Gn 3: Fall of Mankind

If elderly persons are alone or neglected, it is because we choose not to

care

In all these examples, evil comes into God's good creation because people like us choose evil. Evil cannot exist unless we

commit it

These are details that the biblical author uses to convey a deeper and more important truth. It is not so important that Adam and Eve ate the fruit. What is important is that they did not do what God wanted. Instead they did what they themselves

wanted

What selfish motive did Cain act out of in killing his brother?

God did not accept Cain and his offering.

The picture is not hopeless though. In Genesis 3:15, God first hints at who will enable us to overcome our inborn selfishness and choose goodness and love. The "offspring" who will be our Redeemer and who will break the power of evil over us will be the one named

Jesus

Some people may think that temptation always leads to sin, but in Genesis 4:7, the Bible teaches us that temptation can be

controlling

When we choose our own selfish ways and not God's ways, then we bring not love into the world, but

evil

Despite God's care, however, people continue in their selfish ways, choosing evil instead of good. Genesis 4 describes the first

family

If we accept the story in Genesis 3 as literally true, then evil is the result of listening to a talking snake and eating certain

fruit

For the Jews, this caused a problem. If God is good and if God created everything, then everything and everyone in the world should be

good

In chapter 1 of Genesis we learn that God created the world and, because God is a good and loving being, all things God created are

good

Our God is a loving, caring God and therefore wants us to be people who are both

loving and caring

Because we choose to cooperate with evil, our world is often a sad place. Beginning in Genesis 3:16, the Bible paints a picture of the kind of life that results from choosing our own selfish wishes. This inclination we have toward selfishness is called the original sin. It is found in all

people/things

God, however, never abandons creation and his people. Genesis 6 begins the story of how God would purify the world and give it another chance by means of a

sacrifice

Thus we see that it is not God's fault that people are starving. The fault lies with people like ourselves who have a great surplus of material goods and who refuse to

share

If certain races or types of people are hated and treated badly, it is because we choose not to love them and treat them with the respect due to all human beings. We, not God, decide to

sin

So evil does not come from God who is love, but from ourselves when we

sin

Chapter 3 of Genesis attempts to answer the question of evil and its origins. Read chapter 3. It tells the story of

the beginning of sin

In the book of Genesis, evil continues to flourish in the world until, as Genesis 6:5-6 states, it became so great that God

was sad he made people

We know, however, as well as the ancient Jews did, that this is not the case. There can be much evil in the world. The question on their minds, then, was "Where did

we go wrong?"