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Genesis 3: The snake, Adam, Eve & a tree:
The "fall" (or is it "rise") of humanity
Quotations:
bullet "Christians believe that when Adam and Eve sinned in Eden
and turned away from God they brought sin into the world and
turned the whole human race away from God. The doctrine absolves
God of responsibility for the evils that make our world
imperfect by teaching that Adam and Eve introduced evil to a
perfect world when they disobeyed him. An alternative
understanding of the story of the fall emphasizes that Adam and
Eve did wrong because they 'gave in' to the temptation of the
serpent in the Garden of Eden." 1
bullet "Surely the eating of forbidden fruit is no infraction
grave enough to have brought the wrath of God down on all
humans, none of whom were born at the time of the infraction,
and none of whom were guilty except Adam and Eve. To insist that
god was justified in condemning all humankind because of the
infraction of their first parents is to make nonsense of our God
given moral compass...." Don Stark
Introduction:
Genesis 3 describes a story in the Garden of Eden.
bullet In a common traditional Protestant interpretation, Satan,
in the form of a snake, convinces Eve that God has lied to her
and her partner Adam concerning the Tree of Knowledge of Good
and Evil. It convinces her to eat the fruit of the tree so that
they will become as gods. . Adam later follows suit. By this
act, sin entered the world for the first time. With it, death
also enters the world. (The Church has taught that before this
event, animals lived forever, and without bloodshed; there were
no carnivores.) God curses the snake, Adam, Eve and even the
earth itself. The sin of Adam and Eve becomes imputed to all of
the descendents of the original couple i.e. to the entire human
race to the present day. This is often described as the fall of
humanity. A massive gulf was created by Adam and Eve's
disobedience which can only be bridged by the salvation offered
by Jesus Christ's atoning execution.
bullet The Roman Catholic Church deviates somewhat from the
Protestant interpretation. They acknowledge that Genesis 3 is
not a precise historical account of the events involving the
Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. However, they teach that it
is based on a historical event.
"The account of the fall in Genesis 3 uses figurative language,
but affirms a primeval event, a deed that took place at the
beginning of the history of man. Revelation gives us the
certainty of faith that the whole of human history is marked by
the original fault freely committed by our first parents." 2
bullet In a liberal interpretation, the entire story is viewed
as a religious myth: a legend that is spiritually significant,
but is of a series of events that never happened. This approach
leads to many possible interpretations of Genesis 3. Three are:
bullet It describes the rise, not the fall, of humanity. It
portrays God as having created Adam and Eve as proto-humans.
They were not fully human because they lacked a moral sense --
the main difference between humans and the rest of the animal
world. They had no concept of right or wrong. God deceived Adam
and Eve into believing that the fruit of the tree was poisonous.
A very intelligent and helpful animal, a snake, convinced Eve of
the truth: that the fruit was not poisonous, but that she would
gain knowledge of good and evil if she ate it. Since God had
created the first parents with a curios nature and a drive to
excel, both Eve and Adam ate the fruit. They did indeed develop
a moral sense for the first time. This was an attribute
previously restricted to the gods. God was enraged. In a fit of
rage cursed the snake, Adam, Eve and even the ground itself. The
snake is the hero of the story. Adam and Eve advanced from an
animal-like status with no moral sense into full humanity.
bullet Genesis is an allegory. It describes the process that
every generation of humans goes through as they mature into
adulthood. They are born into their family of origin, helpless,
innocent, in an atmosphere of security. They blindly following
the expectations of their parents. Their parents tend to their
every need. They are viewed as gods by the newborn. When they
become teens, they start to build up a head of steam. They
question their parents, experience new levels of conflict within
the family, develop their own goals and ethics, and finally
leave their home to strike out on their own.
bullet Genesis is an allegory. It describes the transition of
the human race from a state of innocence, where people lived as
near-animals. They were initially unaware of their own
mortality; they had no concept of a moral sense; they were
nomadic hunters and gatherers who lived off the land. After the
transition they had a moral sense. They realized that their life
on earth was finite. They settled down and became farmers
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