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what was the orginal sin?

robtex

Veteran Member
I was reading Genesis chapter 3 for another thread on sin. I used the bible gateway

http://www.biblegateway.com/cgi-bin/bible?passage=GEN+3&language=english&version=NIV

as a source and read about Adam and Eve eating the apple. I want to know from those of you that read it..what was the original sin?

qouting from that page:

" 1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?"
2 The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.' "
4 "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. 5 "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?"
10 He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid."
11 And he said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?"
12 The man said, "The woman you put here with me-she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it."
13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?"
The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."
14 So the LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this,

{parts deleted from qoute}

16 To the woman he said,

"I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing;
with pain you will give birth to children.
Your desire will be for your husband,
and he will rule over you."

17 To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat of it,'"

I read it and see the attainment of wisdom as the original sin. In reference to Genesis 3:6. I also see that because Adam realizes his nakedness which appears to be a wise observation of a previously ignorant man. In Gen 3:22 the comment is made that "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil."

So I am thinking the attainment of wisdom is the origninal sin. Did i read this right?
 

Green Gaia

Veteran Member
That's the sort of the idea that Daniel Quinn puts forth in his book, Ishmael about the Biblical creation story (if I'm remembering correctly).

However, I think Christians would say that the original sin is disobediance to God.
 

linwood

Well-Known Member
robtex said:
So I am thinking the attainment of wisdom is the origninal sin. Did i read this right?
Yes Robtexmember.php?u=1107 you`re reading it right.

Original sin is the deliverance from ignorance...the attainment of wisdom.

Odd thing to be eternally punished for huh?
 

logos

Member
So I am thinking the attainment of wisdom is the origninal sin. Did i read this right?
No, Original Sin is the disobedience of our first parents. The sin is that they wanted to be like God. I am going to repost part of the post from which this discussion arose: "I read it as pride because the serpent told them that they will be like God. Indeed, Eve was curious, but after she took of the forbidden fruit (there is no reference to an apple, btw) she had directly disobeyed what God had commanded them not do, namely, eat from the tree of both good and evil. Now, of course that will not make sense unless we remember that the Christian perspective holds that God is the Creator of the entire human race. Eve's sin is that she wants to be like God, a creature trying to be the Creator."

Adam and Eve, thererfore, were not punished for trying to seek enlightenment, they were punished for trying to be God. For, how can a created being become an uncreated eternal being?
 

Jayhawker Soule

-- untitled --
Premium Member
logos said:
..., how can a created being become an uncreated eternal being?
Presumable, the same way that one becomes an uncreated only begotton being, i.e., by pretending that the nonsensical makes sense.

And yes, the creation myth can be read as a rites-of-passage allegory.
 

robtex

Veteran Member
Logos favor...go back and read Genesis chaper three..the first say 2o versus and tell me based on that senerio how else they could have been disobient? What else, other than eating the apple could they have done to have committed the original sin. Say they didn' eat the apple...just pretend they didn't ...what other things could they have done in accordinance to the written scripture that would have brought on God's punishment?
 

Green Gaia

Veteran Member
logos said:
Adam and Eve, thererfore, were not punished for trying to seek enlightenment, they were punished for trying to be God. For, how can a created being become an uncreated eternal being?
Easily, the Hindus will tell you, it is central to their religion. But this is off topic, so I won't continue here. :)
 

logos

Member
Deut. 32.8 said:
Presumable, the same way that one becomes an uncreated only begotton being, i.e., by pretending that the nonsensical makes sense.

And yes, the creation myth can be read as a rites-of-passage allegory.
Perhaps it is due to my lack of sleep, but I am not following. Would you mind clarifying?
 

logos

Member
robtex said:
Logos favor...go back and read Genesis chaper three..the first say 2o versus and tell me based on that senerio how else they could have been disobient? What else, other than eating the apple could they have done to have committed the original sin. Say they didn' eat the apple...just pretend they didn't ...what other things could they have done in accordinance to the written scripture that would have brought on God's punishment?
We are not speculating on what could have happened but what has happened. For me to read into what I believe the Original Sin to be is to rewrite history, and I don't feel as though I am in any authority to do so.
 

standing_on_one_foot

Well-Known Member
I kinda like the thought that they got kicked out for trying to blame their actions on someone else (Adam blames Eve, Eve blames the serpent, the serpent has no-one to blame and is sitting there thinking, "Oh damnit.)...I mean, when you get right down to it, what exactly is wrong with wanting to be like God? It's like kids trying to imitate their parents...
 

Faust

Active Member
The disobedience argument falls apart when you consider God's statement,"they will become like us". This expresses some level of concern about the advancement of the created humans to a level akin to that of God or gods.

Sounds like the attainment of knowledge to me guys.
 

Ceridwen018

Well-Known Member
what exactly is wrong with wanting to be like God? It's like kids trying to imitate their parents...
That's a good point. Also, Logos, how can you be so sure that they were trying specifically to be like god, vs. trying to attain wisdom? It was the tree of knowledge after all.
 

Ernestine

Member
Adam and Eve had one SIMPLE command to follow. Eve allowed herself to become enticed and then aided Adam in sinning against God. There's nothing wrong with wanting to be like God or to emulate his ways. When they ate the fruti, it was their way to assert independence from God. God has known it all along, but we still have not figured it out that we cannot run this world witout him--we have sickness, death, disease, hatred, starvation, fear of nuclear war, greed, air pollution, water pollution, immorality...should I go on? We could have been spared all of this had they just listened.
 

standing_on_one_foot

Well-Known Member
It's what kids are supposed to do, for crying out loud. I mean, you look at parent-child relationships where that independance doesn't occur...not always the healthiest of relationships, you know? And really, Adam and Eve were just kids.

You know, it's interesting to think about. As scared as I'm sure those two naked, fruit-munching ancestors of ours were, I kinda suspect that maybe, just maybe, they were kinda looking forward to leaving the garden, too. They're bound to have been curious about the world, after all...and do you think that maybe, just maybe, this was what God meant to happen? Of course, I tend to view the whole story as something of a metaphor for growing up (which, although it brings pain and loss of innocence and all, I am not inclined to believe is entirely a bad thing)...different ways of seeing it, I suppose. I don't think one way is right and the other's wrong, they're just quite different...
 

painted wolf

Grey Muzzle
I would say that gulibility was the first sin... if Eve had not been so gullible than she would never have listened to the serpent.
Also Adam was gullible in that he listened to Eve. ;)

wa:do
 

robtex

Veteran Member
Ernestine said:
Adam and Eve had one SIMPLE command to follow. Eve allowed herself to become enticed and then aided Adam in sinning against God. There's nothing wrong with wanting to be like God or to emulate his ways. When they ate the fruti, it was their way to assert independence from God. God has known it all along, but we still have not figured it out that we cannot run this world witout him--we have sickness, death, disease, hatred, starvation, fear of nuclear war, greed, air pollution, water pollution, immorality...should I go on? We could have been spared all of this had they just listened.


Ernestine are you saying that if Adam and Eve had not eaten the fruit than there would today be no sicknes, death disease, hatred, starvation, fear of nuclear war, greed, air pollution, water pollution, immorality ect ect?
 

Jayhawker Soule

-- untitled --
Premium Member
Ernestine said:
Adam and Eve had one SIMPLE command to follow. ...
In any civilized society, any parent who treated a child this way would would be held in the utmost of contempt. In any civilized society, any parent who would condemn a grandchild to pain and suffering for some youthful indiscretion of its parents would be despised as psychopathological.

And yet, through the wonders of ignorance and cognitive disconnect, we find people rationalizing the 'original sin' fable. You cheerfully worship such an ugly and vindictive God. It all strikes me as either immensely sad or intensely disgusting.
 

linwood

Well-Known Member
Ernestine said:
Adam and Eve had one SIMPLE command to follow.
Not simple at all but it`s already been beaten to death here.

I`ll see if I can find the threads that debate it.
 

logos

Member
robtex said:
Ernestine are you saying that if Adam and Eve had not eaten the fruit than there would today be no sicknes, death disease, hatred, starvation, fear of nuclear war, greed, air pollution, water pollution, immorality ect ect?
I am not Ernestine, but I believe that is what he means to say. In the Catholic Church there is an entire theology on the first sin, sin, and the origins thereof. We are merely skimming the surface of what the Church believes with regard to Original Sin and sin in general. If you are interested I would recommend reading the Catechism of the Catholic Church, specifically, paragraphs 355 - 412. http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P1B.HTM
 

logos

Member
Deut. 32.8 said:
And yet, through the wonders of ignorance and cognitive disconnect, we find people rationalizing the 'original sin' fable. You cheerfully worship such an ugly and vindictive God. It all strikes me as either immensely sad or intensely disgusting.
You will be in my prayers :)
 
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