The Human Fall

Belief that humanity fell from a primordial state of unity with God is a doctrine of the Abrahamic faiths, and similar beliefs are also found in the mythology of many primal religions and in the doctrines of new religions influenced by Christianity. Among the Abrahamic faiths the doctrine of the Fall takes varying forms. In Christianity, the sin of the original man and woman is imputed to all humanity, and created an enduring separation between humans and God which can only be remedied by Christ.¹ In Islam, on the other hand, Adam’s sin was his alone, and he, like all human beings, could return to a position of acceptance by submission (Islam) to God. But the Fall did bring into existence Satan, setting up for all humanity a trial which only some are able to endure. In Judaism we find a mixture of beliefs; rabbinic passages gathered in this section which accept the biblical doctrine that the fall of Adam and Eve brought a curse into the world are counterbalanced by other passages emphasizing individual responsibility² and denying that we are culpable for the sins of our ancestor Adam. The Evil Inclination which directs the soul to do evil may have been induced by a fall, but then again, it may have been created by God.³

The human Fall is a significant teaching only in certain religions. It is logically necessary only for religions in which (1) God is the only Creator, (2) the Creation was purposed to be good, and (3) evil is regarded as real and contrary to the purpose of creation. But these three premises are found together only in the Abrahamic faiths and in some other theistic religions. In Zoroastrianism, where there are two creators — God and the devil — the origin of evil does not involve a fall. Neither is there a doctrine of a fall in Buddhism, which lacks a doctrine of creation. Hinduism, which (in Sankhya philosophy) regards matter to partake of evil elements, or in which creation is an act of play (lila) and hence without moral purpose, also does not require a doctrine of the Fall. Nevertheless, even religions like Buddhism and Hinduism have traditions which speculate on a primordial fall from grace in order to explain the discrepancy between the cosmos’s

The first group of passages are derived from or related to the story of the Fall in Genesis. The accounts of this event are full of symbolism and open to varied interpretations. The Tempter — variously called Satan, Lucifer, or Iblis — instigates Adam and Eve to disobey God’s command, often with the hint that the act of the fall involved sexual misconduct. While the Bible attributes the Fall mainly to the mistake of a woman, the Qur’an regards Adam and Eve as equally culpable. The next group of passages are independent traditions from the primal religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Shinto which give some account of the cause for the present deviation of humanity from its pure origin. These traditions resemble the account of the fall in the Abrahamic faiths in one or more respects: the theme of disobedience, of eating a forbidden food, of sexual misconduct, and the culpability of the woman. The last group of passages, from the Eastern religions, describe a belief that this world has declined from an original golden age of purity and godliness. God’s creation was originally pure, but with the progression of the ages the Law has gradually fallen into disuse and human nature has degenerated.

1. Judaism and Christianity. Bible, Genesis 2.15-3.24

The Lord God took the man [Adam] and put him in the Garden of Eden to till it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.”

Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” So out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for the man there was not found a helper fit for him. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh; and the rib which the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked, and were not ashamed.

Now the serpent was more subtle than any other wild creature that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree of the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden; but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons.

And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” And he said, “I heard the sound of Thee in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.” He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” The man said, “The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent beguiled me, and I ate.” The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,

Cursed are you above all cattle,
and above all wild animals;
Upon your belly you shall go,
and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.
I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your seed and her seed;
He shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel.”
To the woman He said,
“I will greatly multiply your pain in childbearing,
in pain you shall bring forth children,
Yet your desire shall be for your husband,
and he shall rule over you.”
And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’
cursed is the ground because of you;
in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life;
Thorns and thistles it shall bring forth to you;
and you shall eat the plants of the field.
In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread
till you return to the ground,
for out of it you were taken;
you are dust,
and to dust you shall return.”

The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins, and clothed them.

Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever” — therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the Garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man; and at the east of the Garden of Eden he placed the cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.

2. Islam. Qur’an 7.11-27

It is We Who created you and gave you shape; then We bade the angels, “Bow down to Adam,” and they bowed down; not so Iblis, he refused to be of those who bow down. [God] said, “What prevented you from bowing down when I commanded you?” He said, “I am better than he; You created me from fire, and him from clay.” God said, “Get down from this place; it is not for you to be arrogant here; get out, for you are of the meanest of creatures.” …He said, “Because you have thrown me out of the Way, lo! I will lie in wait for them on Your Straight Way: Then will I assault them from before them and behind, from their right and their left: nor will You find, in most of them, gratitude.” God said, “Get out from this, disgraced and expelled. If any of them follow you, I will fill hell with all of you.”

“And Adam, dwell, you and your wife, in the Garden, and enjoy its good things as you wish, but approach not this tree, or you will run into harm and transgression.”

Then Satan began to whisper suggestions to them, bringing openly before their minds all their shame that was previously unnoticed by them. He said, “Your Lord only forbade you this tree, lest you should become angels or such beings as live forever.” And he swore to them both, that he was their sincere advisor. So by deceit he brought about their fall: when they tasted of the tree, their shame [private parts] became apparent to them, and they began to sew together the leaves of the Garden over their bodies.

And their Lord called unto them: “Did I not forbid you that tree, and tell you that Satan was an avowed enemy unto you both?” They said: “Our Lord! we have wronged our own souls. If You do not forgive us and do not grant us Your mercy, we shall certainly be lost.” God said, “Get you down, with enmity between yourselves. On earth will be your dwelling place and your means of livelihood — for a time. Therein shall you live, and therein you shall die; but from it shall you be brought forth at last.”

O Children of Adam! We have bestowed raiment upon you to cover your shame, as well as to be an adornment to you. But the raiment of righteousness — that is the best. Such are among the signs of God, that they may receive admonition.

O Children of Adam! Let not Satan seduce you in the same manner as he got your parents out of the Garden, stripping them of their clothing in order to expose their private parts. He and his tribe watch you from where you cannot see them! We have made the devils friends only to those without faith.

6. Judaism. Talmud, Abot de Rabbi Nathan 1

What was the wicked serpent contemplating at that time? He thought, “I shall go and kill Adam and wed his wife, and I shall be king over the whole world.”

7b Midrash, Genesis Rabbah 18.6

Rabbi Joshua ben Qarhah said, “Why does the scripture not place the verse ‘And the Lord God made for Adam and his wife garments of skin’ (Genesis 3.21) immediately after ‘And they were both naked, and were not ashamed’ (Genesis 2.25)? It teaches you through what sin that wicked creature inveighed them: Because [the serpent] saw them engaged in their natural relations, he conceived a lust for her.”

10. Buddhism. Ekottara Agama 34 and Ch'i-shih Ching

(the gods of the Abhasvara Heaven)… fed upon the film that covered the earth, and gazed at one another’s beauty. Those among them that were most passionate became women, and these gods and goddesses fulfilled their desires and pleasure in one another. …And the gods who had returned to heaven looked down and saw the young gods that had fallen, and they came down and reproached them, saying, “Why are you behaving in this unclean way?” Then the gods on earth thought to themselves, “We must find some way to be together without being seen by others.”

11. Shinto. Kojiki 4.1-6.1

The deities Izanagi and Izanami descended from Heaven to the island Ono-goro… At this time Izanagi asked his wife Izanami, “How is your body formed?” She replied, “My body, though it be formed, has one place which is formed insufficiently.” Then Izanagi said, “My body, though it be formed, has one place which is formed to excess. Therefore, I would like to take that place in my body which is formed to excess and insert it into that place in your body which is formed insufficiently, and thus give birth to the land. How would this be?” “That will be good,” said Izanami. “Then let us, you and me, walk in a circle around this heavenly pillar and meet and have conjugal intercourse,” said Izanagi. …they commenced procreation and gave birth to a leech-child. They placed this child into a boat made of reeds and floated it away.

Then the two deities consulted together, “The child which we have just borne is not good. It is best to report this before the heavenly gods.” So they ascended together and sought the will of the heavenly gods. The gods thereupon performed a grand divination, and said, "Because the woman spoke first, the child was not good…”

14. African Traditional Religions. Urundi tradition (Burundi)

In the olden days, when God still lived among men, Death did not live among men. Whenever he happened to stray onto the earth, God (Imana) would chase it away with his hunting dogs. One day during such a chase, Death was forced into a narrow space and would have been caught and destroyed. But in his straits he found a woman, and promised her that if she hid him he would spare her and her family. The woman opened her mouth and Death jumped inside. When God came to her and asked her if she had seen Death, she denied ever seeing him. But God, the All-Seeing One, knew what happened, and told the woman that since she had hidden Death, in the future Death would destroy her and all her children. From that moment death spread all over the world.

15. Hinduism. Mahabharata 13.40.5-12

Formerly, all creatures were virtuous, and by themselves they obtained divinity. Therefore the gods became worried, so Brahma created women in order to delude men. Then women, who had been virtuous, became wicked witches, and Brahma filled them with wanton desires, which they in turn inspired in men. He created anger, and henceforth all creatures were born in the power of desire and anger.