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Genesis Revisited

 

What principles can we base our view of morality and soteriology, particularly from the Genesis account of the first sin.

 

There is no biblical basis for the idea of Inherited Guilt.  In fact, there is no basis for inheriting any form of curse, corruption, sin nature, or guilt from Adam. 

So what actually happened in the Garden?  God created humanity in a  perfect state, and called his creation "Good".  However, he created them with a free will that gave them the choice, specifically, to follow his instructions or to disobey his will.  He told them not to eat from the Tree of Moral Knowledge.  

The serpent (the Adversary) was allowed into the Garden and he introduced the temptation to disobey God's will, which the humans did.  While the Adversary did not think so at the time, this was not contrary to God's will, but ultimately in accordance with it.  Nowhere in Genesis does it say that God was angry with Adam, or that He was punishing them, or cursing them.

The humans chose to eat from the Tree of Knowledge.  This was an act of rebellion against God's will.  This was an act of jealousy, wherein the  Adversary told them that they would become like Gods.  They were enticed by the prospect of becoming like God.  The ultimate result of this act, was that they became independent from God's moral influence and they lost the state of oneness with God, they were no longer in communion with God.  They declared, we will no longer be guided by God's moral direction, but instead will be guided by our own moral philosophy.

God allowed this choice and distanced himself from them, allowing them to try to formulate a morality on their own.  However, Humanity was still subject to its own animal nature, what Paul calls 'the Flesh'.   Romans 7:5  For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.  The explanation is that when we're simply relying on our own judgment to make moral choices, they are influenced by our natural desires.  These natural desires include things like hunger, greed, jealousy, anger, lust, pride, laziness.  These are natural instincts that animals act upon without thought.  No one blames a dog for eating a biscuit that he finds on the table.  

We would blame a man, however, for eating the same biscuit if he knew that it did not belong to him.  The flesh, or these natural instincts are constantly prompting us to take actions, and we must use our moral judgement to discern between the various instincts that provoke us.

So back to Romans 7:5.  "When we were in the flesh"  When we were simply relying on natural instincts 

"the motions of sin"  the actions that these natural instincts provoked led us to sin.

"which were by the law'  when holding them up to the example of the law that God gave us, were shown to be obviously sinful. 

"did work in our members" The sin or imperfection that we committed had a deleterious, corrosive effect on our minds and bodies 

"to bring forth fruit unto death"  that was ultimately destructive.  

If we simply relied upon our own judgement to discern between the various natural instincts that provoke us, we will fail to respond properly, which will lead to our own deterioration and ultimate death.  The more I make these failed moral judgements, the more my moral faculties are corroded and the less well I can make these moral judgements in the future. This cumulative corruption of our moral judgement, Paul calls Unrighteousness.

Romans 7:18  For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. The natural instincts that provoke me are not in and of themselves good.  I don't have a natural instinct to do good.  Instead, I rely on my will, my moral judgement to do good.  But I find that my own moral judgement fails me.  My will can't be relied upon to consistently choose good.  This is the very thing that Adam and Eve claimed for themselves, the authority to exercise judgement over good and evil.  God allowed them to make the attempt, and has given the same opportunity to each of their descendants, but each one has failed.

 


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