Human Fall
The Fall of Man, also called simply The Fall, is a theological doctrine describing the change of humankind's state from sinlessness to depravity. In Christian tradition, the Fall took place when Adam and Eve partook of the forbidden fruit and were explled from the Garden of Eden, as recorded in the biblical book of Genesis.
Although the "Fall" per se is not mentioned by name in the Old Testament, the expulsion from Eden is recorded in Genesis 3, and served as the foundation of the Christian teachings of Saint Paul in Romans 5:12–19 and 1 Corinthians 21–22, and, in particular, the Christian doctrine of original sin as taught especially by Saint Augustine.
In IslamJudaism, these events also consituted the first human sin, but not necessarily the Fall, in the traditional Christian sense. Other religions and mythologies often describe a first sin or fall from grace.
Biblical account
Genesis
According to Genesis 2, God created the first man, Adam, and place him in the Garden of Eden. He cause all kinds of trees to grow in the garden, including two special trees : the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. God told Adam that he was free to eat of any tree in the garden, but not of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. "In the day you eat of it, you will day," God warned (Gen. 2:17). Seeing that Adam was alone, God then created Eve out of his rib (Gen. 2:22).[1] Adam names the animals and calls Eve "woman." The are both "nake and unashamed."
For an unspecified period of time, Adam and Eve obey the one commandment they have been given to refrain from eating of the forbidden fruit. However, one day, a serpent comes to Eve and seduces her into partaking of it. "God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened," he tells her, "and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." The serpent shows Eve that the fruit is "good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom," so she eats it. She then gives some of the fruit to Adam, and he, too, eats. Adam and Eve immediately realize that they are naked, and become of ashamed of this, making clothes to cover themselves.
Soon, God walks through the Garden looking for Adam and Eve, but he cannot find them, because they are hiding from Him. God calls out to Adam: "Where are you?" (Gen. 3:9) Adam responds, "I heard your voice, and I was afraid, because I was naked." God then replies: "How did you know you were naked? Did you eat of the fruit of the tree I told you not to eat of?" Adam admits his disobedience but, and blames it on Eve, and Eve in turn blames it on the serpent.
As a result of these events, God curses all three of the characters in the drama: the serpent must crawl on his belly and eat dust; the woman's must suffer increased pain in childbearing and be ruled by her husband; and the man now labor for his food instead of eating freely of what grows in the Garden, for the land, too is cursed.
God recognizes that serpent's prophecy has come true: "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil." (Gen 3:21) To prevent Adam from also partaking of the Tree of Life and living foreover, God casts him out of the Garden, posting cherubim and a flaming sword to guard the the entrance.
Christian views
Saint Paul is often credited for propounding the first definite doctrine of the Fall. "For as in Adam all die," he wrote, "so in Christ all will be made alive." (1 Corinthians 15:22) Although earlier Jewish writers had alluded to a human tendency to evil, Paul was the first to attribute this specifically to Adam's sin. In Paul's writings, human inability to obey God's Law is a frequent and central theme.
Catholic and Orthodox teaching thus holds to this Pauline doctrine of the Fall, as do most Protestants. There are differences of opinion, however, as to how drastically the Fall affected human nature. The formal doctrine of original sin, as articulated Saint Augustine, holds that the Fall resulted in a fundamental change in human nature, so that all descendants of Adam and Eve are born in sin, which is transmitted the sexual intercourse. Humans are thus basically depraved and can only be redeemed by divine grace. The Eastern tradition generally took a somewhat more omptimistic view, while agreeing that without the Church and its sacraments, salvation could not be achieved. The Western tradition firmly rejected the even more optimistic view of Peliagianism, which taught that the Christian believer could attain spiritual perfection through moral efforts.
The Protestant Reformation in its early stages reaffirmed the strict Augstinian viewpoint, criticizing the Catholic Church for teaching that "works" such as confession, fasting, pennance, and indulgences could produce salvation, rather than "faith alone." Reformers such as John Wesley and his Methodism provided a greater role for human effort in transforming one's character into a more Christ-like one. Later Protestants hold a variety of views on the issue, and some movements such as Christian Science and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints reject the doctrine of the Fall altogether.
Ither Interpretations
Judaism
Traditional Judaism, like Christianity, interprets the account of Adam and Eve as historical, but does not see it as a Fall of Man which fundamentally changed human nature. The rabbincial traditional holds the the tendency to evil, call the yetzer harah, was part of the original nature of creation. Thus the sin of Adam and Eve was simply the "first sin," but did not create original sin in the sense of a depraved nature passed on generationally. While this sin did result in God's curse on Adam and Eve—in terms of man having to toil for one's living and woman having to suffer increased pain in childbearing—it did not result in a change in human moral capacity. Quite simply, because of Adam's actions, he and his wife were removed from the garden, forced to work, suffer pain in childbirth, and die. However, even after expelling them from the garden, God provided that men who honor God and follow God's laws would be rewarded, while those who acted wrongly would be punished.
=Islam
Like Judaism, Islam rejects the Christian doctrine of original sin and sees the sin of Adam and Eve as having more limited effects than Christian tradition teaches. The Quranic account of the fall is recounted in Surah 2:35-39. It reports that Adam was originally created as God's vicegerent of the Earth. The angels were commanded to bow to him, and Adam was permitted to live in the Garden with his wife and eat what he wished. But Satan (Iblis), refused to bow to Adam and also caused Adam and his wife to sin, so that God removed them from the Garden. However, God also promised that if man should follow God's guidance, he would have no fear. Islamic tradition holds that after the first couple sinned, they repented and became true followers of God. Indeed, thereafter, Adam became a prophet and lived without any subsequent sin.
Felix Culpa (the fortunate fall)
One interpretation of the doctrine of the Fall is that it was necessary in order human's might benefit from God's grace. It includes the notion that, had mankind not been given the capacity for evil, our choice through free will to either serve God or not would not have been as meaningful.
A second interpretation of felix culpa holds that if Eve had not given the fruit to Adam to eat, none of us would be here to enjoy this wonderful world.
Other traditions
Ancient Greek mythology held that Man was immortal during the Golden Age, until Prometheus (the serpent), brought them fire to help them live through cold. The gods punished Men allowing Pandora to release the evil (death, sorrow, plague) into the world due to her curiosity.
See also Tree of knowledge for other traditions.
Credits
New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:
The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:
Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.
- ↑ The story of Gen. 2 is seen by many scholars as distinct from the account of Gen. 1. In the first account God (called Elohim) creates the trees and animals first, and then creates man and woman, who are not named. In second account, God (called Yahweh)creates Adam first, then causes the trees to grow, then creates the animals, and then froms Eve from Adam's rib.
