Marie de Nazareth
To Jesus, through Mary
Miniature. Original sin
Original sin, or the sin of origins, is a doctrine of Christian theology, taken from a passage in the Bible (Gn 3), which recounts the disobedience of Adam and Eve, the first man and woman. Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, despite being forbidden to do so by God. This original sin had consequences for the whole of humanity, and is linked to a theology of salvation. Thus, Christ, who came to save humanity, will be called the New Adam, and the Virgin Mary, the New Eve.
The phrase "original sin" does not appear anywhere in the Bible, but the doctrine is based on several passages in both Testaments. It was Augustine of Hippo, at the end of the fourth century, who coined the term[1]. This doctrine has been debated since its inception: original sin is defined in different ways in the various denominations, ranging from a simple deficiency, or a tendency to sin that precludes any idea of guilt a priori, to the idea of a totally corrupt human nature and genuine collective guilt (as with the Calvinists[2]). These controversies surrounding original sin have led to significant differences in the theology of salvation, particularly with regard to free will and grace.
"1 However, the serpent was more crafty than any of the creatures of the earth that the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Why has God instructed you, that you should not eat from every tree of Paradise?” 2 The woman responded to him: “From the fruit of the trees which are in Paradise, we eat. 3 Yet truly, from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of Paradise, God has instructed us that we should not eat, and that we should not touch it, lest perhaps we may die.”
4 Then the serpent said to the woman: “By no means will you die a death.
5 For God knows that, on whatever day you will eat from it, your eyes will be opened; and you will be like gods, knowing good and evil.”6 And so the woman saw that the tree was good to eat, and beautiful to the eyes, and delightful to consider. And she took from its fruit, and she ate. And she gave to her husband, who ate. 7
7 And the eyes of them both were opened. And when they realized themselves to be naked, they joined together fig leaves and made coverings for themselves. 8 And when they had heard the voice of the Lord God taking a walk in Paradise in the afternoon breeze, Adam and his wife hid themselves from the face of the Lord God in the midst of the trees of Paradise.[3]"
The historical roots of this story lie in the Canaanite culture with which the Hebrews were confronted when they left the desert.
The tree evoked sacred prostitution in magical rites that sought agricultural and human fertility.
The Hebrews were hurt by this and understood it as a breach of covenant with the living God, YHWH. (1)
Satan's trick is to tap into one's pride to obscures intelligence and discernment: our likeness to God is a likeness by participation; Satan claims a substantial likeness, thus introducing confusion: "you will be like gods".
Satan offends the Holy Spirit. Satan seduces by holding out the promise of something new and impossible.
Satan begins with Eve, the woman, as he is fully aware of her influence on Adam, the man. But man is just as responsible.
Anyone who arrogates to himself the right to take what is not offered to him is always a thief and a violent person. He hurts love.
The Covenant broken by disobedience to God's commandment leads to estrangement from God and a succession of misfortunes.
Awareness of God's withdrawal and the resulting darkness is still partial in the Old Testament; it only becomes clear in the ultimate Messianic expectation.
The account in Genesis 3 shows that after pride comes disobedience, then mistrust and doubt, rebellion, nakedness and concupiscence.
Sin blemishes humanity in its spirit, its intelligence and its sensitivity: human nature is thus wounded.
The awareness of a wounded human nature is still in its infancy in the Old Testament (Wis 2:24; Ps 51(50), etc.) and only becomes truly clear after the Passion and Resurrection of Jesus (Rom 5-6).
Misfortune (for example, the pain of Abel's murder...) opens humanity to repentance.
The mechanism for breaking with God is always the same:
"Ignorance of the fact that man has a wounded nature, inclined to evil, gives rise to serious errors in the areas education, politics, social action and morals." [4]
The Old Testament and the Jewish people are not unanimous about life after death, but Christ gave a clear teaching:
- Our life begins at birth,
- Our death is only a passing.
- After death, our life will be eternal, we could say a full, infinite life, a positive or negative infinity, depending on what our earthly life was:
"And they shall depart, these to everlasting sorrow, and the righteous to everlasting life."[5]
The break referred to in Genesis 3:1-6 is therefore an eternal break.
This possibility of two possible paths highlights man's free will: this is why Jesus did not hesitate to suffer all the pains of the Passion, even unto death, to save us from this misfortune.
In Jesus, God became man, suffered, died, was buried and rose again.
The first day of the week is the first day of creation; it is also the day of the Resurrection:
"We celebrate the definitive victory of the Creator and of his creation. We celebrate this day as the origin and the goal of our existence. "[6].
Because he saved us, Jesus is called the New Adam.
What are man's possibilities?
Man has freedom, the ability to choose, the ability not to listen to Satan.
Jesus, God made man, saves all men, but these men must have a good will, a will for justice, and make efforts to avoid sin[7].
Mary's holiness is a fruit of the redemption accomplished by Christ Jesus.
At the Annunciation, Mary listened to the angel of God and pondered what God was saying; she did not listen to Satan. She is called the new Eve.
So, in the economy of salvation, the original couple Adam and Eve are succeeded by Jesus, the New Adam, and Eve, the New Eve.
Moreover, by the title "Son of Man", Jesus designates himself and all those who enter his kingdom by uniting themselves with him. This means that Jesus' mother is also, spiritually, our mother.
Source :
-CCC: Catechism of the Catholic Church
-J. BERNARD, "Genèse 1-3 : Lecture et traditions de lectures", In: Mélanges de science religieuse (1984), n°3-4, p. 109-128; (1986) Ibid, n°1, p. 3-55.
[1] Cf. J. BERNARD, "Genèse 1-3 : Lecture et traditions de lectures", in Mélanges de science religieuse (1984), no. 3-4, pp. 109-128; (1986) Ibid. no. 1, pp. 3-55.
[2] See also: Mt 8:12; Mt 13:42-43; Mt 13:50; Mt 22:13; Mt 25:14-30.
[3] Genesis 3, 1-8
[4] CCC (Catechism of the Catholic Church), 407
[5] Mt 25, 31-46.
[6] Benedict XVI, Homily at the Easter Vigil, 23 April 2011.
[7] Cf CCC 1731 ff.
-on Mary new Evein the Encyclopédie mariale
-on the New Adam and the New Evein the Marian Encyclopaedia
Françoise Breynaert et l’équipe de MDN.