The Story of Original Sin

Toews

• Publisher: Pickwick Publications
• Year: 2013
• eBook ISBN: 9781498271035
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion

This book traces the history of the interpretation of the disobedience of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3 through the biblical period and the church fathers until Augustine. It explains the emergence of the doctrine of original sin with the theology of Augustine in the late fourth century on the basis of a mistranslation of the Greek text of Romans 5:12. The book suggests that it is time to move past Augustine's theology of sin and embrace a different theology of sin that is both more biblical and makes more sense in the postmodern West and in the developing world.

1

The Story of Sin in Genesis 3

The story of sin begins in Genesis 3. The present form of Genesis 3 is dated between the tenth century BCE1 to Israel’s exile (587–537 BCE).2 There is widespread agreement that it is written in a very literary, even poetic style, and with great rhetorical skill and nuance.3

It is important to note at the outset that the word “sin” is not used in Genesis 3 nor is the word “original sin” used in the story, or anywhere in the Bible. The form of Genesis 3 is a crime and punishment narrative that is told in two parts: 1) the transgression, vv. 1–7, and 2) the punishment, vv. 8–24.

The Transgression, vv. 1–7

The story of the transgression is told in three parts: 1) the temptation, vv. 1–5; 2) the transgression, v. 6; 3) the change effected by the transgression, v. 7.

The temptation,

The temptation, vv. 1–5, is initiated by “the serpent” (arum). The only thing we know about the serpent is that it “was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made” (v. 1). So the serpent is one of the “animals of the field” formed out of the ground by the Lord God (2:19). In addition, the text says that it talks (v. 1), and that it knows something that humans do not know (v. 5). The text says nothing about the serpent as Satan or as some kind of demonic figure, nor anything about enmity between the serpent and God. The serpent is introduced in the story because of what it says, not because of who or what it is. The man and woman are led into disobedience by a creature of God. The story in Genesis tells us nothing about any fallen angel, Satan, or the origin of evil.4

The serpent initiates a pious dialogue, what Dietrich Bonhoeffer called “the first conversation about God, the first religious, theological conversation.”5 The opening question is, “did God say . . .?” The serpent exaggerates God’s prohibition by asking, “did God say, ‘you shall not eat from any tree in the garden’”(3:2)? The woman (she is not given a name, Eve, until v. 20) corrects the serpent’s exaggeration, “you shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden,” but then offers her own exaggeration, “nor shall you touch it, or you shall die” (3:3). The serpent challenges the credibility of God, “you will not die. . .” but “your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God (or the gods), knowing good and evil” (3:4). You will see what until now you are not able to perceive, and you will be made wise (or successful) to distinguish what is useful or harmful for the community.6 At the conclusion of the dialogue the issue is can God be trusted? Has God been completely truthful with humans? A pious question about God is really a very cunning question because it forces the woman to render a judgment about God.

It is important to note here that “to know good and evil” (v. 4) is a leitmotif in the narrative; it occurs four times in chapters 2–3 (2:9, 17; 3:5, 22). A study of these occurrences indicates that 1) the prediction that “you will die” is disputed: God predicts it in 2:17, the serpent challenges it in 3:5, neither the woman nor Adam die in the account. 2) The phrase “your eyes will be opened” (3:4, 7) describes the process by which Adam and the woman come to the knowledge of good and evil. 3) The phrase “you will be like God” or “the gods” (3:5, 22) describes the ability to know good and evil.

The transgression

The transgression, v. 6, occurs in two movements. The woman sees that the tree is aesthetically attractive—it appeals to the sense of sight and taste—and that it is to be desired to make one wise. The text is restrained and nuanced. The desire is for wisdom, for the possibility to transcend one’s limitations by gaining new knowledge and insight. There is no hint in the text of desire that leads to passion that leads to sex, as Augustine interpreted it, and then added that such desire and its accompanying passion and sex was sinful. The text also does not say that the woman wanted to become “like God,” although that is generally the way it has been interpreted since Ambrosiaster and Augustine in the late fourth and early fifth centuries CE.

The transgression in v. 6 is that the woman ate the fruit because she desired to become wise.7

The second movement in the text is that the woman “also gave some to her husband,” who “was with her (immah),” and “he ate.” Adam was not tempted; he was beside the woman the whole time and simply conformed to her behavior. The text does not suggest that the woman was more susceptible to temptation than the man and that after being tempted she became the man’s temptress.8

What was the transgression, the “primal sin”? The serpent asked the woman and Adam to make a judgment about God. They did. They both, standing together, decided to mistrust God, to mistrust the word of God, in quest for autonomy that would make them wise. Their mistrust of God led them to disobedience, to disobey the word of God.9

The Change Effected by the Transgression

The change effected by the transgression, v. 7, is narrated in three events: 1) their eyes are opened—they see what they had not seen before; 2) they see that they are naked (arummim, a play on the word arum, “crafty, prudent,” used in 3:1); 3) they sew fig leaves to cover their nakedness.

The effect of eating the fruit of “the knowledge of good and evil” was that Adam and the woman were changed, as the serpent had predicted. They did not die, but they were changed. They see the world differently. The nature of the changed perspective is enigmatic. In 2:24 they become one flesh; that is, they consummated the relationship in sexual intercourse. In 2:25 they are naked and not ashamed, which, as Gordon Wenham points out, is best translated as “they were unabashed” or “they were not disconcerted” just like little children are unashamed of their nakedness.10 But in 3:7 they suddenly realize that it is not appropriate to be naked and they cover themselves. Or, to use gender language, in 2:25 they see each other naked and do not notice their gender, but in 3:7 they suddenly realize that they are gendered, that they are sexually different. Something profound has changed by the eating of the fruit.11

The Punishment, vv. 8–24

The punishment for Adam and the woman eating the forbidden fruit is expulsion from the garden. God put Adam and the woman in the garden. Adam and the woman chose to mistrust and, therefore, to disobey G...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Acknowledgments
• Abbreviations
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: The Story of Sin in Genesis 3
• Chapter 2: The Story of Sin in Second Temple Judaism (200 BCE–200 CE)
• Chapter 3: The Story of Sin in the Jesus Movement: Paul the Follower of Jesus
• Chapter 4: The Story of Original Sin in the Greek Church Fathers (ca. 150–400 CE)
• Chapter 5: The Story of Original Sin in the Latin Church Fathers Prior to Augustine (200–400 CE)
• Chapter 6: Augustine’s Theology of Original Sin (354–430)
• Chapter 7: Where Do We Go From Here? Toward a Constructive Proposal
• Bibliography