Biblia o raju, pokusie i grzechu pierworodnym

Abstract

The Christian doctrine of original sin has its basis in the Bible. The human condition (suffering, death, and a universal tendency toward sin) is accounted for by the story of the fall of Adam and Eve in the early chapters of the book of Genesis. Before that first sin man was in harmony with God, with himself, and with all creation. His state was characterized by primal innocence. Happiness of man in paradise is described through images: garden of Eden, the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and nudity without shame. Conditions of life in paradise were unusually favourable. This resulted from the kindness of the Creator towards man. Man also had duties in paradise. They were contained in God’s commandment (Gen 2,16-17). Disobedience to this commandment caused the whole of human history to be marked by the original sin freely committed by our first parents. The tale unfolds in Gen 2,4b – 3,24. The apparent naivete of the style of myth disguises the richness of theological reflection from which theologians constantly draw. The inspired author describes here God’s relations with men not in abstract theological jargon, but in simple vocabulary and pictures.