The Fall

Introduction

"Why study the faith?" A fair question, indeed. To study the Catholic faith is to study w ho we are, where we come from, and what our purpose in life is. These questions are intricately embedded in what we believe. The object of this book is to have a better understanding of who we are and what role we play in this drama we now call "Salvation History." In order to do this we must start at the very beginning. In order to know where we are going we must first look at where we came from. This includes looking at a brief history of the people of Israel up to the point of the Christ Event. From there, we will take a look at the life, teachings and sacraments of Christ. Finally, we will explore what it means to live a life in Christ. "Why must we live the Christian life?" you might ask. The answer: because to be fully human is to live a life in Christ. Anything else would be inauthentic to who we are. The more we deviate from the teachings of Christ, the less human and less authentic we become. The goal is to show that we are part of something bigger than ourselves, something that requires full and active participation, something that leads to ultimate happiness and freedom. We dare not strive for anything less!

Every story has a starting point. As J. R. R. Tolkien once wrote: "There cannot be any 'story' without a fall – all stories are ultimately about the fall." Ours is not so different. We too begin with a fall. Ours begins in the very first book of the Bible known as Genesis, which literally means the beginning, and indeed, it is the starting point of the history we call "human drama." What is the Bible? The Bible, simply put, is a collection of divinely inspired books. In fact, the word "Bible" comes from the Greek, Ta Biblia, which literally means "the books." The first part of the Bible is called the Old Testament, which is comprised of 46 books. These books are divided into three parts: the Law, the Prophets, and the Sacred Writings. The Law, or the Torah, is also known as the Pentateuch in the Latin Church (The Roman Catholic Church). These are the first five books of the Old Testament. It begins with Genesis and ends with Deuteronomy. It is here, in Genesis, where we will take a look at our own fall and the subsequent effects thereof.

Before we enter into the meat of Sacred Scripture it is notable to first discuss the importance of storytelling as a way of conveying truth. Sometimes storytelling is the best way of conveying truth. J.R.R. Tolkien, creator of The Lord of the Rings, once wrote: "After all, I believe that legends and myths are largely made of 'truth', and indeed present aspects of it that can only be received in this mode; and long ago certain truths and modes of this kind were discovered and must always reappear." When we were children our parents used to tell us stories to teach us lessons. Many times we were not aware that a lesson was being taught, but somehow, we were able to learn an important truth subconsciously, that is, without being consciously aware of it. Take for example the story of Snow White. The lesson or truth of this fairytale was to make known the evils of vanity (the wicked stepmother). Or take for example the story of Hansel and Gretel. The story was meant to keep children from falling into gluttony. If you remember the story, Hansel and Gretel were drawn to the wicked witch's cottage because it was made of candy. As it turned out, the witch used the alluring house as a ploy to capture and eat them. Yet, the main purpose of these stories were not so much to question, "did this really happen?" but more importantly, "what was the truth or lesson that I, the reader, was able to learn?"

We must take the same approach when reading Sacred Scripture, especially the first five books of the Old Testament. Like I alluded to before, I am not questioning whether these things actually happened, i.e. historical facts. I am more importantly exploring the truths they convey. As we dive into scripture we will also explore the context (historical & cultural setting) in which they were written and to whom they were written for so we could grasp a more complete understanding of the text.

So, let us start from the beginning. In the beginning God, who is all loving and all knowing, created the heavens and the earth, everything visible and invisible. Surrounding God are a group of spiritual beings known as "angels" or "messengers." This assembly of angelic beings serves God as his delegates and they make up the heavenly court. Unlike God, however, they do not have the power to create things. This is why only God may hold the title of "Creator." Yet, there were some among them who were envious of God's powers. In the history of sin, one sin stands above all others, one sin that would repeatedly change the course of history: pride. One angel, in particular, would fall victim to this sin. This angel sought to deceive others into believing he was the true bearer of light and not God. He boasted, "I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will make myself like the Most High" (Is 14:13, NAB). For his insubordination, this angel and his followers were cast out from heaven and into the darkness. These fallen angels, or demons as we now call them, will forever be tormented by the mere knowledge that although they sought eternal separation from God, they will never escape the fact that without God they can have no being. For you see, in his benevolence, God made angels, as well as humanity, with free will. He gave us free will so we could freely choose to follow what is good. Sometimes, however, because of our own selfishness, we choose the path not intended by God, but rather the deceivingly more attractive path that leads to destruction and doom.

We thus arrive at our story, the story of human drama. God decides to create the physical world, and with it, something so wonderful and so valuable that he even decides to make it in his own image: he creates man, and because "it is not good for man to be alone (Gn 2:18)" he created woman to accompany him. So then, we might ask ourselves, "Why did God create us?" The answer is quite simple: because he loves us. It was because of love and through love that we were created in his image. Therefore, our purpose as human beings is to freely return that love to God. That is why God gave us free will.

As human beings, however, our knowledge is limited. We do not have the capacity to know things as the angels do since they are not confined to the properties of space and time like we are. We are corporeal beings, that is, beings with flesh and blood. We come to know things through the senses and through our rationale (reason), which allows us to recognize such things as goodness, beauty and truth. We therefore are in a pilgrimage of constant discovery. Throughout our lives we use our will and reason with the virtue of faith to navigate through the created things of this world in order to grow in knowledge of God who created them. Therefore, these created things when used appropriately are signs that point us to God himself. Take for example a beautiful landscape or a favorite dish we like to eat. These things please the senses and give us pleasure because in their finite existence they contain goodness, beauty and truth that come from their infinite source, the Creator. Take also the human body. The human body in itself is beautiful, good, and true. The temptation, however, is to hold these created things above the One who created them. In our search for God, we can easily be led astray by turning these things into idols and valuing them above their Creator. We may even make the mistake, as the demons did, of thinking that we can even know more than God.

This brings us to "The Fall," or as some call it, "the sin of origin." As some of you may know, Adam, the first man, and Eve, the first woman, were both tempted by the serpent to eat from the tree of the knowledge between good and evil. God had commanded them to eat anything from the Garden of Eden except from that one specific tree. The temptation here was not of a bodily appetite, but of a different, yet familiar, appetite: the appetite to be like God, the very same that caused the downfall of the demons. This story is trying to convey a truth. Lets take a deeper look at what really happened, for this is not just a story of disobedience, but rather, the greatest tragedy in human history, a tragedy that would only be redeemed by the single greatest act of love the world has ever known. We'll get to that later. Before The Fall, before sin that is, humanity was in perfect union with their Creator. The Garden of Eden was not simply a garden, but a paradise (i.e. an extreme intimacy with God). Keep in mind, that although earthly pleasures may bring us much delight, they only do so because they come from God. Imagine living in the presence of that source! Genesis even goes as far as to describe God walking among them in the garden (c.f. Gn 3:8). The Israelites had such an intimate understanding of God that they used to believe that the reason human beings could live was because they literally breathed in God's spirit. The cost of gaining this knowledge of good and evil was unfortunately this intimate union. "How?" you might ask. The answer lies in the nature of the temptation. The serpent said: "You will not die. For God knows when you eat of it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil" (Gn 3:5). The temptation, my friends, is to abandon our trust in God in pursuit of acquiring (or better yet, stealing) divine knowledge in order to make ourselves gods, to deceive ourselves into believing we know more than God, and thus also come to the belief that we no longer need Him. This temptation still occurs today. The continuous removal of God from today's society is a testament to that.

Upon eating the fruit from the tree, Adam and Eve's eyes were opened and they realized they were naked. What does this mean? Did they not know they were naked before? The story is once again trying to convey a deeper truth. Their eyes were opened: they now know what evil is; their innocence was lost. Evil, according to St. Augustine, is nothing more than the absence of the good. Because of their actions, Adam and Eve strayed away from the goodness of God in pursuit of their own agenda. When we step away from what is good we naturally arrive at what is not good, i.e. evil. Hence, for the first time, humanity became aware, gained knowledge that is, of what is evil. The serpent, therefore, did not lie to Adam and Eve. He did promise that in turning away from God's command they would acquire this "knowledge" of evil.

They knew that they were naked: They became exposed. With their newfound knowledge they were able to see the world, and each other, without the inherent goodness contained therein. Because of the nature of who they are (corporeal beings), sin was able to evolve, or rather, expand into every aspect of their livelihood. Hence, we have the introduction of greed, envy, vanity, lust and every other evil that occurs in our world today. Because they sought separation from God, Adam and Eve lost paradise. How can God allow this to happen? Ironically, he allowed it to happen because he loves us. In his love, God gave humanity free will so that humanity can love Him back freely. God knew that by granting humanity free will he was taking the risk of being rejected. One could only imagine the disappointment God felt (and continues to feel) when his own children no longer desire Him.

The Covenants

A rift occurred between humanity and God. Adam and Eve were cast out from the Garden of Eden and humanity henceforth had to labor to survive. The search for food and water drove mankind to the various reaches of the earth. Generations went by and the world was soon inhabited and dominated by men. With the slow passing of time, consumed by their carnal impulses and their desire for power, humanity forgot the source of their origin, their God. Lost in the abyss of these pleasures, these idols, which they held above their own Creator, the vast majority of humanity had fallen into corruption and sin. Carelessness had overtaken them and they became blinded by their own indulgences.

There were, however, a few who had not forgotten the ways of the Lord God. Thus, we arrive at the story of Noah and his family (cf. Gn 6:5). Amidst the wickedness of the godless, Noah and his family found favor with God. God said to Noah, "I see that the end of all mortals has come, for the earth is full of lawlessness because of them. So I am going to destroy them with the earth" (Gn 6:13). He instructed Noah to build an arki big enough to fit his family and two of every animal, male and female. At the appointed time, they boarded the ark and awaited God's judgment upon the earth.

The rains fell from the heavens and a flood enveloped the earth. Nothing except those within the ark survived. Once the flood had subsided, the ark safely made landfall as the waters dissipated. God commanded Noah and his family, as he did with Adam and Eve, to be fruitful and multiply and to fill the earth (cf. Gn 9:1). Never again would such a flood consume the earth, and as a symbol of this promise, God gave Noah a sign – a bow in the sky (i.e. a rainbow). This was the first covenant (post-Fall) to be established between God and humanity. This covenant, or pact, was made between God and all of creation. This would not be the last time God intervenes in the affairs of mortal men. The comforts of the earth can easily distort the memories and lessons of the past. As we shall soon see, God must once again reach out to humanity and establish yet another covenant.

Before we enter into the next biblical account, I find it important to first discuss the origin and meaning behind this story. As noted before, the most important thing to draw from these stories are the truths that they convey. This particular story of the Flood shares a commonality with several Babylonian stories of a flood indicating that these stories may have been drawn from the same source. This indicates that there may have been a flood(s) that occurred in the region of the Euphrates and Tigris. The biblical account expands beyond this region and applies it to the rest of the earth to convey an eternal truth, namely, that God is just and merciful to those who remain faithful even amidst the perversity of human behavior. Finally this story pre-figures the saving waters of baptism, which we will later discuss when we arrive at the sacraments.

As always, with the passing of time, people once again forget God's saving act. It seems people always forget about God when things tend to go well. The Bible provides an account for why we have many languages and nations on earth. Like the stories that precede it, this one too conveys an important lesson. We arrive at the Tower of Babel. The word babel as used in this particular context means "to confuse." The name, however, actually means "gate of god" according to the Babylonians. With this understanding of the word, the meaning of the story and the truth it is trying to convey becomes clearer.

As the story goes, humanity was united as one, not in faith, but in ambition, and they decided to build a city and a tower to make a name for themselves. They were united under one language with the same vocabulary. Their goal was to build a tower that would reach heaven, "the gate of God." God saw their pride and decided to confuse their language to where they could no longer understand each other. In their confusion, they abandoned their plans to finish the tower and they dispersed from each other. This story portrays the evils of secularism. Similar to Adam and Eve, rather than receiving God's grace they sought to steal it for themselves. Secularism seeks to unite humanity not in faith but in worldly matters. This way of thinking seeks to diminish the spiritual, glorify the material, and idolize the individual. Humanity can only be fully united under the banner of heaven. This biblical story not only provides an explanation for the rise of nations, but more importantly it conveys the truth and evils of secularism, an evil that is all too relevant today.

This brings us to God's second covenant. From among the nations, God chose a man called Abram (later named Abraham) to make his covenant. Putting faith in God, Abraham and his wife leave their country and kin to an unknown land. Abraham and his wife were barren and he wanted a child more than anything in the world. For a married couple, I cannot imagine anything more painful than the bleak reality of being unable to have your own children. But for God nothing is impossible. In fact there seems to be a recurring trend throughout the Bible of miraculous births. Hearing Abraham's prayer, God took Abraham outside and told him: "Look up at the sky and count the stars, if you can. Just so, he added, will your descendants be" (Gn 15:5). Thus, God made a covenant with Abraham that from his line a new people would arise: the people of Israel. Yet, because they were impatient, Abraham's wife, Sarai (later named Sarah), who had been unable to produce an offspring, suggested to Abraham to take her slave girl and sleep with her. Abraham seems to have accepted her offer without giving it a second thought. The slave-girl, Hagar, conceived from Abraham a son. Sarai became jealous and began to hold Hagar in contempt. This put Abraham in a bad spot. Unable to decide what to do, he told Sarai to treat Hagar as she pleased. Sarai treated Hagar so badly that she ran away.