Original Sin
In the Beginning, it was Good. No, it was Good-Good (the way the Hebrew people said very good). Not only was earth a paradise, but humanity enjoyed all possible sources of happiness. Happiness came most of all from their relationships. Primarily, their relationship with God provided them with the eternal and perfect source of happiness. Indeed, all other sources of happiness – all that is good – comes from God. Adam and Eve’s relationship with each other was one of perfect life-giving love. This perfect marital love flowed from the Love of the Trinity and was a sacramental sign of it. Their relationship with Creation was one of perfect harmony, and through it God met all of their needs and expressed His love for them in a language that their physical bodies could understand as well as their souls. On all levels, love was the theme of perfect happiness. However, the perfect happiness enjoyed by humanity did not last because humanity failed to love.
Like many Biblical stories, the story of the Fall has suffered from caricature and misinterpretation. For example, the serpent is most often pictured as a small snake hanging from the branches of the tree. In reality, the Hebrew word for “serpent” is closer to “dragon” or “leviathan.” The form Satan chose would have been intimidating, even threatening. When he claims, “You certainly will not die,” it would not be too far a stretch to read into this line a veiled threat – if you eat of the fruit, I will not kill you. The other caricature is the forbidden fruit itself. The act of Original Sin is too often reduced to the eating of an apple. The Fruit of Knowledge of Good and Evil offered the power to know as God knows. God does not know anything passively. He does not receive or learn knowledge. What God “knows” comes into existence. So the forbidden fruit really offered the power to create the moral law – to create good and evil.
In addition to these caricatures, the story of the Fall also falls prey to misinterpretations. The first misinterpretation is that Original Sin was sexual in nature. Perhaps this interpretation stems from the false belief that Christianity is obsessed with sex. The Church must assume that the first and greatest sin would be to experience sexual pleasure, right? Nonsense. If the Original Sin were sexual in nature, the Forbidden Fruit would have been called “the fruit of sexual temptation,” or something similar. The Forbidden Fruit is actually named, “the Fruit of Knowledge of Good and Evil.” The promise of the Fruit was to give humanity the power of God to create moral reality. Another misinterpretation is that the Church blames Eve (and therefore all women) for the Fall of humanity. After all, Satan picked on Eve because she is the “weaker sex.” Believers in this misinterpretation site as evidence many writings from the Middle Ages. For example, some characters in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales refer to some scholarly works by priests and monks that put the blame on women.
The Wife of Bath says,
Upon a night Jenkin, who was our sire,
Read in his book, as he sat by the fire,
Of Mother Eve who, by her wickedness,
First brought mankind to all his wretchedness,For which Lord Jesus Christ Himself was slain,
Who, with His heart’s blood, saved us thus again.
Lo here, expressly of woman, may you find
That woman was the ruin of mankind.
Quoted from The Academia Home Page on Geocites.
The problem with this evidence is that it is not official Church teaching, but rather the prejudices of individuals who happen to be Catholic (even if they are priests or religious). Nowhere in official Catholic teaching do you find the blame for the Fall of humanity placed on Eve alone. Instead you find equal blame placed on Adam and Eve, and even a little more blame placed on Adam (for reasons explained below).
The truth about Original Sin is quickly found by a careful exegesis (explanation) of the story found in the third chapter of Genesis (quoted below from New Advent: http://www.newadvent.org/bible/gen003.htm). The serpent asks Eve, “Why hath God commanded you, that you should not eat of every tree of paradise?” Sometimes this line is translated, “Has God really commanded you . . .?” Either way, the first effect of the Serpent’s dialogue with Eve is to place doubt in her mind about God’s goodness and love. Eve is affected, for she responds, “Of the fruit of the trees that are in paradise we do eat: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of paradise, God hath commanded us that we should not eat; and that we should not touch it, lest perhaps we die.” If you refer to Genesis 2:17, you’ll see that God only commanded that they not eat of the fruit. He does not mention touching it. It may be a bit of over-reading, but it takes only a little imagination to picture Eve adding the last part of her statement, “ . . . or even touch it . . .” to defend against the effect Satan’s statement had on her. She is building a “hedge” around the law (something that the Jewish people did with the Law of God) to protect her against temptation to break the law.
When the serpent answers, “No, you shall not die the death. For God doth know that in what day soever you shall eat thereof, your eyes shall be opened: and you shall be as Gods, knowing good and evil.” Satan’s words show the truth of the nature of the Forbidden Fruit. The fruit promises to give humanity the power to be likes Gods, and to know good and evil as God knows. To desire to be more than your nature is meant to be is the sin of Pride. To wrest the Gift out of the hands of the Giver and claim it for yourself is the sin of greed (“And the woman saw that the tree was good to eat, and fair to the eyes, and delightful to behold: and she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave to her husband, who did eat.”).
Finally, what about Adam? In Paradise Lost by John Milton, Eve is truly portrayed as the weaker sex who was attacked for that reason by the serpent, who fell on her own because of female foibles, and who then carries the Forbidden Fruit to Adam and tries to trick him into eating it. Adam realizes through his superior intellect that Eve has fallen, and he gallantly chooses not to let her fall alone, so he takes the fruit as an act of chivalry. Milton seems to portray quite accurately what some scholars assume is the Catholic Church’s vision of Eve’s role in the Fall. However, you will not find this series of events anywhere in official Catholic teaching. Where was Adam while Eve was being tempted? Scripture indicates that he was right next to her the entire time! What was he doing? Obviously, nothing. What should he have been doing? As Eve’s husband, he should have been protecting Eve with his very life! After all, that is what love is all about – giving yourself completely for the one you love to ensure their good. Adam and Eve both failed to love God and each other. Eve’s desire to grasp the Gift of knowledge and power out of God’s hands was a failure to love God, and bringing Adam down the same road with her was a failure to love him as well. In the same way, Adam failed to step between Eve and the serpent – to defend her with his life as love demanded.
What should Adam and Eve have done? The story of Genesis names two trees from the Garden. The other tree was the Tree of Life. This tree was the source of eternal health and life. In their failure to love, Adam and Eve also failed to trust in God’s promise of life. Had Adam remained faithful to his vocation of love he would have had life even if he ended up sacrificing himself. His reward for his faithfulness and love would have been Resurrection. Jesus Christ, the New Adam, did love perfectly, did give Himself totally out of love, did remain faithful to the Father’s plan, and did receive the Resurrection. By restoring us to eternal life, showing us how to love, and giving us the grace that enables us to love perfectly as He loved, Jesus Christ completely undoes Original Sin.