The Bible Book

GENESIS 35

after baptism (the rebirth and the

washing away of hereditary sin).

Calvin went further, rejecting the

concept of free will in favor of

predestination—the idea that all

events are willed by God.

Both Judaism and Islam

reject the idea of Original Sin.

According to the Qur’an, Adam

and Eve are equally responsible

for the Fall. After their expulsion

from the Garden of Eden, they are

forgiven by God and become His

representatives on Earth.

The wages of sin

Original Sin helps to explain why

God allows innocent people to

suffer. Personal innocence is no

immunity against God’s wrath;

everyone is a sinner by nature and

(eventually) by choice. “All have

sinned and come short of the glory

of God,” says Romans 3:23.

Christian doctrine maintains

that because of humankind’s

Original Sin, every person is born

separated from God. When Paul

states in Romans 6:23 that “the

wages of sin are death,” he is

referring to Adam’s original sin

and death as a condemnation by

and separation from God rather

than a physical death. The inability

to have a relationship with God is

described in Ephesians 2:1 as a form

of spiritual death: “You were dead in

your transgressions and sins ...”

For Christians, it is only through

faith in Jesus Christ, who was sent

by God to die for humankind’s sins,

that someone can be born again

and reawaken spiritually. This is

a central theme of redemption

(the act of cleansing away Original

Sin). Redemption is achieved by

receiving God’s grace, through

baptism, and accepting that

Jesus Christ died for the sins that

enslave humankind.

In his letter to the Galatians

(5:1), Paul proclaims, “It is for

freedom that Christ has set us free.

Stand firm, then, and do not let

yourselves be burdened again

by a yoke of slavery.” Christians

sometimes refer to Christ as the

“Second Adam.” The first Adam

sins and causes the fall of

humanity; the second (Christ)

dies and redeems humanity.

Blame falls on Eve

Christianity has traditionally blamed

Eve—and all womankind—for the

Fall from God’s grace, and seen

her as degenerate, morally weak,

and subordinate to man. Paul

contributed to this view. In

1 Timothy 2:14, he absolves Adam

and blames Eve, saying, “Adam was

not deceived, but the woman

was deceived and became a

transgressor.” Many medieval

theologians echoed Paul’s views,

and Christian art reinforced this

interpretation. Michelangelo’s

fresco of the Fall (c.1510) in the

Sistine Chapel in the Vatican

shows a serpent with the upper

body and long blonde hair of

a woman, an image that was

prevalent during the Renaissance.

However, Genesis itself does

not attribute blame for the Fall.

On the contrary, it indicates that

Adam is present when the serpent

speaks to Eve and receives equal

punishment, suggesting that they

are both culpable. ■

Nor can the Apostle mean

that Eve only sinned ...

for if Adam sinned

willfully and knowingly,

he became the

greater transgressor.

Mary Astell (1666–1731)

English feminist

God punishes

the wrongdoers.

The serpent is

forced to crawl

on its belly

and eat dust;

Eve and her

daughters are

destined to

endure pain

in childbirth;

and Adam and

his sons will

always toil in

The serpent The woman Adam order to eat.

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