Editing Fall of man

{{Short description|Adam and Eve's loss of innocence in the Abrahamic religions}}
[[File:Temptation Adam Eva.jpg|thumb|right|300px|[[Adam (Bible)|Adam]], [[Eve]], and a female [[Serpents in the Bible|serpent]] at the entrance to [[Notre Dame Cathedral]] in [[Paris]], [[France]]. The depiction of the serpent as a mirror of Eve was common in earlier [[Christian iconography]], which portrayed women as the source of the [[original sin]] and responsible for the fall of man.<ref name="Kvam 1999"/>]]

The '''fall of man''', the '''fall of Adam''', or simply '''the Fall''', is a term used in [[Christianity]] to describe the transition of the first man and woman from a state of innocent obedience to [[God in Christianity|God]] to a state of guilty disobedience.<ref name="Kvam 1999">
* {{cite book |editor1-last=Kvam |editor1-first=Kristen E. |editor2-last=Schearing |editor2-first=Linda S. |editor3-last=Ziegler |editor3-first=Valarie H. |year=1999 |chapter=Hebrew Bible Accounts |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ux3bSDa2rHkC&pg=PA15 |title=Eve and Adam: Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Readings on Genesis and Gender |location=[[Bloomington, Indiana]] |publisher=[[Indiana University Press]] |pages=15–40 |doi=10.2307/j.ctt2050vqm.5 |isbn=9780253212719 |jstor=j.ctt2050vqm.5}}
*{{cite book |editor1-last=Kvam |editor1-first=Kristen E. |editor2-last=Schearing |editor2-first=Linda S. |editor3-last=Ziegler |editor3-first=Valarie H. |year=1999 |chapter=Jewish Postbiblical Interpretations (200 BCE–200 CE) |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ux3bSDa2rHkC&pg=PA41 |title=Eve and Adam: Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Readings on Genesis and Gender |location=[[Bloomington, Indiana]] |publisher=[[Indiana University Press]] |pages=41–68 |doi=10.2307/j.ctt2050vqm.6 |isbn=9780253212719 |jstor=j.ctt2050vqm.6}}
*{{cite book |editor1-last=Kvam |editor1-first=Kristen E. |editor2-last=Schearing |editor2-first=Linda S. |editor3-last=Ziegler |editor3-first=Valarie H. |year=1999 |chapter=Early Christian Interpretations (50–450 CE) |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ux3bSDa2rHkC&pg=PA108 |title=Eve and Adam: Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Readings on Genesis and Gender |location=[[Bloomington, Indiana]] |publisher=[[Indiana University Press]] |pages=108–155 |doi=10.2307/j.ctt2050vqm.8 |isbn=9780253212719 |jstor=j.ctt2050vqm.8}}
*{{cite book |editor1-last=Kvam |editor1-first=Kristen E. |editor2-last=Schearing |editor2-first=Linda S. |editor3-last=Ziegler |editor3-first=Valarie H. |year=1999 |chapter=Medieval Readings: Muslim, Jewish, and Christian (600–1500 CE) |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ux3bSDa2rHkC&pg=PA156 |title=Eve and Adam: Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Readings on Genesis and Gender |location=[[Bloomington, Indiana]] |publisher=[[Indiana University Press]] |pages=156–248 |doi=10.2307/j.ctt2050vqm.9 |isbn=9780253212719 |jstor=j.ctt2050vqm.9}}</ref> The doctrine of the Fall comes from a [[biblical interpretation]] of [[Book of Genesis|Genesis]], chapters 1–3.<ref name="Kvam 1999"/> At first, [[Adam and Eve]] lived with God in the [[Garden of Eden]], but the [[Serpents in the Bible|serpent]] tempted them into [[Taboo#In religion and mythology|eating]] the [[Forbidden fruit|fruit]] from the [[tree of knowledge of good and evil]], which God had forbidden.<ref name="Kvam 1999"/> After doing so, they became ashamed of their nakedness and God expelled them from the Garden to prevent them from eating the fruit of the [[Tree of life (biblical)|tree of life]] and becoming [[Immortality|immortal]].<ref name="Kvam 1999"/>

In [[Nicene Christianity|mainstream (Nicene) Christianity]], the doctrine of the Fall is closely related to that of [[original sin]] or [[ancestral sin]].<ref name="Tuling 2020">{{cite book |author-last=Tuling |author-first=Kari H. |year=2020 |chapter=PART 1: Is God the Creator and Source of All Being—Including Evil? |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EzfsDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA3 |editor-last=Tuling |editor-first=Kari H. |title=Thinking about God: Jewish Views |location=[[Lincoln, Nebraska|Lincoln]] and [[Philadelphia]] |publisher=[[University of Nebraska Press]]/[[Jewish Publication Society]] |series=JPS Essential Judaism Series |pages=3–64 |doi=10.2307/j.ctv13796z1.5 |isbn=978-0-8276-1848-0 |s2cid=241611417 |lccn=2019042781}}</ref> Nicene Christians believe that the Fall brought sin into the world, corrupting the entire natural world, including [[human nature]], causing all humans to be born into original sin, a state from which they cannot attain [[Eternal life (Christianity)|eternal life]] without the [[Grace (Christianity)|grace of God]]. The [[Eastern Orthodox Church]] accepts the concept of the Fall but rejects the idea that the guilt of original sin is passed down through generations, based in part on the passage Ezekiel 18:20,<ref>{{bibleverse|Ezekiel|18:20}}</ref> which says a son is not guilty of the sins of his father.

[[Reformed Protestants]] believe that [[Jesus]] gave his life as a [[Atonement (satisfaction view)|sacrifice]] for the [[Unconditional election|elect]], that they may be [[Salvation in Christianity|redeemed]] from their sin. [[Lapsarianism]], understanding the [[logical order of God's decrees]] in relation to the Fall, is divided into two categories: [[supralapsarian]] (prelapsarian, pre-lapsarian or antelapsarian, before the Fall) and [[infralapsarian]] (sublapsarian or postlapsarian, after the Fall).

The narrative of the Garden of Eden and the fall of humanity constitute a [[Mythology|mythological tradition]] shared by all the [[Abrahamic religions]],<ref name="Kvam 1999"/><ref name="Leeming 2003">{{cite journal |author-last=Leeming |author-first=David A. |author-link=David Adams Leeming |date=June 2003 |title=Religion and Sexuality: The Perversion of a Natural Marriage |editor-last=Carey |editor-first=Lindsay B. |journal=[[Journal of Religion and Health]] |publisher=[[Springer Verlag]] |volume=42 |issue=2 |pages=101–109 |doi=10.1023/A:1023621612061 |issn=1573-6571 |jstor=27511667 |s2cid=38974409}}</ref><ref name="Awn 1983">{{cite book |author-last=Awn |author-first=Peter J. |year=1983 |chapter=Mythic Biography |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jt-mDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA18 |title=Satan's Tragedy and Redemption: Iblīs in Sufi Psychology |location=[[Leiden]] and [[Boston]] |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |series=Numen Book Series |volume=44 |pages=18–56 |doi=10.1163/9789004378636_003 |isbn=978-90-04-37863-6 |issn=0169-8834}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |first=Muhammad |last=Mahmoud |title=The Creation Story in 'Sūrat Al-Baqara", with Special Reference to Al-Ṭabarī's Material: An Analysis |journal=Journal of Arabic Literature |volume=26 |issue=1/2 |year=1995 |pages=201–214 |doi=10.1163/157006495X00175 |jstor=4183374 |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/4183374|url-access=subscription }}</ref> with a presentation more or less symbolic of [[Judeo-Christian]] morals and religious beliefs,<ref name="Kvam 1999"/><ref name="Leeming 2003"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01129a.htm|title=Catholic Encyclopedia: Adam|website=www.newadvent.org}}</ref> which had an overwhelming impact on [[Religion and sexuality#Abrahamic religions|human sexuality]], [[Gender role#Religion|gender roles]], and [[Sex differences in humans#Religion|sex differences]] both in the [[Western world|Western]] and [[Muslim world|Islamic]] civilizations.<ref name="Kvam 1999"/> Unlike Christianity, the other major Abrahamic religions, [[Judaism]] and [[Islam]], do not have a concept of "original sin", and instead have developed varying other interpretations of the Eden narrative.<ref name="Kvam 1999"/><ref name="Tuling 2020"/><ref name="Awn 1983"/><ref name="JVL">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Kolatch |first=Alfred J. |author-link=Alfred J. Kolatch |year=2021 |orig-year=1989 |title=Issues in Jewish Ethics: Judaism's Rejection of Original Sin |url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/judaism-s-rejection-of-original-sin |encyclopedia=[[Jewish Virtual Library]] |publisher=American–Israeli Cooperative Enterprise (AICE) |access-date=10 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171009013353/https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/judaism-s-rejection-of-original-sin |archive-date=9 October 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Jarrar 2017">{{cite book |author-last=Jarrar |author-first=Maher |year=2017 |chapter=Strategies for Paradise: Paradise Virgins and Utopia |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5_MoDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA271 |editor1-last=Günther |editor1-first=Sebastian |editor2-last=Lawson |editor2-first=Todd |title=Roads to Paradise: Eschatology and Concepts of the Hereafter in Islam |location=[[Leiden]] and [[Boston]] |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |pages=271–294 |series=Islamic History and Civilization |volume=136 |doi=10.1163/9789004333154_013 |isbn=978-90-04-33315-4 |issn=0929-2403 |lccn=2016047258}}</ref><ref name="EoQ">{{cite encyclopedia |author-last=Johns |author-first=Anthony Hearle |year=2006 |title=Fall of Man |editor-last=McAuliffe |editor-first=Jane Dammen |editor-link=Jane Dammen McAuliffe |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān]] |volume=II |location=[[Leiden]] |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |doi=10.1163/1875-3922_q3_EQSIM_00147 |isbn=90-04-14743-8}}</ref>

==Genesis 3==
{{Main|Biblical cosmology|Genesis creation narrative}}
{{Further|Adam and Eve|Tree of the knowledge of good and evil}}

The doctrine of the fall of man is extrapolated from the traditional [[Christian doctrine|Christian]] [[exegesis]] of Genesis 3.<ref>{{Bibleverse|Genesis|3|HE}}</ref><ref name="Kvam 1999"/> According to the [[Genesis creation narrative|biblical narrative]], God created Adam and Eve, the first man and woman in the [[chronology of the Bible]].<ref name="Kvam 1999"/> God placed them in the Garden of Eden and forbade them to eat fruit from the [[tree of the knowledge of good and evil]].<ref name="Kvam 1999"/> The [[Serpents in the Bible|serpent]] [[Temptation|tempted]] Eve to eat fruit from the forbidden tree, which she shared with Adam, and they immediately became [[Shame|ashamed]] of their [[Nudity|nakedness]].<ref name="Kvam 1999"/> Subsequently, God banished Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, condemned Adam to work in order to get what he needed to live and condemned Eve to give birth in pain, and placed [[cherubim]] to guard the entrance, so that Adam and Eve would never eat from the "tree of life".

The [[Book of Jubilees]], an [[Jewish apocrypha|apocryphal Jewish work]] written during the [[Second Temple period]], gives time frames for the events that led to the fall of man by stating that the serpent convinced Eve to eat the fruit on the 17th day, of the 2nd month, in the 8th year after Adam's creation (3:17). It also states that they were removed from the Garden on the new moon of the 4th month of that year (3:33).

==Traditional interpretations==

===Immortality===
{{Main|Christian mythology|Jewish mythology}}

[[Exegesis#Christianity|Christian exegetes]] of Genesis 2:17<ref>{{bibleverse|Genesis|2:17|NRSV}}</ref> ("for in the day that you eat of it you shall die", also known as the "commandment to life"), have applied the [[day-year principle]] to explain how Adam died within a day. Psalms 90:4,<ref>{{bibleverse|Psalms|90:4}}</ref> 2 Peter 3:8,<ref>{{bibleverse|2 Peter|3:8}}</ref> and Jubilees 4:29–31<ref>{{bibleverse|Jubilees|4:29–31}}</ref> explain that, to [[God in Christianity|God]], one day is equivalent to a thousand years and thus Adam died within that same "day".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://wesley.nnu.edu/biblical_studies/noncanon/ot/pseudo/jubilee.htm |title=The Book of Jubilees |access-date=2009-03-04 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090224002549/http://wesley.nnu.edu/biblical_studies/noncanon/ot/pseudo/jubilee.htm |archive-date=2009-02-24 }} Online translation of Jubilees</ref> The Greek [[Septuagint]], on the other hand, has "day" translated into the Greek word for a twenty-four-hour period ({{langx|grc|ἡμέρα|hēméra|label=none}}).

According to [[Meredith Kline]], the death threatened in Genesis 2:17 is "not physical death but eternal perdition (later called 'second death')."<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Kline |first=Meredith G. |title=Genesis: A New Commentary |publisher=Hendrickson Publishers Marketing |year=2016 |isbn=9781619708525 |location=Peabody, Massachusetts}}</ref>{{Rp|page=20}} This is because, in [[covenant theology]], the "curse" aspect of the commandment to life is balanced by its blessing, which is "glorified eternal life", symbolised by the tree of life ({{Bibleverse|Genesis|2:9|KJV}}) and the [[Sabbath]] ({{Bibleverse|Genesis|2:2|KJV}}).<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=|pages=19–20}}

According to the Genesis narrative, during the [[antediluvian]] age, human longevity approached a [[millennium]], such as the case of [[Adam]] who lived 930 years. Thus, to "die" has been interpreted as to become mortal.{{sfn|Kugel|1999|pp=50–51}} However, the grammar does not support this reading, nor does the narrative: Adam and Eve are expelled from the Garden lest they eat of the second tree, the [[Tree of life (biblical)|tree of life]], and gain immortality.<ref>{{Bibleverse|Genesis|3:22}}</ref><ref>[[Harry Orlinsky]]'s Notes to the NJPS Torah</ref>

===Original sin===
{{Main|Original sin}}
{{Further|Salvation in Christianity|Theodicy and the Bible#The Fall and freedom of the will}}
[[File:Michelangelo Sündenfall.jpg|thumb|300px|''The Fall and Expulsion from Paradise'', fresco painted by [[Michelangelo]] in the [[Sistine Chapel]], [[Vatican City]] (1510–1564)|left]]

==== Roman Catholicism ====
The [[Catechism of the Catholic Church]] says: "The account of the fall in ''Genesis'' 3 uses figurative language, but affirms [...] that the whole of human history is marked by the original fault freely committed by our first parents."<ref>Catechism of the Catholic Church: 390</ref> [[St Bede]] and others, especially [[Thomas Aquinas]], said that the fall of Adam and Eve brought "four wounds" to human nature.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Summa_Theologiae/First_Part_of_the_Second_Part/Question_85#Art._3_-_Whether_weakness,_ignorance,_malice_and_concupiscence_are_suitably_reckoned_as_the_wounds_of_nature_consequent_upon_sin?|title=Summa Theologiae/First Part of the Second Part/Question 85 - Wikisource, the free online library|website=en.wikisource.org}}</ref> They are original sin (lack of sanctifying grace and original justice), [[concupiscence]] (the soul's passions are no longer ordered perfectly to the soul's intellect), physical frailty and death, and darkened intellect and ignorance. These negated or diminished the gifts of God to Adam and Eve of original justice or sanctifying grace, integrity, immortality and infused knowledge. This first sin was "transmitted" by Adam and Eve to all of their descendants as original sin, causing humans to be "subject to ignorance, suffering and the dominion of death, and inclined to sin."<ref>{{Cite CCC|2.1|405}}</ref>

In the light of modern scripture scholarship, the future [[Pope Benedict XVI]] stated in 1986 that: "In the Genesis story [...] sin is not spoken of in general as an abstract possibility but as a deed, as the sin of a particular person, Adam, who stands at the origin of humankind and with whom the history of sin begins. The account tells us that sin begets sin, and that therefore all the sins of history are interlinked. Theology refers to this state of affairs by the certainly misleading and imprecise term 'original sin.'"<ref>{{Cite book|last=Ratzinger|first=Joseph|title=In the Beginning|publisher=Eerdmans|year=1986|isbn=978-0802841063|pages=72}}</ref> Although the state of corruption, inherited by humans after the primaeval event of original sin, is clearly called guilt or sin, it is understood as a sin acquired by the unity of all humans in Adam rather than a personal responsibility of humanity. In the Catechism of the Catholic Church, even children partake in the effects of the sin of Adam, but not in the responsibility of original sin, as sin is always a personal act.<ref>''Catechism of the Catholic Church'', para. 404, 405.</ref> [[Baptism]] is considered to erase original sin, though the effects on human nature remain, and for this reason, the Catholic Church baptizes even infants who have not committed any personal sin.<ref>''Catechism of the Catholic Church'', para. 405.</ref>

==== Protestantism ====
{{Main|Augustinian soteriology|Original sin|Protestant theology}}
{{Further|Predestination in Calvinism|Sola fide|Sola gratia|Total depravity}}

In [[Covenant theology]], the first man, [[Adam]], is said to have failed to fulfill the commandment to life and the [[Covenant of Works]], which is summarized in {{Bibleverse|Genesis|2:15-17|KJV}}. In verse 15, humanity is to "dress" and "keep" the [[Garden of Eden]] (KJV), or to "work it" and "take care of it" ([[New International Version|NIV]]). In verse 17, God gives the "focal probationary proscription", that Adam must not eat of the [[tree of the knowledge of good and evil]], and a curse is attached if the proscription is transgressed, which is spiritual death.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=|pages=19–20}} The Covenant required 'perfect and personal obedience',<ref>Westminster Confession, VII.2; https://www.blueletterbible.org/study/ccc/westminster/Of_Gods_Covenant_With_Man.cfm.</ref> but Adam freely and willfully transgressed the commandment by accepting [[Satan]]'s lie in {{Bibleverse|Genesis|3:4-5|KJV}}, demonstrating pride and a rejection of [[Creationism|God's authority as Creator]], preferring his own will to God's, leading to a corruption of his whole nature, which extended to his progeny, as is described in Article 14 of the [[Belgic Confession]].<blockquote>We believe that God created man out of the dust of the earth, and made and formed him after his own image and likeness, good, righteous, and holy, capable in all things to will, agreeably to the will of God. But being in honour, he understood it not, neither knew his excellency, but wilfully subjected himself to sin, and consequently to death, and the curse, giving ear to the words of the devil. For the commandment of life, which he had received, he transgressed: and by sin separated himself from God, who was his true life, having corrupted his whole nature; whereby he made himself liable to corporal and spiritual death. And being thus become wicked, perverse, and corrupt in all his ways, he hath lost all his excellent gifts, which he had received from God, and only retained a few remains thereof, which, however, are sufficient to leave man without excuse; for all the light which is in us is changed into darkness, as the scriptures teach us, saying: ''The light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not:'' {{bracket|{{Bibleverse|John|1:5|KJV}}}} where St. John calleth men darkness.<ref name=":1">{{cite wikisource |title=The Belgic Confession |wslink=The Constitution of the Reformed Dutch Church of North America/The Confession of Faith |last=de Bres |first=Guido |date=1559 |publisher= |location= |page= |pages= |scan=}}</ref></blockquote>
[[File:Cole Thomas Expulsion from the Garden of Eden 1828.jpg|thumb|275x275px|''Expulsion from the Garden of Eden'', 1828 [[Oil painting|oil-on-canvas]] painting by [[Thomas Cole]] (1801–1848), now in the collection of the [[Museum of Fine Arts, Boston|Museum of Fine Arts]] in [[Boston]], United States.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xkFRDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA44 |page=44 |title=American Painting of the Nineteenth Century: Realism, Idealism, and the American Experience  |author=Barbara Novak |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2007|isbn=978-0-19-530942-3 }}</ref>]]
By the inverse to the concept of [[imputed righteousness]], Adam, as the [[Federal headship|federal head]] of humanity, brought condemnation and death to all by his violation of the commandment to life. Kline justifies this interpretation by referencing {{Bibleverse|Romans|5:12-19|KJV}}, in which it says "For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ." Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous."<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=21|pages=}} In saying that, as a result of the Fall, man has become "wicked, perverse, and corrupt in all his ways," the Confession expresses the doctrine of [[total depravity]], which means that man is completely helpless and unable to rescue himself from sin, and "cannot inherit the kingdom of God" ({{Bibleverse|1 Corinthians|15:50|KJV}}) but must be rescued by the second Adam, Jesus Christ, who is from heaven, as it says in {{Bibleverse|1 Corinthians|15:22|KJV}}, "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive."<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=|pages=9–10}}

Indeed, {{Bibleverse|Genesis|3:15|KJV}} ("And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel"), known as the [[protevangelium]], is interpreted as a gracious declaration of the [[Covenant of Grace]], in which God effects reconciliation with humanity and vanquishes the devil through [[Atonement in Christianity|Christ's atonement]], which delivers from [[Sin in Christianity|sin]].<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=|pages=22–23}} This covenant is symbolically sealed when it is said that God "clothed" Adam and Eve's nakedness, due to which they were ashamed.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=24|pages=}} However, man was defiled and had to be expelled from the [[Garden of Eden]], with the earth "cursed" for his sake, in an overthrow of man's previous "dominion" over the earth which was gifted to him in {{Bibleverse|Genesis|1:26|KJV}}.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=|pages=23–24}} In {{Bibleverse|Genesis|3:24|KJV}}, "cherubim" and "a flaming sword" guard the [[Tree of life (biblical)|tree of life]], access to which is only restored when Christ "vicariously suffered the sword of judgment on the tree of death and so reopened the way to the tree of life."<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=24|pages=}}

==== Eastern Orthodoxy ====
{{Main|Eastern Orthodox theology}}

[[Eastern Orthodox Christianity]] rejects the idea that the guilt of original sin is passed down through generations. It bases its teaching in part on Ezekiel 18:20,<ref>{{bibleverse|Ezekiel|18:20|NRSV}}</ref> which says a son is not guilty of the sins of his father. The Church teaches that, in addition to their conscience and tendency to do good, men and women are born with a tendency to sin due to the fallen condition of the world. It follows [[Maximus the Confessor]] and others in characterising the change in human nature as the introduction of a "deliberative will" ({{lang|grc|θέλημα γνωμικόν}}) in opposition to the "natural will" ({{lang|grc|θέλημα φυσικόν}}) created by God which tends toward the good. Thus, according to [[Paul the Apostle]] in his [[epistle to the Romans]], non-Christians can still act according to their conscience.

Eastern Orthodoxy believes that, while everyone bears the consequences of the first sin (that is, death), only Adam and Eve are guilty of that sin.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Original Sin - Questions & Answers |url=https://www.oca.org/questions/teaching/original-sin |access-date=2023-05-11 |website=www.oca.org}}</ref> Adam's sin is not comprehended only as disobedience to God's commandment, but as a change in man's hierarchy of values from [[theocentricism]] to [[anthropocentrism]], driven by the object of his lust, outside of God, in this case the tree which was seen to be "good for food", and something "to be desired" (see also [[Divinization (Christian)|theosis]], seeking union with God).<ref>{{Cite web |title=An Online Orthodox Catechism » Catechism » OrthodoxEurope.org |url=http://orthodoxeurope.org/page/10/1.aspx |access-date=2023-05-11 |website=orthodoxeurope.org}}</ref>

===Meta-historical fall===
{{Main|Meta-historical fall}}

The biblical fall of man is also understood by some [[Christian theology|Christian theologians]], especially those belonging to the [[Eastern Orthodoxy|Eastern Orthodox tradition]], as a reality outside of empirical history that affects the entire history of the universe. This concept of a [[meta-historical fall]] (also called metaphysical, supramundane, or atemporal) has been most recently expounded by the Eastern Orthodox theologians [[David Bentley Hart]], [[John Behr]], and [[Sergei Bulgakov]], but it has roots in the writings of several [[early Church Fathers]], especially [[Origen]] and [[Maximus the Confessor]].<ref name="Hart 2018"/> Bulgakov writes in his 1939 book ''The Bride of the Lamb'':

<blockquote>Empirical history begins precisely with the fall, which is its starting premise. But this beginning of history lies beyond empirical being and cannot be included in its chronology. ...[With the] narrative in Genesis 3, ...an event is described that lies beyond our history, although at its boundary. Being connected with our history, this event inwardly permeates it.<ref>{{cite book |author-last=Bulgakov |author-first=Sergei |author-link=Sergei Bulgakov |year=2001 |origyear=1939 |chapter=Evil |title=The Bride of the Lamb |translator-last=Jakim |translator-first=Boris |location=[[Grand Rapids, Michigan]] |publisher=[[Wm. B. Eerdmans]] |page=170 |isbn=9780802839152}}</ref></blockquote>

American philosopher and Eastern Orthodox theologian [[David Bentley Hart]] has written about the concept of an atemporal fall in his 2005 book ''[[The Doors of the Sea]]'', as well as in his 2018 essay ''The Devil's March: Creatio ex nihilo, the Problem of Evil, and a Few Dostoyevskian Meditations''.<ref name="Hart 2018">{{cite book |author-last=Hart |author-first=David Bentley |author-link=David Bentley Hart |year=2018 |chapter=The Devil's March: Creatio ex nihilo, the Problem of Evil, and a Few Dostoyevskian Meditations |editor1-last=Anderson |editor1-first=Gary A. |editor2-last=Bockmuehl |editor2-first=Markus |editor2-link=Markus Bockmuehl |title=Creation ex nihilo: Origins, Development, Contemporary Challenges |location=[[Notre Dame, Indiana]] |publisher=[[University of Notre Dame Press]] |pages=297–318 |doi=10.2307/j.ctvpg86fq.17 |isbn=9780268102562}}</ref>

===Subordination===
In the subordination exegesis of the Fall, the natural consequences of sin entering the human race were prophesied by God to Eve in Genesis 3:16: the husband "will rule over you". This interpretation is reinforced by comments in the [[First Epistle to Timothy]], where the author gives a rationale for directing that a woman (NIV: possibly "wife"):
{{blockquote|...should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man [NIV: possibly "husband"]; she must be quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner.|source=1 Timothy 2:11–14<ref>{{Bibleverse|1 Timothy|2:11–14}}</ref>}}

Therefore, some interpretations of these passages from Genesis 3 and 1 Timothy 2 have developed a view that women are considered as bearers of Eve's guilt and that the woman's conduct in the fall is the primary reason for her universal, timeless, subordinate relationship to the man.<ref name=Kroeger>Kroeger, Richard C. and Catherine C. Kroeger. ''I suffer not a woman: rethinking 1&nbsp;Timothy 2:11–15 in light of ancient evidence''. Baker Book House, 1992. {{ISBN|0-8010-5250-5}}</ref>{{rp|21}}

Alternatively, Richard and [[Catherine Clark Kroeger]] argue that "there is a serious theological contradiction in telling a woman that when she comes to faith in Christ, her personal sins are forgiven but she must continue to be punished for the sin of Eve." They maintain that judgmental comments against women in reference to Eve are a "dangerous interpretation, in terms both of biblical theology and of the call to Christian commitment". They reason that "if the Apostle Paul was forgiven for what he did ignorantly in unbelief", including persecuting and murdering Christians, "and thereafter was given a ministry, why would the same forgiveness and ministry be denied women" (for the sins of their foremother, Eve). Addressing that, the Kroegers conclude that Paul was referring to the promise of Genesis 3:15<ref>{{Bibleverse|Genesis|3:15}}</ref> that through the defeat of Satan on the cross of Jesus Christ, the woman's child (Jesus) would crush the serpent's head, but the serpent would only bruise the heel of her child.<ref name=Kroeger/>{{rp|144}}

==Other traditions==
===Gnosticism===
{{Main|Gnosticism}}

{{Further|Gnostic texts}}
[[File:Lion-faced deity.jpg|thumb|right|150px|A lion-faced, [[Snakes in mythology|serpentine]] [[deity]] found on a Gnostic gem in [[Bernard de Montfaucon]]'s ''L'antiquité expliquée et représentée en figures'' may be a depiction of the Demiurge.]]

[[Gnosticism]] originated in the late 1st century CE in non-rabbinical [[Judaism|Jewish]] and [[Early Christianity|early Christian]] sects.<ref name="Magris 2005">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Magris |first=Aldo |year=2005 |title=Gnosticism: Gnosticism from its origins to the Middle Ages (further considerations) |editor-last=Jones |editor-first=Lindsay |encyclopedia=Macmillan Encyclopedia of Religion |edition=2nd |location=[[New York City|New York]] |publisher=[[Macmillan Inc.]] |pages=3515–3516 |isbn=978-0028657332 |oclc=56057973}}</ref> In the [[History of early Christianity|formation of Christianity]], various [[sectarian]] groups, labeled "gnostics" by their opponents, emphasised spiritual knowledge (''[[gnosis]]'') of the divine spark within, over [[faith]] (''pistis'') in the teachings and traditions of the various communities of Christians.<ref name="May 2008" /><ref name="Ehrman 2005" /><ref name="Brakke 2010">{{cite book |last=Brakke |first=David |year=2010 |title=The Gnostics: Myth, Ritual, and Diversity in Early Christianity |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3EQ1XwHg0o0C&pg=PA18 |location=[[Cambridge, Massachusetts]] |publisher=[[Harvard University Press]] |pages=18–51 |isbn=9780674066038 |jstor=j.ctvjnrvhh.6 |s2cid=169308502}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Layton |first=Bentley |author-link=Bentley Layton |year=1999 |chapter=Prolegomena to the Study of Ancient Gnosticism |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GC4vwTXJSaMC&pg=PA106 |editor-last=Ferguson |editor-first=Everett |editor-link=Everett Ferguson |title=Doctrinal Diversity: Varieties of Early Christianity |location=[[New York City|New York]] and [[London]] |publisher=Garland Publishing, Inc |series=Recent Studies in Early Christianity: A Collection of Scholarly Essays |pages=106–123 |isbn=0-8153-3071-5}}</ref> Gnosticism presents a distinction between the [[Monad (Gnosticism)|highest, unknowable God]], and the [[Demiurge#Gnosticism|Demiurge]], "creator" of the material universe.<ref name="Kvam 1999" /><ref name="May 2008" /><ref name="Ehrman 2005" /><ref name="Brakke 2010" /> The Gnostics considered the most [[Essential property|essential]] part of the process of [[salvation]] to be this personal knowledge, in contrast to faith as an outlook in their [[Perspective (cognitive)|worldview]] along with faith in the [[Great Church|ecclesiastical authority]].<ref name="Kvam 1999" /><ref name="May 2008" /><ref name="Ehrman 2005" /><ref name="Brakke 2010" />

In Gnosticism, the [[Serpent (Bible)|biblical serpent]] in the Garden of Eden was praised and thanked for bringing knowledge (''gnosis'') to Adam and Eve and thereby freeing them from the [[Dystheism|malevolent]] Demiurge's control.<ref name="Kvam 1999" /> Gnostic Christian doctrines rely on a [[dualistic cosmology]] that implies the eternal conflict between good and evil, and a conception of the serpent as the [[Salvation|liberating savior]] and bestower of knowledge to humankind opposed to the Demiurge or [[creator god]], identified with the [[Yahweh|Hebrew God]] of the [[Old Testament]].<ref name="Kvam 1999" /><ref name="Ehrman 2005">{{cite book |last=Ehrman |first=Bart D. |author-link=Bart D. Ehrman |year=2005 |orig-year=2003 |title=Lost Christianities: The Battles for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew |chapter=Christians "In The Know": The Worlds of Early Christian Gnosticism |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=URdACxKubDIC&pg=PA113 |location=[[Oxford]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |pages=113–134 |doi=10.1017/s0009640700110273 |isbn=978-0-19-518249-1 |lccn=2003053097 |s2cid=152458823}}</ref> Gnostic Christians considered the Hebrew God of the Old Testament as the evil, [[false god]] and creator of the material universe, and the [[Monad (Gnosticism)|Unknown God]] of the [[Gospel]], the father of [[Jesus Christ]] and creator of the spiritual world, as the true, good God.<ref name="Kvam 1999" /><ref name="Ehrman 2005" /><ref name="May 2008">{{cite book |author-last=May |author-first=Gerhard |year=2008 |chapter=Part V: The Shaping of Christian Theology – Monotheism and creation |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6UTfmw_zStsC&pg=PA434 |editor1-last=Mitchell |editor1-first=Margaret M. |editor1-link=Margaret M. Mitchell |editor2-last=Young |editor2-first=Frances M. |editor2-link=Frances Young |title=The Cambridge History of Christianity, Volume 1: Origins to Constantine |location=[[Cambridge]] |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |pages=434–451, 452–456 |doi=10.1017/CHOL9780521812399.026 |isbn=9781139054836}}</ref><ref name="EB1911">{{cite EB1911|wstitle=Valentinus and the Valentinians|author=Bousset, Wilhelm|author-link=Wilhelm Bousset|volume=27|pages=852-857|short=x}}</ref> In the [[Archontics|Archontic]], [[Sethianism|Sethian]], and [[Ophites|Ophite]] systems, [[Yaldabaoth]] (Yahweh) is regarded as the malevolent Demiurge and false god of the Old Testament who generated the material universe and keeps the souls trapped in physical bodies, imprisoned in the world full of pain and suffering that he [[Creationism|created]].<ref name="Litwa 2016">{{cite book |author-last=Litwa |author-first=M. David |year=2016 |orig-date=2015 |chapter=Part I: The Self-deifying Rebel – “I Am God and There is No Other!”: The Boast of Yaldabaoth |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HwcBDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA47 |title=Desiring Divinity: Self-deification in Early Jewish and Christian Mythmaking |location=[[Oxford]] and [[New York City|New York]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |pages=47–65 |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190467166.003.0004 |isbn=9780199967728 |lccn=2015051032 |oclc=966607824}}</ref><ref name="Fischer-Mueller 1990">{{cite journal |last=Fischer-Mueller |first=E. Aydeet |date=January 1990 |title=Yaldabaoth: The Gnostic Female Principle in Its Fallenness |journal=[[Novum Testamentum]] |volume=32 |issue=1 |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |location=[[Leiden]] and [[Boston]] |pages=79–95 |doi=10.1163/156853690X00205 |eissn=1568-5365 |issn=0048-1009 |jstor=1560677}}</ref><ref name="Arendzen4">{{Catholic Encyclopedia |wstitle=Demiurge |volume=4 |first=John Peter |last=Arendzen}}</ref>

However, not all Gnostic movements regarded the creator of the material universe as inherently evil or malevolent.<ref name="EB1911" /><ref name="Logan 2002">{{cite book |author-last=Logan |author-first=Alastair H. B. |year=2002 |orig-date=2000 |chapter=Part IX: Internal Challenges – Gnosticism |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6fyCAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA923 |editor-last=Esler |editor-first=Philip F. |title=The Early Christian World |location=[[New York City|New York]] and [[London]] |publisher=[[Routledge]] |edition=1st |series=Routledge Worlds |pages=923–925 |isbn=9781032199344}}</ref> For instance, [[Valentinianism|Valentinians]] believed that the Demiurge is merely an ignorant and incompetent creator, trying to fashion the world as good as he can, but lacking the proper power to maintain its goodness.<ref name="EB1911" /><ref name="Logan 2002" /> All Gnostics were regarded as [[Heresy in Christianity|heretics]] by the [[Proto-orthodox Christianity|proto-orthodox]] [[Early Church Fathers]].<ref name="Kvam 1999" /><ref name="Ehrman 2005" /><ref name="May 2008" /><ref name="Brakke 2010" />

===Islam===
{{Main|Adam and Eve in Islam}}

{{Further|Islamic views on sin}}
[[File:Expulsion from 'the Garden'.jpg|thumb|right|[[Persian miniature]] depicting the expulsion of Adam and Eve, observed by the [[Angels in Islam|angel]] [[Riḍwan]], the Serpent, the Peacock, and [[Iblis|Iblīs]].]]

In [[Islam]], it is believed that [[Adam in Islam|Adam]] ({{Transliteration|ar|Ādam}}) and [[Eve in Islam|Eve]] ({{Transliteration|ar|Ḥawwā}}) were misled by [[Iblis|Iblīs]] (otherwise referred to as {{Transliteration|ar|[[Shaitan|al-Shayṭān]]}}, {{lit|the Devil}}),<ref name="Awn 1983" /><ref name="EI2">{{cite encyclopedia |author1-last=Gardet |author1-first=Louis |author2-last=Wensinck |author2-first=A. J. |year=1971 |title=Iblīs |editor1-last=Bosworth |editor1-first=C. E. |editor1-link=Clifford Edmund Bosworth |editor2-last=van Donzel |editor2-first=E. J. |editor2-link=Emeri Johannes van Donzel |editor3-last=Heinrichs |editor3-first=W. P. |editor3-link=Wolfhart Heinrichs |editor4-last=Lewis |editor4-first=B. |editor5-last=Pellat |editor5-first=Ch. |editor5-link=Charles Pellat |editor6-last=Schacht |editor6-first=J. |editor6-link=Joseph Schacht |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopaedia of Islam#2nd edition, EI2|Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition]] |location=[[Leiden]] |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |volume=3 |doi=10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_3021 |isbn=978-90-04-16121-4}}</ref> who tempted them with the promise of [[immortality]] and a kingdom that never decays,<ref name="Awn 1983" /><ref>{{qref|20|120|b=y}}</ref> saying: "Your Lord has forbidden this tree to you only to prevent you from becoming angels or immortals.".<ref>{{qref|7|20|b=y}}</ref> Adam and Eve had been previously warned of Shayṭān's scheming against them,<ref name="Awn 1983" /><ref>{{qref|20|117|b=y}}</ref> and had been commanded by [[God in Islam|God]] to avoid the [[Tree of the knowledge of good and evil|tree of immortality]] that Shayṭān referred to.<ref name="Awn 1983" /><ref name="EI2" /> Although God had reminded them that there was enough provision for them "Here it is guaranteed that you will never go hungry or unclothed, nor will you ˹ever˺ suffer from thirst or ˹the sun’s˺ heat.",<ref>{{qref|20|118-119|b=y}}</ref> they ultimately gave in to Shayṭān's temptation and partook of the tree anyway.<ref name="Awn 1983" /> Following this [[Islamic views on sin|sin]], "their nakedness was exposed to them, prompting them to cover themselves with leaves from Paradise.",<ref>{{qref|20|121|b=y}}</ref> and were subsequently sent down from [[Jannah|Paradise]] ({{Transliteration|ar|Jannah}}) onto the Earth with "enmity one to another".<ref name="Awn 1983" /> However, God also gave them the assurance that "when guidance comes to you from Me, whoever follows My guidance will neither go astray ˹in this life˺ nor suffer ˹in the next˺."<ref>{{qref|20|123|b=y}}</ref>

[[Ulama|Muslim scholars]] can be divided into two groups regarding the reason behind Adam's fall: the first point of view argues that Adam sinned out of his own [[Free will in theology|free will]], and only became a [[Prophets and messengers in Islam|prophet]] later, after he was cast out of paradise and asked for forgiveness. They adhere to the doctrine according to which [[Ismah|moral infallibility/immunity from sin]] (''‘iṣmah'') is a quality attributable to prophets only after they have been sent on a mission.<ref name="dogma">{{rp|p=194}} Stieglecker, H. (1962). Die Glaubenslehren des Islam. Deutschland: F. Schöningh. p. 194 (German)</ref> According to the second point of view, [[Predestination in Islam|Adam was predestined by God's will]] to eat from the forbidden tree, because God planned to set Adam and his progeny on Earth from the beginning and thus installed Adam's fall.<ref name="dogma" />{{rp|p=194}} For this reason, many [[Tafsir|Muslim exegetes]] do not regard Adam and Eve's expulsion from paradise as a punishment for disobedience or a result from abused [[Free will in theology|free will]] on their part,<ref name="Lange-2016">{{cite book |last= Lange|first= Christian|author-link= |date= 2016|title= Paradise and Hell in Islamic Traditions|url= |location= Cambridge United Kingdom|publisher= Cambridge University Press|page= |isbn=978-0-521-50637-3}}</ref>{{rp|p=171}} but rather as part of [[Hikmah|God's wisdom]] (''ḥikmah'') and plan for humanity to experience the full range of his attributes, his love, forgiveness, and power to his creation.<ref name="Lange-2016" /> By their former abode in paradise, they can hope for return during their lifetime. Unlike [[Iblis|Iblīs]] (''[[Shaitan|al-Shayṭān]]''), Adam asked for forgiveness for his transgression, despite God being the ultimate cause of his Fall. For that reason, God bestowed mercy upon Adam and his children. Some Muslim scholars view Adam as an image for his descendants: humans sin, become aware of it, [[Repentance in Islam|repent for their transgressions]] (''tawba''), and return to God. According to this interpretation, Adam embodies humanity and his Fall shows humans how to act whenever they sin.<ref name="dogma" />{{rp|p=194}}

Within the [[Shia Islam|Shīʿīte]] [[Islamic schools and branches#Shīʿa Islam|branch of Islam]], Muslim followers of the [[Alawites|Alawite sect]] believe that their souls were once luminous stars worshipping [[Ali|ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib]] in a world of light, but that upon committing sins of pride they were banished from their former state and forced to transmigrate in the world of matter.<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Olsson|editor1-first=Tord|editor2-last=Özdalga|editor2-first=Elisabeth|editor3-last=Raudvere|editor3-first=Catharina|title=Alevi Identity: Cultural, Religious and Social Perspectives|date=1998|publisher=Routledge|location=England|pages=214–215|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A16QAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA214|language=en|isbn=9781135797256}}</ref>

===Agricultural revolution===
{{Main|Religion and agriculture}}

Authors such as [[Isaac Asimov]], [[Daniel Hillel]], and [[Daniel Quinn]] suggest that some of the Genesis 3 narrative's symbolism may correlate to the experience of the [[Neolithic Revolution|agricultural revolution]].<ref name="Asimov">{{cite book |author-last=Asimov |author-first=Isaac |title=Asimov's Guide to the Bible |publisher=Avon |year=1971 |pages=32}}</ref><ref name="Quinn">{{cite book |author-last=Quinn |author-first=Daniel |title=Ishmael |publisher=Bantam |year=1992}}</ref> Hillel writes: "The expulsion from the Garden of Eden is a folk memory of the beginning of agriculture. With that transition, humans no longer dwelled idyllically in a parkland, feeding on wild fruits or animals, but had begun the toilsome cultivation of cereals."<ref name="Hillel">{{cite book |author-last=Hillel |author-first=Daniel |title=The Natural History of the Bible: An Environmental Exploration of the Hebrew Scriptures |publisher=[[Columbia University Press]] |year=2006 |pages=245}}</ref> This interpretation is not widely held in academic theology nor accepted as a historical fact, but appears in ecological, anthropological, and literary discussions that explore the societal transformations associated with the Neolithic era.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Scott |first=James C. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/990684513 |title=Against the grain: a deep history of the earliest states |date=2017 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-18291-0 |series=Yale agrarian studies |location=New Haven |oclc=990684513}}</ref>

The serpent of the Genesis narrative may represent seasonal changes and renewal, as with the symbolism of Sumerian, Egyptian, and other creation myths.<ref>{{cite web |last=Mason |first=Robert T. |title=The Serpent as Divinity |url=http://www.native-science.net/Divine_Serpent.htm |access-date=2017-09-22 |website=native-science.net}}</ref> In [[Mesoamerica]]n creation myths, [[Quetzalcoatl]], a feathered serpent agricultural deity, is associated with learning as well as renewal.<ref>{{cite web |last=Briggs |first=Austin |title=Quetzalcoatl |url=http://austinbriggs.com/aztec-history/quetzalcoatl/?doing_wp_cron=1506112287.9478530883789062500000 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170923051108/http://austinbriggs.com/aztec-history/quetzalcoatl/?doing_wp_cron=1506112287.9478530883789062500000 |archive-date=2017-09-23 |access-date=2017-09-22 |website=austinbriggs.com}}</ref>

==Literature and art==
[[File:God judging adam blake 1795.jpg|thumb|275px|[[William Blake]]'s color printing of ''God Judging Adam'' original composed in 1795. This print is currently held by the [[Tate Collection]].<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.blakearchive.org/exist/blake/archive/object.xq?objectid=but294.1.cprint.01&vg=cpd&vcontext=cpd&java=no | title = God Judging Adam, object 1 (Butlin 294) "God Judging Adam"|publisher = [[William Blake Archive]]| access-date = October 27, 2013|editor= Morris Eaves |editor2=Robert N. Essick |editor3=Joseph Viscomi}}</ref> In the biblical story, God's judgement results in the fall of man.]]

The fall of man has been depicted many times in art, including in Albrecht Dürer's ''[[Adam and Eve (Dürer)|Adam and Eve]]'' (1504) and Titian's ''[[The Fall of Man (Titian)|The Fall of Man]]'' ({{circa}} 1550).<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Fall of Man |author= |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica |date= |access-date=2 December 2024 |url= https://www.britannica.com/topic/Fall-of-Man}}</ref>

In [[William Shakespeare]]'s ''[[Henry V (play)|Henry V]]'' (1599), the King describes the betrayal of Lord Scroop – a friend since childhood – as being "like another fall of man", referring to the loss of his own faith and innocence the treason has caused.

In the novel ''[[Perelandra]]'' (1943) by [[C. S. Lewis]], the theme of the fall is explored in the context of a new [[Garden of Eden]] with a new, green-skinned [[Adam and Eve]] on the planet Venus, and with the protagonist {{endash}} the Cambridge scholar Dr. Ransom {{endash}} transported there and given the mission of thwarting [[Satan]] and preventing a new fall.

In the novel ''[[The Fall (Albert Camus novel)|The Fall]]'' (1956) by [[Albert Camus]], the theme of the fall is enunciated through the first-person account given in post-war Amsterdam, in a bar called "Mexico City." Confessing to an acquaintance, the protagonist, Jean-Baptiste Clamence, describes the haunting consequence of his refusal to rescue a woman who had jumped from a bridge to her death. The dilemmas of modern Western conscience and the sacramental themes of baptism and grace are explored.

[[J. R. R. Tolkien]] included as a note to his comments about the ''Dialogue of Finrod and Andreth'' (published posthumously in 1993) the Tale of Adanel that is a reimagining of the fall of man inside his [[Middle-earth]]'s mythos. The story presented Melkor seducing the first Men by making them worship him instead of Eru Ilúvatar, leading to the loss of the "Edenic" condition of the human race. The story is part of ''[[Morgoth's Ring]]''.

In both [[Daniel Quinn]]'s ''[[Ishmael (Quinn novel)|Ishmael]]'' (1992) and ''[[The Story of B]]'' (1996) novels, it is proposed that the story of the fall of man was first thought up by another culture watching the development of the now-dominant [[totalitarian agriculture|totalitarian agriculturalist]] culture.

In [[Philip Pullman]]'s ''[[His Dark Materials]]'' series (1995, 1997, 2000), the fall is presented in a positive light, as it is the moment at which human beings achieve self-awareness, knowledge, and freedom. Pullman believes that it is not worth being innocent if the price is ignorance.

The novel ''[[Lord of the Flies]]'' explores the fall of man. The storyline depicts young, innocent children who turn into savages when they are stranded on a [[desert island]]. ''Lord of the Flies'' was originally named ''Strangers from Within'', also showing his views of human nature.

The theme is also frequently depicted in historical European art. [[Lucas van Leyden]], a Dutch engraver and painter during the Renaissance period, created several different woodcuts featuring Adam and Eve (two were part of his ''Power of Women'' series).

==See also==
{{Portal|Bible|Christianity|Judaism|Islam}}
* [[Book of the Heavenly Cow]]
* [[Deal with the Devil]]
* [[Ningishzida]]
* ''[[Paradise Lost]]'' by [[John Milton]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Refbegin}}

===Bibliography===
* {{cite book |last=Kugel |first=James L. |author-link=James Kugel |year=1999 |title=Traditions of the Bible: A Guide to the Bible As It Was at the Start of the Common Era |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y8AjDrIkBG4C |location=[[Cambridge, Massachusetts]] |publisher=[[Harvard University Press]] |doi=10.2307/j.ctvk12qmd |isbn=9780674791510|s2cid=201591663}}
* {{cite journal |last=Woo |first=B. Hoon |title=Is God the Author of Sin?—Jonathan Edwards's Theodicy |url=https://www.academia.edu/5972518 |journal=Puritan Reformed Journal |location=[[Grand Rapids, Michigan]] |publisher=[[Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary]] |year=2014 |volume=6 |number=1 |pages=98–123 |via=[[Academia.edu]]}}

===Further reading===
* Beynen, G. Koolemans, ''Animal Language in the Garden of Eden: Folktale Elements in Genesis'' in Signifying Animals: Human Meaning in the Natural World, Roy G. Willis, ed., (London: Routledge, 1994), 39–50.
* Thompson, William Irwin, ''The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture'', 1981, 2001 {{ISBN|0-312-80512-8}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Temptation of Adam and Eve}}
* {{cite web |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Koran: The Elevated Places |url=http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/k/koran/koran-idx?type=DIV0&byte=227087 |website=www.quod.lib.umich.edu |location=[[Ann Arbor, Michigan]] |publisher=[[University of Michigan Library]]}}
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p004y27p The Fall], BBC Radio 4 discussion with [[Martin Palmer]], [[Griselda Pollock]], and [[John Carey (critic)|John Carey]] (''In Our Time'', Apr. 8, 2004)

{{Book of Genesis}}
{{Paradise Lost (poem)}}
{{Hamartiology}}
{{Adam and Eve}}
{{Authority control}}

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