Figurative Language

After the man, Adam, had eaten of the tree, the LORD God called to the man and asked him, "Where are you?" He answered, "I heard you in the garden; but I was afraid, because I was naked, so I hid myself." Then he asked, "Who told you that you were naked? You have eaten, then, from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat!" The man replied, "The woman whom you put here with me; she gave me fruit from the tree, and so I ate it." The LORD God then asked the woman, "Why did you do such a thing?" The woman answered, "The serpent tricked me into it, so I ate it."

Then the LORD God said to the serpent: "Because you have done this, you shall be banned from all the animals and from all the wild creatures; on your belly shall you crawl, and dirt shall you eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike at your head, while you strike at his heel."

The man called his wife Eve, because she became the mother of all the living. (Genesis 3:9-15, 20)

In a previous blog I wrote about the fall and original sin.  Today’s reading brings us back to that concept and the Immaculate Conception – Blessed Virgin Mary born without sin – today’s Solemnity.

From the Catechism we read: 390 The account of the fall in Genesis 3 uses figurative language, [My note: Figurative language is a type of communication that does not use a word's strict or realistic meaning. Common in comparisons and exaggerations, figurative language is usually used to add creative flourish to written or spoken language or explain a complicated idea.] but affirms a primeval event, a deed that took place at the beginning of the history of man. Revelation gives us the certainty of faith that the whole of human history is marked by the original fault freely committed by our first parents. (end)

The Catechism acknowledges that the fall is figurative language.  Therein lies the confusion about the reality and use of original sin as a foundation for our faith and the mystery of Christ.  

Consider that the Catechism emphasizes: 389 The doctrine of original sin is, so to speak, the "reverse side" of the Good News that Jesus is the Savior of all men, that all need salvation and that salvation is offered to all through Christ. The Church, which has the mind of Christ, knows very well that we cannot tamper with the revelation of original sin without undermining the mystery of Christ. (end)

Knowing the language of the fall is figurative, I’m faced with a conundrum.  The Church says we must not “tamper with the revelation of original sin.”  When we do, we “undermine the mystery of Christ.”  Well, I disagree.  Figurative language gives us free reign to go beyond literalistic understanding that is easy to do when we are seemingly obliged to believe in a talking snake with Eve taking the blame for the fall because mythical Adam ate the fruit.  It’s a wonderful biblical story, but we cannot take it literally.  The mystery of Christ is far more mysterious than what is presented in a story written centuries before the birth of Jesus.

According to Margaret Nutting Ralph in her 1992 book “Discovering Old Testament Origins:” (begin) The Story of Adam and Eve is accurately referred to as a “myth" because it is a symbolic and imaginative story about a reality beyond comprehension.  The function of the story is to orient us in a moral universe.  The story is “true” because it teaches us something true in regard to the question which it addresses: Why do human beings suffer? One reason is that human beings sin, and suffering is always the consequence of sin.  The story of Adam and Eve will be misunderstood if its literal form is misunderstood, if it is thought to be history or science rather than a myth. (end)

I prefer to focus on Catechism 397 and 398: (begin) Man, tempted by the devil, let his trust in his Creator die in his heart and, abusing his freedom, disobeyed God's command. This is what man's first sin consisted of. All subsequent sin would be disobedience toward God and lack of trust in his goodness. 398 In that sin man preferred himself to God and by that very act scorned him. He chose himself over and against God, against the requirements of his creaturely status and therefore against his own good. Constituted in a state of holiness, man was destined to be fully "divinized" by God in glory. Seduced by the devil, he wanted to "be like God", but "without God, before God, and not in accordance with God.” (end)  

Through our following Christ we obey God and trust in God’s goodness.  That is a mystery worth embracing and that leads to salvation. We choose God over ourselves consistent with our own good and our creaturely status.  

Deacon David Pierce