Lesson Five - Creation and the Fall of Man

Text by Pat Austin, St. Patrick's Cathedral RCIA Instructor

Remember -- The Bible was not written as a science book, therefore you can't read it as a science book!

Creation, the book of Genesis, chapters 1 - 11 are not to be taken strictly literally. Stories are a type of writing. Remember, ancient writers did not write to teach fact, but to teach values. Jewish culture was interested in the fact that God created and not how God created.

World created in seven days -- It does not mean 7 - 24 hour days. Order of creation -- the vegetation comes before the sun. This is impossible, but, it is not a scientific account -- not meant to be. This is not an error in the Bible. Then how was the world created? Mankind is investigating. There are many theories on this matter but no theory is fact.

The story of creation reveals truths (Divine Revelation) that God wanted us to know. Some of these truths are:

• There is only one God
• God created everything including man and woman
• Everything God created is good
• The Sabbath is Holy

Man is God's masterpiece. Man is the only one of God's creatures that can act as an angel or act as an animal. Man is the bridge between the world of spirit and the world of matter.

Definition of Man: Man is composed of body (material) and soul (spirit) which is made to the image and likeness of God.

The material part of man, the body, gives us sense, consciousness. The body is a marvel -- skeleton, digestive system, nervous system, brain, skin, etc. The body is a fitting abode for the spiritual soul.

The spiritual part of man, the soul, gives us rational consciousness. It gives the body life, power and meaning. It is the soul that activates the body.

God's image/likeness is part of us in our soul -- God's Spirit -- gives us God's Consciousness; we are able to know God.

Body and soul are one, not two separate parts. Reference: Text page 48. For example, copper and zinc unite to make brass. This union of body and soul forms one personality. What affects one part -- body or soul -- affects both. If you have a sore toe, the whole body feels it.

Neither the body nor the soul is more essential but the soul is more important.

The soul is in the whole body. If you lose an arm, you won't lose part of your soul. The soul ceases to be in that arm that is no longer a part of the body. When the soul leaves the body, death occurs but the soul continues to exist. The soul is immortal. The soul doesn't grow with the body. You have the same soul at conception that you have at your death. All that you need and possess is present at conception for the rest of your life.

Adam and Eve were the first man and woman. Everyone has come from them. To believe that there were more sets of parents is a heresy, a false teaching or belief. This false belief or teaching is called polygenism. Reference: Catholic Dictionary page 332.

How did God make us? We don't really know. There are lots of theories. One fact is true, God did create man, absolutely.

Searchers will never find the "missing link" as such. Why? Because it was an act of God. They may find where it occurred in history, but they will never find it as a material thing. There never was a half man or woman. Either it was animal or man. We, the person, did not evolve from some lower form. Our bodies may have, but your soul did not evolve. Remember, your soul is not matter, it does not have any parts, therefore it cannot evolve. It can not change. If it can't change then it can't evolve.

What is the Church's stand on evolution -- you can believe anything that you want concerning evolution as long as you believe three truths:

• God did the creating
• God created one pair, male and female, equal in dignity
• God directly creates (present tense) each soul. Souls cannot evolve -- no parts, never change. Man and woman create bodies, God puts the soul into that body.

To Adam and Eve God gave gifts that were not natural to man. Your textbook calls them preternatural or extra gifts.

Extra gifts on the spiritual level, to the soul of the first man and woman:

• To their intellect, God gave an extra ability that enabled them to know God. You might say they were given wisdom of a much higher order. Animals don't have this wisdom, animals don't know God.
• To their will, God gave them freedom of choice, free will. Also an extra ability to perfectly control their passions. This would enable them to love God. Remember love is an act of the will.

All of these gifts were added to the natural level. God, however, was not finished giving extra gifts.

Now God gave one more gift but on the supernatural level. That is a gift above man's nature. This gift is called Grace -- Sanctifying Grace. What is it? It is the actual participation in the Divine Life of God. Actually sharing God's life. Now Adam and Eve were actually could share God's life, a supernatural life. Adam and Eve could now communicate with God and not just know God. Now Adam and Eve could know God above their natural knowledge and love God above their natural love. Now Adam and Eve would be able to see God face to face -- beatific vision, total Heaven.

To sum up: Adam and Eve were perfect human beings, the right relationship between God and man existed. They were in control. There was a balance. Their relationship with God was above ours of today. The Scripture refers to their living in the Garden of Eden (paradise). The meaning of these two words in ancient time -- to possess everything to be happy in this world; to possess everything to be happy in the next world. How long were Adam and Eve in this state of happiness, a state or condition of original Holiness and Justice? We don't know.

God's First Plan

What happened to God's first Plan? Original sin is what happened. Reference Gn. 3:8.

As God tested the angels, so God tested Adam and Eve. Because of free will, love of God can only be shown by a free act of the will, obedience. There must be a command in order to have a response. God gave that command, "Eat any of the fruit in the garden but don't eat of the fruit of the Tree of knowledge of good and evil." Symbolically, that statement is saying, "Man is dependent upon his Creator and subject to the laws of creation and to the moral norms that govern the use of Freedom. Scripture tells us that Adam and Eve disobeyed God. "Who told you that you were naked? Reference: Gn. 3:11. "A change had taken place."

What is Original Sin? It is the sin committed by Adam and Eve, the first sin on Earth. It is not a sin that you or I committed. However, because they were our first parents (the entire human race) we have been affected by their sin. For them it was a sin of disobedience. So it is with us. Every sin we commit is a disobedience toward God and a lack of trust in his Goodness.

Adam and Eve had complete clarity of mind, had complete control of passions. With their eyes wide open they chose self over God. Their world came crashing down. The path to Heaven was destroyed, the gates of Heaven closed. Scripture states that Adam and Eve were "Put out of the Garden."

Because of their sin, Adam and Eve's gifts from God were affected. They lost the most important gift from God, their supernatural gift, Divine Grace -- called Sanctifying Grace --- sharing God's life.

Their other extra gifts were either lost or weakened:

• Weakened -- intelligence clouded, limited minds
• Weakened -- free well - concupiscence - lean toward evil
• lost -- freedom from death -- all now must die
• lost -- freedom from suffering -- all suffer in some way

Original sin is not a stain on or in your soul. It is a condition of your soul. This condition results from Adam and Eve's loss of sharing God's life when they disobeyed God. We are descendants of Adam and Eve, therefore God's special gift, God's life in us, is absent from our souls at conception and therefore birth. Revelation tells us that Adam had received original holiness and justice not for himself alone but for all human nature. By yielding to the tempter, Adam and Eve committed a personal sin, but this sin affected the mystery that we cannot fully understand. Reference: CCC page 404.

Everyone except Mary, the Mother of God, is born without Sanctifying Grace (the ladder from human nature to divine nature) -- the sharing of God's life. At conception and birth the soul is in spiritual darkness. Baptism brings God's light of love to the soul. Sanctifying Grace causes spiritual darkness to disappear, original sin is gone. However, our wounded (fallen) nature remains.

The harmony in which they had found themselves, thanks to original justice, is not destroyed. The control of the soul's spiritual faculties over the body is shattered. The union of man and woman becomes subject to tensions. Their relations henceforth marked by lust and domination. Harmony with creation is broken. Visible creation has become alien and hostile to man. Because of man, creation is now subject "to its bondage to decay." Finally, the consequence explicitly foretold for this disobedience will come true: man will "return to the ground," for out of it he was taken. Death makes its entrance into human history. Reference: CCC page 401.

What we should think about and concentrate on is: Imagine if God left us with the gates of Heaven closed! Horror of Horrors! But, God in His Goodness promised a Redeemer. This Redeemer is His Son, Jesus. He opened heaven for man once again on Good Friday/Easter Sunday.

Remember Jesus opened heaven for all mankind. However, it is not a guarantee just to live and you'll go to Heaven. We still have free will. We make the choice, the final choice. No one can do it for us. God is not a Santa Claus!

Levels of Life:

God_________________________________(Divine Nature)_________________________________________

Angels _________________________(Intellect/free will/Angelic Nature)________________________

Man_____(lives/reproduces)_____(mobility instinct)_____(intellect/free will/Human Nature)___

Animal___(lives/reproduces/dies)_____(mobility instinct)___(Animal Nature)__________________

Plant____(lives/reproduces/dies)_____(Plant Nature)_________________________________________

Remember that the bridge from Man to God is Sanctifying Grace.

Some ask, "Why must I pay for Adam's Sin?" Reference: Page 59.

A sin against God is an evil without limit or measure. How could this situation be corrected? We could make up for this infinite evil? No one, except God himself. It is not in man's power to do anything of infinite worth. God sent His only Son to atone for our sins. Jesus died on the cross to atone for our sins but we sill have our free will to love or not love God. Jesus' death does not guarantee, without any strings attached, Heaven for everyone. We must live what Jesus taught!