While sins of the flesh might steer many men and women toward perdition; it should be noted that a third of the angels were cast out, and they did not have bodies at all. Their natural superiority did not make them morally better than ourselves. Sins of the intellect and will, define the angelic fall. Along with angelic beings, our first parents of flesh and spirit succumbed to the serpent’s temptation despite the availability of preternatural gifts. While our humanity is wounded, the benefit we have is a full store of divine mercy and the sacraments. But will we take advantage of what God offers us for salvation? Will we use our freedom wisely or misuse it?
When pondering the ends of human beings, one must consider our origins and our current status in the created order. Catholicism would insist upon a definite Christian anthropology. Thus we reflect upon the following: the circumstance of our first parents, the effects of the fall and original sin, the scientific evidence for development of species, the question of preternatural gifts, and the current human condition. There is much dispute and argumentation about the manner in which we were made. Was our creation spontaneous with God’s word and his breath of life or did the first men and women develop from earlier life forms or proto-humans? God can do as he wills and there is increasing evidence for the latter. However, the Church would insist upon two points: one, that the soul does not evolve but was immediately infused into the first man and woman; and two, we did not develop from multiple couples but from a single pairing of a man and woman. They set the trajectory for the entire human race. They could have remained faithful and, for all we know, the consummation of all things would have come earlier in history. As it is, they commit original sin and that rebellion has a disastrous impact upon them and their descendants. Suffering, sin and death enter the world.
We often imagine Adam and Eve as naïve fools or children who are easily swayed by the serpent. The Scriptural account affirms this impression. Eve is definitely intimidated by the satanic dragon. Adam simply seems to feebly cave in to Eve in accepting the forbidden fruit. And yet the Church has discerned that humanity before the fall must have had some sense of its great calling and the wherewithal to live it out. Unlike the creatures around him, the first man stood up on two legs and stared in awe at the creation around him. He was aware of himself and of the one who had fashioned him. Indeed, a residual memory (the fact that we remain wired for God) could be discerned after the fall in how tribes of men sought to worship or render sacrifice to the divine mystery.
What had humanity forfeited in the fall? The Church speaks of preternatural gifts: (1) infused science or knowledge (the opposite of ignorance); (2) physical integrity (the opposite of concupiscence); corporeal immortality (the opposite of death); and original righteousness (the opposite of original sin). Given these great gifts, it is indeed a mystery that our first parents fell at all. It may be that they did not have these gifts for long. The smallest spark of rebellion would have brought disgrace upon them. They hide themselves in shame because they are naked. They have been stripped of these wonderful gifts. As with the angels, there was likely some veil or separation that allowed them to turn against God as the greatest good. However, while each and every angel is a species unto himself; men and women belonged to a single unified species. The choice they make would not merely impact upon them but upon the entire human family. Fallen man prefers the path of the beast. One can imagine him falling to all fours, finding it easier to follow the flesh instead of the spirit— choosing ignorance over awareness— choosing rebellion in his members over self-control— choosing violence and death over peace and life— choosing to play God instead of humbly walking with him in the garden. Evolutionists have joked that monkeys became men. Christians had argued that in truth it was the other way around. Men and women became beasts! After the fall, we are not entirely abandoned. God promises a Messiah who will heal the rift between heaven and earth. We know him as Jesus Christ. He grants us sanctifying grace and actual graces. We become equipped with virtues to do battle with vice.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a comment »
Blogger Priest 