The Fall of Man

The account of the fall of man in the Bible is the image of every temptation put in the way of man and of man's surrender to it. Taking closely at that account we can see that:

1. In the process of sinning man is not the only culprit; man is deceived and falls into self-deception.
2. While undergoing temptation, man retains the freedom of choice (Eve hesitates, argues with the serpent.)
3. Temptation begins with a seductive representation.
4. It is sent by God so as to test and strengthen man's freedom. God's warning of the danger inherent in the tasting of the tree of knowledge of "good and evil" is the voice of the Divine Love. By placing his trust in the voice of God's lave, man would be fortified in his freedom as freedom is made manifest in love. To act freely means to act according to the promptings of love.
5. He who does not act according to one's love of God falls into sin and loses freedom. Having sinned, the first man and woman became enslaved by sin as witnessed by a chain of subsequent falls (their hiding from God, their blaming one another etc.).
6. Deception and self-deception in sin is freedom incorrectly perceived and calumny accepted as truth. Calumny consists in presenting the call of God's love as coercion. God does not place Himself in the position of the master and the man in the position of the slave. God is the Father and wants man to be His son and to follow Him out of his filial love towards Him.

Parish Life, December, 1985