The Fall of Man in Genesis - Research Paper Example

The Fall of Man in Genesis College: The Fall of Man in Genesis In theological studies, the fall of man in the Bible is a topic that has garnered a lot of scholarly interest as scholars perceive this as the most significant conflict in the life of man. After the creation of Man, God gave him the privilege to dominate over the earth and take care of his creation, under the condition that he would not eat the fruits of the forbidden tree. When the serpent approached Eve and ended in the greatest sin of man against God, the conflict of man and God ensued and, as promised, the suffering of man started. As most scholars view it, it is the “conflict of conflicts” that swayed the peace of man as he entered a new era where peace between him and fellow man, him and Gods creation was eroded. The conflict between Man and God and its solution is much similar to the conflict that exists in the contemporary society between people, countries and even leaders. As the ebb of peace is enjoyed between each tide of war, man (and countries alike) assesses previous battles, losses and gains, so as to strengthen itself for future conflicts. Seldom do men realize the very origin of conflict may be traced to the Old Testament book of Genesis. It should be understood that not every fall ends up in a war, but the source of all conflict is the result of one fall in particular. The fall of man as depicted in Genesis begins the greatest conflicts known: the conflict of man verses God; the conflict of man verses man; and the conflict of man verse creation. In the book of Genesis, Man was the most privileged work of God’s creation. God created man as the last creature after He had created the earth, a conducive environment for man. As opposed to other beings that were created out of nothingness, man was created from soil, a symbol that he was a special creation on Earth1. Much more, he was created in the image and likeness of God, to signify the close relationship that God established between man and Himself as the most privileged work of creation. This special treatment is also manifested in the nature of the responsibilities that the Lord gave to man as regards the entire work of creation. The Lord asked man to take responsibility of the land, the animals and the environment as he fends for his existence in this work of creation. In principle, man was placed as the overall in the work of creation, a superior being than no other in the Garden of Aden. When God noted that Adam was lonely, he created Eve from his own rib so that she would keep him company and wipe away his loneliness2. The love of God to Adam shows the close relationship that man and God had before he had sinned3. Many scholars have interpreted this as the period of peace between God and Man, and the privilege that man had is a result of this peace. This is comparable to the health relationships that exist between two countries when they are in peace and the mutual benefits that they enjoy from each other. From a close observation of this relationship between God and Man, it is clear that peace is source of harmony and great benefit to any parties. Notably, the relationship between God and Man was conditional and was based on the obedience of Adam and Eve to God. This is a fact that has generated a lot of heat in the realms of theology, most scholars pointing out the condition was a constraint in the relationship between God and man4. God ordered Adam not to eat from the tree at the middle of the garden of Aden, pointing out to the consequences that this would have on their relationship. God points out that if Adam ate from the forbidden tree, his curse would be fall him and this would mark the beginning of their suffering. Most scholars that God, being all knowing, knew that Adam would be disobedient and that this would result to his suffering. When the serpent confronted Eve, she was convinced that eating the fruit would make them like God. Then Eve ate the fruit and convinced Adam to eat from the forbidden tree. This was the height of the conflict between man and God as he disobeyed the only command God had given him. From this moment, Adam and Eve became self-conscious and realized the need to cover their nakedness5. When God appeared to them, he condemned Adam and told him that we would submit to death, toil for his living and the woman was subjected to the pain of bearing children. This was the consequence of disloyalty and the beginning of conflict between man and God, and the beginning of the suffering of man. The sin of man to God or the fall of man became the source of conflict between man and God, a conflict that dominates the life of man on earth. Before the fall of man, it is evident that there was strong relationship of peace between the two different beings. There is a great contrast between the life of man before his fall and the life after his disobedience. First, there was no promise of death and it can only be assumed that Adam, not for his sin, would have lived forever. Death was a punishment that man had to bear for his disobedience to the command of God. In the initial life, Adam was not supposed to tire as he had all the animals and plants available in the garden of Aden. As such, he did not have to toil for his daily food, as the situation is today. His life out of the Garden of Aden was hostile as compared to the life he enjoyed in the garden. Eve, after falling to the serpent’s trick, was condemned to suffer in child bearing. This difference in the life before the fall of man and the life after shows the height of the conflict between man and God and its linkage to the disobedience of man. On the other hand, God was disappointed by the Disobedience of Adam and his punishment to them is just a manifestation of God’s anger. In this respect, it is true to say that the fall of man was the ultimate source of conflict between God and man and the punishment of God was a manifestation of God’s anger. The concept of conflict between God and man prevails even today as most religious entities cling to the idea of the original sin. The concept of the original sin has been controversially treated by many denominations, some proposing the idea that the every person is subject to the original sin, as they all owe their origin to their first parents, Adam and Eve6. However, some religions believe that the current generations cannot be blamed for the sins of their forefather as there is personal responsibility of sin. In denomination such as the Roman Catholic, every Christian has to undergo the rite of baptism as a sign of their willingness to be clean of the original sin. From a critical point of view, the sins of our father still haunt us today and it may only be reasonable to admit that each person has their share of the original sin. The fact that every person has to share in the punishment of Adam, death and labour pain, it means that all human race share in the original sin. The concept of the original sin points out that the conflict between God and man continues to exist today within the society. The disobedience of Abraham is similar to the disobedience of the human race to the commandments of God that He gave during the time of Moses. Failure to follow the commandments of God is disobedience and this attracts punishment to the people. There are instances when God punished the people as a result of their disobedience to his commandments7. During the time of Noah, God punished the people with rain for being disobedient to his laws8. This is a manifestation of the conflict that still exists between man and God and the way man continues to fall just like his forefather Adam. In Christianity, Jesus is seen as the solution of the conflict that existed between man and God and an opportunity for reunion of God with man. God sacrificed His own son to give human beings an opportunity to rekindle the relationship that existed before his disobedience. According to the New Testament gospel, it’s out God’s mercy that He gave his Son to come and die for the sins of mankind9. This shows the willingness of God to restore peace in humanity and to invite people to start a fresh relationship with God. As Barrick points out, a sensible interpretation of the scriptures is the only hope of understanding God, who is beyond humans understanding. After Adam was forced out of the garden of Aden, God condemned him to death, the same death that haunts humanity today10. When Jesus came on earth, he brought about a new meaning of death and resurrection. He brought the idea of life after death and claimed that the death of the human body is not the end of life. He provided Christians with the opportunity of resurrecting after the physical death and to share in the kingdom of God. As scholars point out, this is an act of God’s love for humanity even after the disobedience and the consequential fall of man. Just like the initial relationship between God and Man, there is a constraint in that Jesus put it a personal responsibility for sins if one has to resurrect after death. Jesus said that the kingdom of God belongs to only those who take their cross and carry it. This condition is similar to the one that God gave to Adam not to eat the fruits from the forbidden tree. For this reason, Jesus is a sign of Gods willingness to forgive mankind even after his fall in the garden of Aden. The fall of mankind lead to the conflict between man and his fellow being that is evident today. In the contemporary society, there is evidence of wrangles between human beings, families, countries and even continents. Often, human beings fight over resources, land and other material objects. The main reason for this tension between human beings is because the fall of mankind led to the growth of a natural competition for survival. As a result of man’s sin, God declared that he would have to toil for his survival through the work of his own hands. In the era of peace between man and God, man benefit from free food and shelter in the garden of Aden11. The struggle of man to survive within a harsh society breeds tension between their fellow beings. Therefore, people are ready to fight, steal and kill each other for their own survival. The urge to survive pushes human beings to pursue selfish interests and they are ready to do anything to earn their living. Similarly, there is a great tension between countries in the global arena as they fight for resources and chase riches. For instance, there have been wrangles over oil reserves in the Middle East as countries fight over boundaries that are believed to be rich in oil. The formation of groups such as AL Qaeda is a manifestation of the climax of the tension between nations and can be traced back to the competition that developed after the fall of mankind. In this light, the hostility that exists between human beings, nations and continents in the world is a manifestation of loss of peace as after the all of mankind. In addition, the conflict between man and the environment evident today has a direct link with the fall of man. When God created man, he endowed him with the noble task of taking care of the earth, both plant and animals in his capacity. He was the master of animals and they were friendly to them, while the plants bore fruits that he used as his food. The land was fertile and was produced all forms of plants making the land beautiful. After the fall of mankind, God cursed the land and it became unproductive and the rivers started drying. The animals that were once friendly turned to become hostile to human beings. This was the change of events as both land and animals turned to be hostile to their caretaker. Today, the conflict between human beings and the environment is at its peak as man struggles to benefit and regain control of the environment. Poaching activities is one of the manifestations of the rivalry between human beings and animals. While animals feed on farmer’s agricultural crops, human beings hunt animals for meat, skin and for valuable parts of its body. The result of this is that some animals are becoming extinct in the environment despite the efforts of the government to control poaching activities. Secondly, human beings have infested land and practiced wrong cultivation methods, in search for food and shelter. This is contrary to the situation in the garden Aden when land was fertile enough and animals were friendly to human beings. In conclusion, the fall of mankind in the garden of Aden underpins the conflict between man and God, man and man, and man and creation. God created man in the most privileged manner, unique from all His work of creation. He placed him in the garden of Aden where food was free, animals were friendly and there was no death. However, he was given the condition that he should not eat the fruit that was in the middle of the garden of Aden as this was tree of life. Man’s disobedience for the command of God, under the deception of the devil, was the result of his fall and the curse from God12. After this, the land would be hostile, the man would have to toil for his food and eventually die. The woman had to suffer in labour and would be part of man’s suffering. The disobedience of Adam is similar to the disobedience of the society in the Old Testament and the contemporary Christian life13. As human beings toil for their life, the find themselves in conflict with one another and the same applies for different countries in the struggle to fight for the rights of their citizens. The conflict between man and creation is evident in activities such as poaching and in the scramble for land and forests which lead to destruction of the environment. Jesus is a sign of the Lords love and his willingness to reconcile with the human race by giving them a chance not to die forever. Bibliography Barrick, William D. The Necessity of Scripture. Master’s Seminary Journal 15 2004. Lennon, John. Imagine. Apple. 1971. Lincoln, Charles F. The Biblical Covenants. Bibliotheca Sacra 100, 1943. Finestone, Daniel G. The Vicarious Death of Christ: In the Light of the Old Testament. Bibliotheca Sacra 97 (1940). Fuller, Russell T. Interpreting Genesis. Southern Baptist Journal of Theology 5, 2001. Gray, Richard W. A Comparison Between the Old Covenant and The New Covenant. Westminster Theological Journal 4, 1941. Hamilton, James. The Skull Crushing Seed of the Woman. Southern Baptist Journal of Theology 10, 2006. Longman, Tremper III and Raymond B. Dillard. An Introduction to the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2006. Merrill, Eugene H. The Peoples of the Old Testament according to Genesis. Bibliotheca Sacra 154, 1997. Seume, Richard H. Divine Propitiation. Bibliotheca Sacra 99, 1942. Walton, John H. The NIV Application Commentary: Genesis. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2001. Kindle e-book. Read More