Fall of man
As Fall Christian theology refers to a symbolic event, which in the Bible ( Gen 3 EU) than eating the forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge (actually the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil ) by the first man and woman (Adam and Eve ) will be described. She points it at the same time as the evil history of mankind causative original sin (lat. peccatum original originans ). The thus established history of disaster is called in an analogous use of the concept of original sin sin (lat. peccatum original originatum ), inasmuch as every man descendant of Adam in this story " born " and is thus biased in his own history of freedom. The evil history " from Adam " is the story of salvation to humanity "is set to go Christ ", which is understood as " the new Adam " (Rom 5:12-21 EU).
Emergence of the concept of original sin
The term " original sin " was, according to Christian understanding in the late Jewish fourth book of Ezra. Even Paul had derived in Romans of the first sin death: "Through one man sin entered into the world, and through sin death, and thus death spread to all men because all sinned. " (Rom 5, 12 EU) Ezra takes the same derivation before and sighs: "Oh, Adam, what have you done! As you sinned, your case was not only to you but to us your descendants "( 4 Ezra 7,118 )
Gen 3 EU forms the first of the four prehistoric missing Stories from fratricide (Gen. 4:1-16 EU), the "Angel View " (Gen 6:1-4 EU) and the Tower of Babel (Gen 11:1-9 EU). They bring fundamental biblical statements about the nature of man and humanity expressed. However, the first offense is so far fundamentally, the man goes as lost to her the heavenly "Garden of Eden " as the epitome of unity with God, or access to eternal life in abundance " tree of life" (Gen 3,22 EU) and now with the animal " fur dress " (Gen 3.21 EU) begins the story of the mortal from birth to death.
Phil 2; extent, the fall is in the " disobedience " of the first Adam cause of death, while in the " obedience " of the second Adam " even death on a cross" with the resurrection life is re-created (Rom 5:12-21 EU, 8 EU). Augustine of Hippo joined Paul's interpretation of the doctrine of original sin.
While the new Adam voluntarily from his heavenly " height" descend and " humiliating " the "slave dress " of the human- earthly " flesh" attracts ( Phil 2:7 EU, EU Jn 1:14; Matthew 11:29 EU ) so that the "fallen " man his original " garment of light " of glory and immortality Get back ( cf. Eph 4,24 EU; 1 Cor 15,53 f EU, Colossians 3.10 EU), the old Adam falls through his arrogance. From the fall of man in this sense then are also many traditional Jesus Word: 18.14; "Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted " (Mt 23,12 EU, Lk 14,11 EU EU; see 1,48.52 EU).
Further interpretations
In the exegesis of the concept of original sin tends to be avoided today. After the exegetical comment by Andreas Schuele is the meaning of the two trees in a midst of the garden, the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil, " one not ultimately solvable puzzle. " In the Church Fathers and the medieval mysticism are both trees for the two sides of reality: heaven and the world, the unseen and the seen ( cf. Col 1:15-16 EU), the "Male " and "Female ", also sacramental grace and "matter" as well as mentally - spiritual and " literal " exegesis.
So Bonaventura explained in Hexaemeron (XIX, 8) from the conversion miracle at the wedding at Cana (John 2:1-11 EU) ago: " The letter [ of Scripture ] alone is only water that is transformed only in spiritual understanding in wine; it is a stone that has to be only for bread "; and he is only the tree of knowledge of good and evil; " Only in the spiritual understanding of the Scriptures to the tree of life." The key is to connect the literal understanding of Scripture with the inner understanding in the Holy Spirit, which the Bible only living word of God ( = the Tree of Life ) or " as it were a zither ": " the lower string [= literal ] effected only with the other [ three spiritual senses font ] along the euphony. "
What the Bible as "creation in the Word " (F. Weinreb ) applies, this also applies to the creation by the Word ( cf. Jn 1:3-4 EU; Hebrews 1:3 EU; 11.3 EU): Only Eph 2: if the Visible and the Invisible "high time " in the covenant are one, man lives in the created by the divine word paradise reality or in "Heaven " ( cf. Col 1.13 to 20 EU; 3:1-2 EU, 6 EU). The break this " nuptial " covenant between the " masculine " and " feminine" or "one- flesh -ness " (cf. Gen 2:24 EU; Eph 5:30-31 EU) by men and women on the other hand leads to loss of paradise or the fullness of life. In the celebration of the seven sacramental character of the Catholic and Orthodox Church, especially in Baptism and the Eucharist and in the marriage as " primordial sacrament " (John Paul II ), the tradition already saw the remedy to return to the lost paradise ( cf. Lk 23, 43 EU). Add to that the mental- spiritual discipline: "This is the meaning of all asceticism: to renew them again the heavenly order in Christ. "
Starting from a text Nietzsche, the text offers apart from theological or spiritual unintended interpretations of the " original sin " Also a psycho-historical interpretation. In Friedrich Nietzsche's 1874 erschienenem work " On the Use and Abuse of History for Life ," a man is compared with the animal in a parable. Nietzsche reminds here seemingly casually to the expulsion from paradise, when he writes: "People take it as if he intended a lost paradise to see the grazing herd or the child who has nothing to deny past and between the fences the past and the future in more than blissful blindness plays. "In his choice of words, Nietzsche presents the historical nature of man, ie, the time reference of his life implementation, implicit in a context to the expulsion from paradise. Assuming this trait of the people, the food can be understood from the tree of knowledge as an image for the particular human acquired skill to the knowledge of temporality and thus finitude. In the parable of the Fall, the serpent had predicted the people that he would not die, but could distinguish between good and evil, if he eats of the tree. Contrary to the announcement of God, however, and according to the announcement of the snake man does not die even after the food, but begins to realize. To go but at that knowledge, he had cause and effect, ie the temporality (and thus finite ) can see all life. The shame - symbolized in hiding from God - uses by man from his hitherto purely present condition of the consequences of their own - including his previous one - action is conscious. And also the fear of man - also compressed in hiding from the divine power - begins in the consciousness of its own temporality: Up to feed the tree of knowledge namely he did not know about the safety and inevitability of death. But now he is the only being, from the Edenic state of reduction torn to a present life of all living things dying secure the white - and thus also his own death. So, people are also the only creatures that have been expelled from paradise. He lives in " fear of God ". The capacity for knowledge but man can not give back, it is inherited from generation to generation: He is sentenced to knowledge, to becoming aware of what he does - and therefore in his human limitations and to " sin ". Although it undergoes a theologically intentional exaggeration in the concept of "original sin", the person experiences as herein in its limited power but the absolute differences to what constitutes the Abrahamic God's image. Each rebellion against its limit, by about his efforts to the realization of worldly relationships strengthened and increased his own authority appears against the background of the " original sin " not while redemption of his burden, but his progressive destruction to be. In this interpretation, the biblical story is at this again and again trying his luck on the parable about the nature of man, who falls in love with the God- like ability to knowledge and yet also fails. If man can be, namely understood erring so in its essence as " sinful ", this interpretation the understanding comes in the Reformed churches near to the extent that they relate to the concept of sin less on the individual incorrect action as to the nature of man. While soft the interpretations of the fall from the various Christian traditions sometimes very of this interpretation ( and each other). Since the described understanding of the Fall but also can show that the human self-image his insurmountable separation and distance from God is clear, this interpretation is a basic Christian understanding of the parable is in spite of their more mundane intention but again close. Just on the issue of separation or distance from God, however, the problem of the concept of God is clear that symbolized in the very different conceptions of the Abrahamic religions and denominations. The parable of the Fall is in this interpretation, even for the agnostic reader a central passage in the Bible is when it is a symbol of the impossibility of a broader human knowledge of God is just as clearly as the yearning for his existence.
The story of paradise and the Song of Songs
Cardinal Jean Daniélou writes about the importance of the Old Testament Song of Songs of love for the baptismal and Eucharistic catechesis of the Church Fathers: " The echoes of the Song of Songs [ in the catechesis of initiation sacraments ] are unmistakable: The flowers appear ' (2.12 EU), which oil is poured out ' ( 1.2 EU), the king brings me into his chambers ' (1.4 EU). The catechumens are on the threshold of the royal garden of paradise, where the wedding will take place. Already she blows at Paradise air. [ ... ] In the Eucharistic becoming one the Agape completed. The same thought recurs in Theodoret on another site; he relates the expression, wedding ' [ 3,11 EU] on the Eucharist and writes: When we eat the body of the bridegroom, and drink his blood, we go to a high temporal connection ( κοινωνία ) one with him. ' So The Song applicable in the entire catechetical tradition as a prefiguration of Christian initiation. "
In the Song of Songs is eight times the " ( Lust ) garden " or " garden nut " is mentioned (Song of Songs 4:12-16 EU; 5.1 EU; 6,2.11 EU). The nut is in Jewish mysticism symbol of the duality of Scripture: The outer shell represents the literal sense of Scripture and the inner fruit of the spiritual sense, analogous to the soul and body of man. The Song it is considered as a positive counterpart to the story of paradise and as " extreme compression, the core of the core " of the first creation story, as a melody of creation: " The Lost Walking the Queen Schulamith must be considered as being lost creation. The whole creation has been lost [ by the fall ] in exile "But when " the miracle word ' "breaks through, is:". The king takes the queen again, Solomon is Schulamith, the compound [ the Federal ] comes about God is the creation again. And that is the actual creation of man. "
The psychology has examined these passages and found their own interpretations (see: archetype of the tree ).
Quotes
" The whole history of humanity has been misled, got a break because of Adam's false concept of God. He wanted to be like God. I hope you never sin of Adam SAHT herein ... Had God not invited him? Adam was mistaken only in the model. He believed that God was an independent, autonomous, self-sufficient beings; and in order to be like him, he rebelled and showed disobedience. But when God revealed himself, wanted to prove God who he was, he appeared as love, tenderness, as outflow of himself, infinite pleasure in another. Affection, dependence. God showed himself obedient, obedient unto death. In faith to be God, Adam gave way completely away from him. He retired into solitude, and God was but community. "