(Note: the blue horizontal menu bar directly above lists the subsections of "Original Sin in the Bible as Read Today." Beginning with "Acceptance of Evolution by Pope John Paul II," be sure to read each of these subsections before moving on to the next primary section, "New Interpretation of Original Sin.")

Original Sin in the Bible as Read Today: Summary and Major Points

Summary. The story of the Fall of Adam and Eve is central to the Christian faith, yet its teaching has become all the more difficult to comprehend in the light of evolution. The tendency of the human heart certainly seems to be in a negative direction, toward that which is selfish, proud, alienating, unloving, brutal. We see its effects every day in the news and in our examinations of conscience. At the same time we are called to live lives of love, goodness, happiness, sharing, compassion. This is a mystery of human existence that the traditional doctrine of original sin has intended to illumine, especially in light of the liberating and transforming salvific life of Christ.

With an attitude of "faith seeking understanding," we have tried to probe more deeply into the literary nature of the biblical texts and of Christian tradition in light of the evolutionary universe of which we are an integral part. We realize the complexity of the issues, but are confident in the grace of God to help us attain our final goal of understanding in peace and hope.

Major Points

• Catholic (and most Protestant) biblical scholars today agree that the creation narratives of Genesis 1-3 do not present literal history in our modern sense, but rather myth. This means that they provide an ahistorical theology of origins that teaches profound truths – neither history nor fairy tale, but an affirmation about the relation of everything in the world to God as Creator. Adam, Eve, and the Garden of Eden were used by the biblical author to dramatize the mysterious, non-divine origin of sin and its consequences.



• Given that humans were actually created according to the process of evolution, aspects of the central church doctrine of "original sin" must be rethought, taking into account both modern scientific data and the mythic context of the Eden story.



• There is within all humans a tendency toward selfishness that is due to their evolutionary origin. This is known among theologians as concupiscence.



• We all need the grace of God (in Christ) to be saved; that grace both "elevates" and "heals" us. It is received in baptism (also in "baptism of desire").



• The doctrine of original sin points not only to continued concupiscence and to one's integration into (sinful) humanity, but also to Christ's redemption, as expressed in Romans 5:12-21: "… where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (v. 20).
  
  In explaining original sin today, contemporary theologians acknowledge the fact of evolution and the inevitability of physical suffering and death in a material creation. Many also stress that our birth as individuals into sinful human societies inevitably biases our own free moral choices toward sin. Overcoming this immense negative influence – which is genetic as well as social – requires the grace of God, offered to us in the liberating and transforming salvific life of Christ.