adam doesn't paint God in the rosy light the JWs want him painted. The word curse also has a ring of superstition to it. So to avoid these. The JWs use the term inherited sin. People know about inheriting traits from their parents so the term inherited and the use of the genetic illustration, give the teaching an air of science to it, dispelling much of the superstitious connotations. It also sort of distances God from it because now death is seen as something we inherited from Adam as opposed to a curse imposed on us by God.
