Original Sinners

The story of Adam and Eve in the garden is one of mythic proportions. It is a story referred to by many in a variety of forms, and is known both within the church and is part of the collective conscience of our culture. The story of Eden is also tremendously misunderstood, misread (if it is actually read at all), and misapplied. Fundamentally, the story is not about Eve tempting Adam (and by extension how women are inherently wicked and sinful--how some have used this scripture) it is not about the satanic serpent who seduces the otherwise righteous Adam and Eve, and I don't believe it is a story of God entrapping humanity. Rather, Genesis 3 is a powerful story about sin, rebellion, and human nature. The story tells us about ourselves and our deepest and darkest inclinations. It is a story which reminds us that when we go our own way we are in big trouble.

But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die; for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. Genesis 3:4-6

After Eve's conversation with the serpent, when she is told that she could know good and evil and be like God, she and Adam both ate the fruit of the tree. The serpent provides information to them in a seductive way but doesn't have to do much convincing for them to directly defy God's command.

The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.” Genesis 2:15-17

God created Adam and Eve for relationship. They were given all that they needed for life in the garden, and they were given the responsibility to care for it. Within the boundaries that God established, they had absolute freedom. The only restriction was they could not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God designed the relationship with humanity to be one of trust and dependence. God created human beings and asked them to place their complete trust in God. Adam and Even sinned not simply because they ate the forbidden fruit, they sinned because the failed to trust God. They wanted to be like God, having all the knowledge and wisdom of God. With this knowledge, they would no longer be dependent on God, they could could be independent and autonomous. The original sin is to reject relationship with God.

The power of this story lies not in the historicity of Adam and Eve, but in the knowledge the original sin of Adam and Eve is alive and well today. In Genesis 3, we don't read about Adam and Eve, we read about ourselves; we are Adam and Eve. For me, and I believe most of us, the urge for independence, the resistance to be told what to do, the refusal to submit to authority, and the lack of obedience is at its core a rejection of relationship. When I believe that I know best, that I can do it all on my own, that I must be in control, I am incapable of being in a relationship of mutuality and trust.

Relationships of any kind require openness, humility, and trust and reject all forms of domination and subjugation. God calls us into relationship, names us children of God, calls us to trust. We would rather trust ourselves, our possessions, and live independent and autonomous lives. Sin enters the world when we fail to trust because we ourselves are not trustworthy. Left to our devices we make the wrong choices, become fixated and obsessed with status, power and "being successful." When we fail to trust God in our lives we make wrong choices with disastrous consequences. As the apostle Paul reminds us:

For we know that the law is spiritual; but I am of the flesh, sold into slavery under sin. I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Romans 7:14-15

For anyone who has ever tried to live life for God, tried to be a truly good person, or simply reflected deeply on their life, knows the feeling Paul describes. We want to be kind, generous, patient, loving but we often are mean, stingy, ungrateful, angry, jealous, spiteful. We know life with God is better, and yet with consistently fail. The original sin of defiance and autonomy has been repeated so often it seems almost comical to describe it as "original."

The story of Adam and Eve is alive and well in our lives today. We are without doubt no more advanced than the first generation described in Genesis:

The Lord saw that the wickedness of humankind was great in the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually. Genesis 6:5

The good news for us and the world is that Jesus Christ delivers us from our sin and from ourselves. Through Christ, the relationship with God which has been severed by sin and found to be irreparable by human effort is restored and renewed by the love of grace of Jesus Christ. Jesus saves us from sin and saves us from ourselves. In Christ we are a new creation, in Christ we are free to love and serve, knowing the certainty and security which comes from God's love. May we trust in the Lord with all our heart, mind, and body and know with certainty that our salvation rests in the arms of a loving and merciful God.

In the Beginning

The story of creation found in Genesis 1 and 2 is a story about beginnings; the beginning of life, time, and the created world. The creation story tells us that God is the creator of everything and all of life. God is the source, the originator, the unmoved mover. The creation story tells us that all that God created was "good" and was pleasing to God. The nature of creation is ordered and done with intention and purpose. The creation story also tells us who we are as human beings. We are created "in the image of God" (1:27) and endowed us with special powers and responsibilities to care for and be stewards of creation. The story of creation is powerful, rich, and has profound implications for who we understand ourselves and God to be.

The story of creation is also highly debated and discussed. In our day, the ongoing battle between creationism and evolution have dominated the conversation of these ancients texts. In the midst of the squabbling, yelling, and politicking have we missed the point? Do our ancient stories tells us something even more important than how creation came to be? For me the short answer is yes. The creation story gives an answer to the existential question of why. Why do we exist? What is the point of life? Who am I? What is the meaning of life? If we get bogged down in endless and nonsensical debates over what really happened, we miss the much larger point Genesis 1-2 is trying to make. So let us look to the scriptures themselves and see what God is really up to.

"In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Then God said, 'Let there be light'; and there was light." Genesis 1:1-3

God is the creator of all things and began creation with the power of the holy spirit and the word of God. It is the wind from God which creates the conditions necessary for creation to commence. In Hebrew, the word ruah means: wind, breath, or spirit. So literally it is a wind/breath/spirit of God which causes creation to begin. This is profoundly important. The spirit of God comes over the face of the waters and starts it all. All of creation, all of life begins with the Spirit of God. Similarly, in Genesis 2, the first man comes alive only when the breath/spirit of God is given.

"Then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being." Genesis 2:7

Creation begins with the spirit and human life begins with the spirit. It is the spirit of God which brings life, renewal, and restoration to creation. Without the spirit we are like dried up and left for dead bones. (see Ezekiel 37)

The other key element of the story of creation is how God creates. In Genesis 1, God creates by speaking. God repeatedly says: "let there be....and there was..." God literally calls things into existence by the power of God's word. This is profoundly important because as Christians we understand Jesus to be the living embodiment of God's word.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people...And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. John 1:1-4,14

God creates by speaking the word and the word is Jesus Christ. It is through Christ and the Spirit that creation came be (how about that for an explanation of the trinity). God's word literally has the power to create reality, the power to take potential and make it actual, the power to transform lives.

The story of creation firmly establishes God as creator and tells us a great deal about God and the creation. The story of creation also tells us a lot about human nature and the meaning of life. To be created in God's image implies an intimate connection between God and humanity that is not found elsewhere in creation. Human beings are set apart and given power and responsibility for the creation. (we do really well with the power side, not so much with the responsibility side) God also allows Adam to participate in creation by naming the animals (2:19-20). As such human beings can be understood as participants with God in the ongoing creation of the world and can be seen as created co-creators.

God created us for relationship, to live together in harmony with the created world and live in harmony with the Lord. The story of creation tells us fundamentally that we created for relationship with God, given powers and responsibilities to be stewards of creation, and to live within the boundaries God sets before us. As we begin to see in Genesis 3, it doesn't take long for this good and pleasing creation to lose focus and become askew. That story will have to wait.