The great
Christian monk, Thomas Merton, suggests that in the biblical story of the fall
of man, Adam represents Reason while Eve represents Passion. Eve succeeds in tempting
Adam whenever reason no longer governs passion.
But I am
just as interested in what happened before the fall of man. Why did man put his
foot into the trap in the first place? After all, in the Garden of Eden, Adam
and Eve appeared to have it all. Yet they must have felt something was lacking—and
Satan knew what it was:
For God
doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and
ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. (Genesis 3:5)
It is understandable
that Adam and Eve wished to imitate their Creator. They admired Him. What
better compliment than to long to be like Him?
When Adam
and Eve committed the original sin, it was not so much that they listened to
Satan's "glozing lies," but that they doubted God's goodness. They
were, perhaps, ashamed of such a grandiose ambition: Make me a god.
I can
imagine God questioning Adam after the fall, "Why did you not ask Me for
what you desired?"
Adam
understandably tried to blame the Serpent. What defense could he have offered?
To suggest that God was not Infinite Goodness who would have raised Adam up to
divine status was to utter a blasphemy with all the Angels present as
witnesses.
So Adam
claimed he was tricked.
And it is a
strange truth that this original defense is still professed by most of mankind.
We do not realize that God has made each of us in His image. We do not truly
believe we are worthy of such a gift. Throughout our lives we still offer the
same defense that Adam did: We did not know—that is, we still do not believe in
Your goodness.
Thus men
will lie on their backs, talking about the fall of man, and never make an
effort to get back up. —Henry David Thoreau in Life Without Principle
No comments:
Post a Comment