The Defense Still Stands

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