WAS ADAM THE FIRST MAN ON EARTH? WHO CREATED ADAM? Let's learn to read the Bible ourselves.

The creation of Adam and Eve. Expulsion from Paradise

Adam and Eve
, the first people, the ancestors of the human race. Memory on the Sunday of the Holy Forefathers and on the Sunday of the Holy Fathers [1].

The word "Adam" is from the Hebrew adam letters. - red

, associated with adamah - earth, originally, apparently, red soil.
In the Bible, the word “Adam” is used in different senses: “man” (Gen. 5:2), “man” (Eccl. 7:28), “everyone” (Num. 19:14), “everyone” (Zech. 13:5), “people” (Judges 16:7), “first man” (Job 15:7), and also as a proper name. It is included in the expression “sons of Adam
,” which never means the immediate descendants of the first man. They can be called “people” (in the synodal translation “sons of men”) (Prov. 8:31; Ps. 44:3). Used in the singular (lit. “son of Adam”), it denotes a specific person (Ezek. 2:1) or anyone (Jer. 49:18).

Creation of the first people

Adam was created "from the dust of the ground"

(Gen. 2:7), therefore he is “earthly” (1 Cor. 15:47).
God “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul”
(Gen. 2:7). Adam was created as a spiritual-physical being, who is the bearer of the image of God Himself (Gen. 1:27). According to the Divine creative plan, he must also be like God (Gen. 1:26). This similarity, unlike the image, is not given, but is assigned to a person and must be realized by him throughout his entire life.

About the creation of the wife of the book. Genesis narrates twice, briefly: “And God created man... male and female he created them” (Gen. 1:27), and in more detail: “... for man there was not found a helper like him. And the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and when he fell asleep, he took one of his ribs and covered that place with flesh. And the Lord God created a wife from a rib taken from a man, and brought her to the man. And the man said, Behold, this is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she will be called woman, for she was taken from man.”

(Genesis 2:20-23).

Creation of Eve. Modern icon

The creation of a wife not independently of her husband, but from his nature (ancient Hebrew sela is not only a “rib” (as in the Synodal translation), but also a “side”, “side” and in general a part of something) emphasizes the duality of man. The Genesis writer himself draws attention to it, deriving the word “wife” (Heb. issah) from the word “husband” (is) (Gen. 2:23). The appearance of a wife is due to the fact that a person had a need for communication. As a bearer of the image of God, he could not remain alone: “it is not good for man to be alone”
(Gen. 2:18); The divine image had to be reflected both in the unity of human nature and in the plurality of hypostases. The creation of a wife is one of the main prerequisites for a person’s life in love, which is an indispensable condition for his “abiding” in God, for “God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him” (1 John 4, 16).

The first man is the crown of the world created by God and, as such, has royal dignity, as evidenced by the fact that in the creative act God Himself graciously inhabits man and makes him the ruler of the world (Gen. 1:28). In accordance with his high purpose, man gives names to animals (Gen. 2: 19-20); he is called to “cultivate... and preserve”

the world around us (Gen. 2:15).
However, Adam's perfection was not absolute. It only served as the basis for the fulfillment of his calling and opened up for him the opportunity to become perfect, “as the Heavenly Father is perfect”
(Matthew 5:48).
Accordingly, man’s free will was not perfect, since it could choose not only good, but also evil, as evidenced by the commandment given to man, forbidding him to eat the fruits of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (Gen. 2:17). Since only God gives the world He created “life and breath and all things” (Acts 17:25) and only through Him “we... live and move and have our being”
(Acts 17:28), the first man could achieve godlikeness only in unity with By God. Otherwise, he doomed himself to an autonomous, extra-divine existence, which inevitably led to death (Gen. 2:17).

ADAM

[Heb. , - lit. red, associated with - earth, originally, apparently, red soil]. In the Bible the word "A." used in different senses: “man” (Gen. 5.2), “man” (Eccl. 7.28), “everyone” (Num. 19.14), “everyone” (Zech. 13.5), “people” (Judgment 16.7), “the first man” (Job 15.7), and also as a proper name. It is included in the expression “sons of Adam,” which never means the immediate descendants of the first man. They can be called “people” (in the synodal translation “sons of men”) (Proverbs 8.31; Ps. 44.3). Consumed in units h. (lit. “son of Adam”), it denotes a specific person (Ezek 2.1) or anyone (Jer. 49.18).

A. was created “from the dust of the ground” (Gen. 2.7), therefore he is “earthly” (1 Cor. 15.47). God “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul” (Gen. 2:7). A. was created as a spiritual-physical being, which is the bearer of the image of God Himself (Gen. 1.27) (see Image of God). According to the Divine creative plan, he must also be like God (Gen. 1:26). This similarity, unlike the image, is not given, but is assigned to a person and must be realized by him throughout his entire life.

Adam and Eve. Painting in the catacombs of Saints Peter and Marcellinus in Rome. 2nd half III - 1st half. IV century Adam and Eve. Painting in the catacombs of Saints Peter and Marcellinus in Rome. 2nd half III - 1st half. IV century

About the creation of the wife of the book. Genesis narrates twice, briefly: “And God created man... male and female he created them” (1.27), and in more detail: “... for man there was not found a helper like him. And the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and when he fell asleep, he took one of his ribs and covered that place with flesh. And the Lord God created a wife from a rib taken from a man, and brought her to the man. And the man said, Behold, this is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she will be called woman, for she was taken from man” (2.20-23). The creation of a wife not independently of her husband, but from his nature (in ancient Hebrew, this is not only a “rib” (as in the Synodal translation), but also a “side”, “side” and in general a part of something) emphasizes the duality of man. The Genesis writer himself draws attention to it, deriving the word “wife” (Heb. , ) from the word “husband” ( , ) (Gen. 2.23). The appearance of a wife is due to the fact that a person had a need for communication. As a bearer of the image of God, he could not remain alone: “it is not good for man to be alone” (Genesis 2:18); The divine image had to be reflected both in the unity of human nature and in the plurality of hypostases. The creation of a wife is one of the main prerequisites for a person’s life in love, which is an indispensable condition for his “abiding” in God, for “God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him” (1 John 4 . 16).

The first man is the crown of the world created by God and as such has royal dignity, as evidenced by the fact that in the creative act God Himself gracefully (see Grace) inhabits man and makes him the ruler of the world (Gen. 1.28). In accordance with his high purpose, man gives names to animals (Gen. 2. 19-20), he is called to “cultivate... and preserve” the world around him (Gen. 2. 15). However, A.'s perfection was not absolute. It only served as the basis for the fulfillment of his calling and opened up for him the opportunity to become perfect, “as the Heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). Accordingly, the free will of man was not perfect, since it could choose not only good, but also evil, as evidenced by the commandment given to man, forbidding him to eat the fruits of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (Gen. 2.17). Since only God gives the world He created “life and breath and everything” (Acts 17:25) and only through Him “we... live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28), the first man could achieve godlikeness only in unity with God. Otherwise, he doomed himself to an autonomous, extra-divine existence, which inevitably led to death (Gen. 2.17).

Adam and Eve. Mosaic of the Palatine Chapel in Palermo. 50-60s XII century Fragment.

A. and Eve could not withstand the temptation they were subjected to from the devil, and committed the first sin, wanting to become like gods without God (Gen. 3. 1-6) (see Original Sin). As a result of the Fall, their nature underwent significant changes, although they were not of an ontological nature. Sin began to parasitize her, simultaneously preventing the action of Divine grace on her. The first people faced suffering, disease and death. The consequences of their sin affected all of humanity, which inherited from them human nature corrupted by sin, and on the surrounding world, in which, as the biblical narrative says, “thorns and thistles” began to grow (Gen. 3.18). The first people are the ancestors of all humanity. There was no other root from which the human race took its beginning, either before or after them. In Genesis 2.5 it is said that before the creation of A. there was not yet a person to cultivate the land, and in Genesis 3.20 the name of the wife is reported and it is explained that she was called Eve (ancient Hebrew, , - life), because she became the mother of all living, that is, the foremother. The unity of the human race is evidenced by the Old Testament genealogies leading from A. (Gen. 5. 1; 1 Chron. 1), and in the NT in the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Evangelist Luke indicates that Christ is not only the Son of God, but also the Son (i.e., descendant) A. (Luke 3.23-38). Finally, Acts tells us that the entire human race was created “of one blood” (17.26). A. had offspring, which continued to multiply: “Adam lived one hundred and thirty [230] years and begat [a son] in his likeness [and] in his image, and called his name: Seth. The days of Adam after he begat Seth were eight hundred [700] years, and he begat sons and daughters. All the days of Adam’s life were nine hundred and thirty years; and he died” (Genesis 5:3-5).

Ap. Paul calls A. not only “the first man” (1 Cor. 15.47), but also “the image of the future” (Rom. 5.14), meaning the Son of Man, who came to “renew” the fallen A., “the first” and “ "early" man (1 Cor 15:47). The “Second” Man is Jesus Christ; at the same time He is also the “last Adam” (1 Cor 15:47, 45). The Apostle, contrasting the first and second A., points out that from the “earthly” man a Christian inherits a nature corrupted by sin, the destiny of which is inevitable death, and from the “heavenly” Man (1 Cor 15.48) - a regenerated nature, the destiny of -roy is eternal life. “Like the earthy, so are the earthy; and as is the heavenly, so are the heavenly. And just as we have borne the image of earth, let us also bear the image of heavenly things” (1 Cor 48-49). Thus, being the son of A. by birth and reborn in Christ, a Christian is in constant connection with the first and second A. He is called, according to the words of the same apostle, “to put aside the old way of life of the old man, which is corrupted by the deceitful lusts... and put on the new man, created according to God in true righteousness and holiness” (Eph 4:22, 24).

About two Adams after the apostle. Paul teaches St. Irenaeus of Lyons, noting that “in the first Adam we offended (God. - M.I.) by not fulfilling His commandments” and “reconciled (with Him. - M.I.) in the Second Adam, “being obedient even to death "" (PG. 7. col. 1168 VS). In the Redemption, according to the same St. father, Christ “headed (recapitulavit) all mankind, giving us salvation, so that what we lost in Adam ... we received again in Christ Jesus” (Ibid. col. 932 B).

The idea of the universal human nature of the first man was reflected in the patristic and liturgical tradition of the Orthodox Church. Churches. St. Gregory of Nyssa believes that “this name “Adam”... is given to created man not as any one, but as a general race” (Creations of St. Gregory of Nyssa. M., 1861. Part 1. P. 143). Trying to understand the universal human nature of A., some Christians. thinkers (for example, Vl. S. Solovyov, Archpriest S. Bulgakov) deviated into speculative constructions, as a result of which the first person no longer became one (more precisely, the first) hypostasis, possessing a universal human nature, but a multi-hypostatic personality, in which -roy, each person in some incredible way was already present in his own hypostasis. The anthropological fallacy of such ideas inevitably led to an error in the field of soteriology, to a distortion of the doctrine of original sin and the salvation accomplished by the Second Adam - Jesus Christ.

Lit.: Malov E., prot. About Adam according to the teachings of the Bible and the teachings of the Koran. Kaz., 1885; Filaret (Drozdov), archimandrite. [Metropolitan Moscow]. Notes on the book of Genesis. [1816]; Bogorodsky Ya. A. The beginning of the history of the world and man according to the first pages of the Bible. Kaz., 19092; Thielicke H. How the World Began: Man in the First Chapters of the Bible. Phil., 1961; Renckens H. Israel's Concept of the Beginning: The Theology of Genesis 1-3. NY, 1964; Seraphim (Rose), Hierom. Orthodox understanding of the book of Genesis: Trans. from English M., 1998.

M. S. Ivanov

Hymnography

A. is often mentioned in Christian, especially Byzantine, hymnographic and euchological texts. He is depicted as the forefather of all people: “” (Troparion of the 1st song of the canon of Matins of the Week of the Holy Forefather // Menaion (ST). December. L. 78); "" (Theotokion of the 4th hymn of the Easter canon // Tsvetnaya Triodion. L. 66 vol., also: Ikos of the kontakion of the Week of the Cross // Lenten Triodion. Part 1. L. 228 vol. - 229; Troparion of the 2nd hymn of the Great Canon Andrei of Crete // Ibid. L. 297; Troparion of the 4th song of the canon of Matins of Maundy Thursday // Ibid. Part 2. L. 425, etc.).

A. is mentioned in connection with his fall: “”, “” (Troparia of the 1st canon of the Great Canon of Andrew of Crete // Lenten Triodion. Part 1. L. 295, etc.).

In most cases, A. (or “all-begotten Adam”) refers to humanity that has fallen and received the opportunity of salvation through Christ: “” (Troparia of the 6th song of the canon of Easter // Triodion Tsvetnaya. L. 3v.), “” (Ikos of the kontakion of Easter // Triodion Tsvetnaya. L. 4, also: Exapostilary of Easter // Ibid. L. 7; The Theotokos was dismissed on Sunday, 6th tone // Book of Hours. P. 246; Stichera for the veneration of the Cross on the Sunday of the Cross // Triodion of Lenten. Ch / / Ibid. L. 484, etc.).

The fallen old A. is contrasted with the New A. - Christ: “” (Slavic at the praise of the Matins of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary // Menaion (ST). March. L. 111 vol.), “” (Troparion of the 6th song of the Sunday canon 2- th voice // Octoechos. T. 1. P. 216), "" (Praises of the Matins of Great Saturday // Lenten Triodion. Part 2. L. 475v.), "" (Troparion of the 8th song of the canon of Matins of Great Saturday / / Ibid. L. 484), "" (Sedalen of Matins of the Feast of the Image of the Savior Not Made by Hands, August 16 // Menaion (ST). August. L. 139v.), " " (Stichera on the praise of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary // Menaion (ST). March. L. 111).

Memory of A. - on the Sunday of the Saints, the Forefather and on the Sunday of the Saints, the Father (Sergius (Spassky). Months. T. 3. P. 582).

M. S. Zheltov

Iconography

The images of A. and Eve are based on the texts of the book. Genesis (Genesis 2. 7-25; 3. 1-24; 4. 1-2). The earliest and most common plot in the monuments of Christ. art - the fall of A. and Eve, for example: paintings of the catacombs of San Gennaro in Naples, 3rd century, and Saints Peter and Marcellinus in Rome, 2nd half. III - 1st half. IV century; painting of the Dura-Europos synagogue (Syria), ca. 250 g; painting of the tomb of Aurelius in Rome, 3rd century; sarcophagus of Junius Bassus, 359 (Museum “Treasury of St. Peter”). Naked A. and Eve are depicted standing at the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, around which a serpent is entwined. On the sarcophagus of Junius Bassus there is a sheaf of ears of grain next to A., and a sheep near Eve, which indicates their labors after expulsion from paradise. Scenes from the life of A. and Eve are presented in Byzantium. carved ivory plates (diptych wing, c. 400 (Bargello Museum, Florence) - the creation of A. and Eve; antependium plate, 1100 (Salerno Cathedral) - the creation of Eve, the Fall; casket, 11th century . (GE)).

Descent into hell. Dionysius. 1502-1503 (TG) Descent into hell. Dionysius. 1502-1503 (TG)

The story of A. and Eve usually includes the following plots: the creation of A. (2.7), the commandment of A. about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (2.16-17), the naming of A. names to animals (2.20), the creation of Eve ( 2. 21-25), the Fall (this scene may consist of several episodes: Eve listening to the snake (3. 1-5); Eve eating the fruit and giving it to A. (3. 6-7)), conviction by God A. and Eve (3. 8-13), condemnation of Eve and A. (3. 16-17), dressing A. and Eve in leather clothes (3. 21), expulsion from paradise (3. 23), etc. ; illustrated in detail in miniatures of early manuscripts (Viennese Genesis (Vien. gr. 31. VI century); Cotton Genesis (London. Otho. B. VI. Con. V - early VI century); Pentateuch of Ashburnham (Paris. nouv. acq. lat. 2334. 7th century), in the Byzantine Octateuchs of the 12th-13th centuries, Russian manuscripts of the 15th-18th centuries - Paleys, Chronographs, Front Chronicle Codex, front Bibles. Extensive monumental cycles are presented in the paintings of the Palatine Chapel in Palermo, 50-60s of the 12th century; Cathedral in Montreal, 80-90s of the 12th century; Church of San Marco in Venice, 13th century; Assumption Cathedral of the Sviyazhsk Monastery, 16th century; Trinity Church in Vyazemy, late 16th century; in the paintings of the churches of Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Tutaev, 17th century. In a generalized form, the story of A. and Eve is depicted in the stamps of the icons “Holy Trinity with the Act” (16th century ., Tretyakov Gallery; 16th century, State Russian Museum); “And God rested on the seventh day” (fragment of the “Four-Part” icon, 16th century, Annunciation Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin), on the door to the altar (early 17th century, Central Museum of Art and Culture; 17th century v., Solvychegodsk Museum).

The iconography of the composition “Expulsion from Paradise,” where A. and Eve are depicted twice - expelled by an angel and sitting opposite the closed gates of paradise, guarded by a cherub with a flaming sword, was influenced by the hymnography of the raw week and the spiritual verse “Lamentation of Adam” (the door to the altar, the beginning 17th century, TsMiAR).

The patristic tradition of comparing Christ with A. and the legend that Golgotha, where the Savior was crucified, is the burial place of A., determined the image of A. or the head of A. in the composition “The Crucifixion”. The idea that the blood of the Savior atoned for the sin of A. is expressed directly in iconography - drops of blood from the wounds of Christ fall on the head of A. The image of the head of A. in the cave under Golgotha has been known since the 9th century. (Khludovskaya Psalter. 9th century. State Historical Museum. Greek. No. 129). To Byzantium. In art, there are compositions where in the lower part, on the sides of Golgotha, A. and Eve are depicted rising from the tombs (carved plate with the image of the “Crucifixion”, 11th century (GE)). This detail can be explained by the influence of the iconography of the “Descent into Hell,” known since the 9th century. (Khludovskaya Psalter. State Historical Museum. Greek. No. 129). A. appears as a gray-haired old man, in a tunic and himation, Eva - in a red dress and maforia. Kneeling A. and Eve on either side of the Etimasia (prepared throne) are depicted in the composition “The Last Judgment” (Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta in Torcello, late 11th century). In the image of an elder, A. is depicted among the Old Testament forefathers and prophets in temple paintings (monastery of Chora (Kakhrie-jami) in K-pol), 1316-1321; c. Savior on Ilyin in Novgorod, 1378; Annunciation Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, XVI century). In zap. In iconography, the “Crucifixion” type with a half-figure of A. at the base of the cross became widespread (the setting of the Gospel, 12th century, Darmstadt (Hessisches Landesmuseum); Portable altar of St. Mauricius, 12th century (treasury of the Church of St. Servatius, Siegburg).

Lit.: Flemming J. Die Ikonographie von Adam und Eva in der Kunst vom 3. bis zum 13. Jh. Jena, 1953; Mazure A. Adame et Eve: Le thème d'Adame et Eve dans l'art. P., 1967.

N. V. Kvlividze

The First Fall and its Consequences

Adam and Eve. Painting in the catacombs of Saints Peter and Marcellinus in Rome. 2nd half III - 1st half. IV century

It is not known how long Adam and Eve were in a blissful state of purity and innocence; all that is known is that they lost it. Our first parents could not withstand the temptation they were subjected to from the devil, and committed the first sin, wanting to become like gods without God (Gen. 3:1-6). Adam violated the commandment of God, carried away by his wife, who, seduced by the serpent, ate from the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, Adam also ate from it, and by this sin they incurred the wrath of their Creator. The first sign of sin was a feeling of shame, and then a futile attempt to hide from the face of the omnipresent and omniscient God walking around evening time in paradise. Called by God, they expressed their fear and laid down their guilt: Adam - on the wife, and the wife - on the serpent. A terrible punishment befell all those involved in this fall, and in the person of the fallen ancestors the entire human race; however, it was dissolved by the first promise (first gospel) about the Savior of the world, who will be born of a woman: the seed of the woman will erase the head of the serpent
(Gen. 3:15), said the Lord.

As a result of the Fall, their nature underwent significant changes, although they were not of an ontological nature. Sin began to parasitize her, simultaneously preventing the action of Divine grace on her. The first people faced suffering, disease and death. The consequences of their sin affected all of humanity, which inherited from them human nature corrupted by sin, and on the surrounding world, in which, as the biblical narrative says, “thorns and thistles” began to grow (Genesis 3:18).

The first sons of Adam and Eve were Cain and Abel. Cain, out of envy, kills Abel, for which he was expelled and settled separately with his wife and had offspring (Genesis 4).

Little is known about the further life of the first parents: “Adam lived one hundred and thirty [230] years and begat [a son] in his own likeness [and] in his image, and called his name: Seth. The days of Adam after he begat Seth were eight hundred [700] years, and he begat sons and daughters. All the days of Adam’s life were nine hundred and thirty years; and he died" (Genesis 5:3-5).

According to Jewish legend, Adam rests in Judea, next to the patriarchs; according to Christian legend, on Golgotha.

Progenitor of all living

On the sixth day from the creation of the world, the Lord decided to create man. This man became Adam. God determined his place of residence to be a beautiful Paradise with numerous benefits, pleasures, and crystal clear river waters.

In the midst of this prosperity stood trees, among them two - the tree of Life and Death, called the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The Lord allowed the fruits to be plucked from every tree except the last one. Adam began to reign over all creatures - sheep, bulls, cattle, birds of the air, fish under the sea.

Adam was given the right to name each animal himself in accordance with its true nature and character, since Adam was endowed with a very sophisticated mind.

But the Lord decided that it was not right for a person to be alone; he needed to be given a girlfriend, with whom together he could enjoy great blessings.

Adam fell into a deep sleep, inspired by God. But this dream was not physical, but spiritual, during which he comprehended many mysteries. The only thing that the Lord hid from Adam was his fall.

While Adam was in such an ecstatic sleep, God removed one of the man's ribs and created a woman, whom the awakened Adam called his wife. After creating husband and wife and commanding them to enjoy all the blessings of Paradise, except for the fruits of the forbidden tree, the Lord went to rest. He did this in order to give people the opportunity to rest. This happened on the seventh day.

Before being expelled from Paradise, Eve did not have a name. She was simply called his wife. Eve, which meant “life,” Adam began to call his wife after the Fall. And before that they lived in Paradise, overshadowed by God's grace.

The universal significance of the nature of the first man

The first people, Adam and Eve, are the ancestors of all humanity. There was no other root from which the human race took its beginning, either before or after them. In Gen. 2:5 it is said that before the creation of Adam there was no man to cultivate the land, but in Gen. 3:20 the name of the wife is reported and it is explained that she was called Eve (Hebrew hawwah - life), because she became the mother of all living, that is, the foremother. The unity of the human race is evidenced by the Old Testament genealogies leading from Adam (Gen. 5, 1; 1 Chron 1), and in the New Testament in the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Evangelist Luke indicates that Christ is not only the Son of God, but also the Son (i.e., a descendant ) Adam (Luke 3:23-38). Finally, Acts tells us that the entire human race was created “of one blood” (Acts 17:26).

The Apostle Paul calls Adam not only “the first man” (1 Cor. 15:47), but also “the image of the future” (Rom. 5:14), meaning the Son of Man, who came to “renew” fallen Adam, “the first” and “early” man (1 Cor. 15:47). The “Second” Man is Jesus Christ; at the same time He is also the “last Adam” (1 Cor. 15, 47, 45). The Apostle, contrasting the first and second Adam, points out that from the “earthly” man a Christian inherits a nature corrupted by sin, the destiny of which is inevitable death, and from the “heavenly” Man (1 Cor. 15:48) - a regenerated nature, the destiny of which is eternal life. “Like the earthy, so are the earthy; and as is the heavenly, so are the heavenly. And just as we have borne the image of earth, we will also bear the image of heaven” (1 Cor. 15:48-49). Thus, being a son of Adam by birth and reborn in Christ, the Christian is in constant connection with the first and second Adam. He is called, according to the words of the same apostle, “to put off his former way of life, the old man, which is corrupted by the deceitful lusts... and to put on the new man, created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness” (Eph. 4:22,24).

About two Adams after the apostle. Paul teaches St. Irenaeus of Lyons, noting that “in the first Adam we offended [God] by not fulfilling His commandments” and “reconciled [with Him] in the Second Adam, “being obedient even to death” [2]. In the Redemption, according to the same St. father, Christ “headed (recapitulavit) all mankind, giving us salvation, so that what we lost in Adam ... we received again in Christ Jesus” [3].

[4].

Trying to understand the pan-human character of Adam’s nature, some Christian thinkers (for example, Vl. S. Solovyov, Archpriest S. Bulgakov) deviated into speculative constructions, as a result of which the first man became more than one (more precisely, the first) hypostasis with a universal human nature , but a multi-hypostatic personality, in which each person, in some incredible way, was already present in his own hypostasis. The anthropological fallacy of such ideas inevitably led to an error in the field of soteriology, to a distortion of the doctrine of original sin and the salvation accomplished by the Second Adam - Jesus Christ.

Chapter IX. Bible and anthropology

Much nonsense has been written about this in connection with the so-called “theory of evolution.” This theory, ignoring the biblical evidence of the creation of man, tries in its own way to explain his appearance on earth. Thus, she claims that man in his present state came by rebirth from a lower type of man, while the latter, in turn, came from an animal, for example, from a monkey, but the monkey, according to this theory, came as a result of rebirth, from which -that of a lower animal species, for example, a frog, but the frog could have arisen through the evolution of some plant, and the plant came out of an inorganic crystal - in short, the theory of evolution tries to assert that life on earth arose arbitrarily, dead matter by itself began to stir and began its evolutionary process. They refer to Darwin as if he was able to trace the transformation of species of life in the opposite direction from “electricity and albumin.” This is supposedly the basis of the theory of evolution.

Dr. R. Lankester, a follower of this theory, at Oxford said at the conclusion of his speech on the origin of man from the ape: “Animals, in turn, evolved from lower animal matter, and the latter from even simpler compounds of chemical elements.”

Prof. J. Thompson spoke even more frankly: “It must be admitted that a certain primitive embryo, unknown how it appeared, turned into a human being after millions of years.”

Taking these extreme conclusions of science, we will try to answer three important questions.

Is the spontaneous generation of life from dead matter possible?

Is a person a consequence of the evolution (rebirth) of a lower organism into a higher one?

Did humanity descend from Adam, as Holy Scripture testifies to?

1. Regarding the first question

there is hardly a greater authority than Lord Calvin. In one of his articles he says: “Could there be anything more absurd than the belief that several atoms, by combining, were themselves able to create a sprout of moss, a microbe or an animal?! Here it is science that must recognize the presence of the intervention of a higher creative force. Forty years ago, walking in a field with Liebig, I asked the great chemist what he thought about the idea of the spontaneous generation of flowers growing around us, could they appear as a result of a process of purely mechanical forces? “I cannot admit this,” he answered, just as I do not believe that a book on botany describing flowers did not appear as a result of a simple chemical process, so, even more so, I cannot admit the spontaneous generation of flowers.”

In a speech addressed to students at the Faculty of Medicine, Lord Calvin said: “Let them not (the supporters of evolution) think that by some kind of electrical trick they will be able to create a living cell. Never give in to this stupid fantasy. All attempts to create even an insignificant organic substance or bacterium or even one organic living cell have not been and will not be successful! No artificial process can create life.”

It is not surprising that the scientific world has long recoiled from the theory of spontaneous generation as an idea based on nothing. Oliver Lodge says: "Attempts to prove the theory of evolution, however numerous they have been, remain to this day completely unsuccessful." The son of Charles Darwin himself, George Darwin, at one of the meetings of the British Society in South Africa (August 16, 1905) stated: “the mystery of life remains as impenetrable now as it always has been.”

Famous prof. Henry Drummond in his book “Natural Law in the Spiritual World” closely touches on the issue of the emergence of life on earth. Analyzing in detail the data for and against the spontaneous generation of life, at the end he summarizes as follows: “In the eyes of modern science, nature is divided in two. Physical laws can explain the inorganic world; the laws of biology are able to give an account of the development of the organic; but about the point of contact between both, about the incomprehensible line that lies between the dead and the living, science is silent. You can’t help but say that it’s as if God gave everything in heaven and earth into the hands of nature, but left the point where life arises for His direct manifestation.”25

There he says: “The attempt to create life from dead matter failed, and the question of arbitrary generation had to be abandoned. It is now universally accepted that life can arise from contact with pre-existing life. Huxley categorically declares that biogenesis, or the doctrine of the origin of life from life, “has gained victory along the whole line.”26 And Tyndall, although not hiding the fact that he would have been more pleased with the possibility of the opposite conclusion, is nevertheless forced to say: “I maintain that there is no more or less reliable evidence based on experience in favor of the fact that life, when or arose independently of the previous life.”27

From all these statements by scientists of both camps, it becomes quite obvious that the theory of the spontaneous generation of life on earth does not stand up to criticism. The fact of the appearance of life, which is hidden in God, is finally accepted not only by religion, but also by science.

2. Is man the result of the rebirth of a lower organism into a higher one?

The verdict of true science is definite; it follows by itself after the previous question has been resolved. Even the supporters of the theory of evolution openly admit the instability of the data of their teaching. The same Tyndale says: “Those who support the doctrine of evolution are fully aware of the uncertainty of the arguments in its favor.” Thompson and Geddes, answering the question: how could man appear? - expressed in the combined article in this way: “We do not know what its origin is... The facts force us to admit that these theories of evolution are very vague and cannot take a strong place in science.” The discord of scientists who are trying to build their scientific constructions on this theory best of all proves its inconsistency. In disputes about it, its supporters themselves have long ago torn it into such small pieces that essentially nothing remains of it.

George Stokes, considered one of the greatest men of the age of Queen Victoria, who, as Lord Calvin noted, covered the whole field of natural philosophy with knowledge and experience, used to say in conversation with scientists: “Have you proved your facts?” He could not understand how scientists could interpret the theory of evolution without having a chain of facts to prove it; According to him, the history of mankind has never known such a strange phenomenon in science. The facts contradict it and directly refute it.”

Guizot, touching on this point, very aptly states: “The system of transformation of species is equally rejected by science and common sense. It is not based on any tactile fact, on any data of scientific observation or historical tradition; all recognized facts, all discovered monuments, from different centuries and different places, regarding the types existing, testify that they have not undergone any transformation, no significant and lasting change; a thousand, two, three thousand years ago, these species are what they are today.”28

After such evidence from scientists, it naturally arises to divide the entire question of the origin of man into two questions.

1) Did man come from the lower animal world, 2) and did civilized man come from the lower type of man?

As for the first, it can be answered directly - no, because if this were so, then science would have discovered transitional forms of transformation of species up to man, but it does not have them. There is a man and there is a monkey, but there is nothing between them, and the monkey continues to remain a monkey for thousands of years. D. W. Dawson says: “Science knows of no remains of transitional forms.” The oldest human remains say nothing about the previous stages of his development.” Prof. Owen adds: “Man is the only species of his class and the only representative of his species.” Prof. Post, a scientist from Syria, visiting the British Museum and examining it, asked an expert: “What evidence is there for Darwin’s theory of evolution?” To which the expert replied: “In the entire museum there is not a shred of confirmation of such a theory, because it is not based on observations and facts.”

This resolves the question of the origin of man from the animal world. Let us finish our discussion about him with the words of Guizot: “Man is not a monkey, transformed and improved through the dark fermentation of the elements of nature over the centuries; Such an ambitious explanation of the origin of the human species is one hypothesis, a fruit of the imagination, easily seduced by intricate guesses that are inspired by the lack of real comprehension of nature and whose justification they dream of assigning to an indefinitely distant time and to unknown events. The principle of fundamental difference and persistence of species, firmly substantiated by many famous scientists (Cuvier, Flourens, Coste, Carthage) and all strict observers of facts, remains dominant in science, as well as in living reality.”29

As for the second, science indicates with great accuracy that a person does not so much progress in his development as undergo changes in the opposite direction; rather, he goes so-called. to degeneration.

Horace Hale argues that "primitive man must have had the same intellectual qualities as his descendants." D. W. Dawson also writes that “judging by the oldest remains of man, his primitive state was his best state.”

The latest discoveries of science not only refute the theory of evolution, but confirm all biblical data on this matter. It is known that the most ancient human remains were discovered in Belgium, France and Gibraltar. The surviving skulls of skeletons belonging to the so-called palanthropic or post-glacial age, which apparently corresponds to the period of the history of the Bible before the flood, testify to the following four characteristic features of ancient man:

A) he had excellent intellectual powers and taste; B) long life expectancy; B) - large in height, reaching seven full feet; D) – enormous muscular strength indicating hot temperament and cruelty.

Naturally, all these data completely exclude the idea of the theory of evolution, but at the same time they absolutely confirm the information recorded on the pages of the Bible.

A) In Gen. 1:27 we read: “And God created man in His own image

”, which makes it clear that created man must have had intellectual powers and excellent taste.

B) Life. 5 shows that the average life expectancy of an ancient person reached 900 years, and the found remains indicate the same, i.e., the long life expectancy of their owners.

B) Life. 6:4 states plainly: “ At that time there were giants on the earth.”

Maybe these ancient remains belong to those giants?

D) Life. 6:5 and 11 indicate that during the first one and a half thousand years of his existence, man, instead of improving (according to the theory of evolution), on the contrary, became corrupted and fell. “And the Lord saw that the wickedness of men was great on earth”...
“The earth was corrupted before the face of God
,
and the earth was filled with evil deeds.”
The found skulls of giants speak about the same thing - they were strong, but hot-tempered and cruel.

So, it is clear that while “evolution” is completely incapable of providing an explanation to the question: “How did man appear?” – The Bible gives a complete answer, which is not only in harmony with the entire teaching of Holy Scripture, but is also in complete agreement with the latest scientific data on this matter. From all this it follows that Adam did not come from a monkey, but from God; and that our life is not from nothing, but from the Spirit of God.

3. Did humanity originate from

Adam, as the Holy Scripture testifies to this?

The importance of the issue is undeniable, if we take into account that the diversity of human types in different parts of the earth has prompted scientists to think more than once. Here are the dwarf Eskimos and right there, to the south, the slender and tall North American Indians; the tall black Sudanese and the small, frail inhabitants of central Africa; white, intellectually strong Europeans and mentally weak South African Kaffirs; tall Chinese and small but strong Japanese, etc. When you look at all this diversity of humanity, you involuntarily ask the question: can they be children of the same father? Even in Scripture itself there seems to be a hint that, besides the descendants of Adam, there were other inhabitants of the earth. This is how they point to Genesis. 4:17, where Cain's wife is mentioned, or Gen. 4:14, where Cain expresses fear that anyone he meets will now be able to kill him; they also say that Cain could not build the city on his own, some unknown people had to help him (Gen. 4:17); finally, they pay attention to the emergence of the music industry in those days, which does not seem to fit with the data on the development of Adam’s offspring (Gen. 4:21), etc.

Scripture gives quite satisfactory explanations of all these intriguing questions. According to them, Adam was the only first person on earth, and, therefore, the only ancestor of all humanity, together with Eve - his wife, the mother of all.

Let us dwell on these biblical data.

A) The Bible says that before the creation of Adam there was not a single human being on earth: “there was no man to till the earth.”

(Gen. 2:5).

B) The Bible says that Adam was alone at creation. “It’s not good for a person to be alone”

(Gen. 2:18), also follows from verse 20 of the same chapter: “There was not found a helper like him for man.” This idea is confirmed in the New Testament (1 Cor. 15:45).

C) The Bible says that all people have one father, Adam. “Don’t we all have the same father?

(Mal. 2:10).
An equally strong indication of this is also given in Acts. 17:26, which says, “By one blood He made the whole race of mankind to dwell upon all the face of the earth.”
D) The Bible says that all people have the same mother - Eve. In Gen. 3:20 we read: “And Adam called his wife’s name Eve, for she became the mother of all living.”

It is said about her that she will bear children (Gen. 3:16) and that the Savior will be born from her seed (Gen. 3:15).

E) The Bible says that all people belong to one family. It is interesting to pay attention to the facts of the first book of Genesis. When God created fish, birds, creeping things and cattle, the remark is made each time that they were created “according to their kind” (Gen. 1:21,25), this undoubtedly implies a variety of species in each case; but when it comes to man, there is no hint of division by gender, but his difference from all earthly creatures is noted: “ Let us make man in Our image, in Our likeness

"(Gen. 1:26).
Based on this revelation, there is no difficulty with the terms “ sons of God”
and
“daughters of men
” (Gen. 6:2–4);
the New Testament also sheds sufficient light on their meaning. In 1 Io. 3:2 we read: “Beloved, we are now children of God,”
and in 1 Cor.
3:3 we find another “Are you not carnal, and do you not walk according to human custom?
” It is clear that the first are believers, the others are unbelievers and unconverted. The sixth chapter of Genesis tells how marriages were made between believers and unbelievers, the righteous and the wicked, resulting in great corruption on earth (Gen. 6:5). Hence the warning in the New Testament: “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what fellowship does righteousness have with iniquity? What does light have in common with darkness? What agreement is there between Christ and Belial? Or what is the complicity of the faithful with the unfaithful” (2 Cor. 6:14-18).

Those who try to prove the existence on earth of people of a different origin other than the descendants of Adam must explain the problem of the Flood. The Bible definitely states that everyone died in the flood except the family of Noah. “Everything that had the breath of the spirit of life in its nostrils on the dry land died (Gen. 7:22) and was cut off from the face of the earth” (Gen. 6:7) “under all the heavens” (Gen. 7:19).

Regarding the unity of the human race after the flood, there is also sufficient evidence from Scripture: “These three

(Shem, Ham and Japheth)
were the sons of Noah, and from them the whole earth was peopled
" (Gen. 9:19) "These are the tribes of the sons of Noah according to their genealogy, among their nations. From them the nations spread throughout the earth after the flood” (Gen. 10:82).

I wonder what science says on this subject? Let's take two quotes that belong to the pen of scientists who cannot be suspected of having a biased attitude towards the Bible. Prof. Huxley says: “I join those who admit that there is at present no basis for the assertion that mankind was originally descended from more than a single pair of first men... and for the assertion that there is more than one species of man on the earth.”30 . Another scientist is Darwin himself. In his Origin of Species he states: “I have not the slightest doubt that the races of man are descended from a single original race.”

Some may be confused by the striking differences in skin color, height, degree of intelligence, temperament, etc. It would be useful to remind such people that all such differences between people are explained by the influence on their body of the natural conditions in which they live, then, customs, beliefs and even the properties of food.

Scientists easily change the color of certain animal organisms by influencing them with the most primitive chemical methods.

Size difference

.
Let's take oak and cedar as an example. Under natural, habitual conditions, these trees reach very enormous sizes, but when transplanted to the Japanese islands, they do not exceed two or three
feet in height. Golden carp in an aquarium grow to only a few inches in length, but in normal conditions reach 15 and 20 pounds in weight, such as in the Thames.

Variety in color.

The color tones of flowers can change depending on the fertilization of the soil and its composition. The yellow canary begins to take on a darker color if certain spices are mixed into its food. The sailor's body turns from white to dark under the influence of the sea wind. It has been verified that eye color and hair color change not only with the age of the individual, but also with the age of the race. So the red hair color that prevailed in some parts of Central Europe changes to light brown. Dr. J. Beddoe says: "There is a marked darkening of the color of the hair as we move from the northeast to the southwest, that is, from the colder to the warmer regions of the earth."

Differences in the degree of intellectual development.

A similar gradation can be made here. Systematic education and exercise in knowledge contributes to the development of the people, while prolonged stay in primitive pursuits leads to the decline of mental talents. This can easily be verified by the experience of existing nationalities.

So, there is no doubt that on the issue of the emergence of man, the Bible is completely in tune with the scientific data available to humanity today.

Traditions about Adam and Eve among different nations

The story of Adam and Eve, with greater or lesser modifications, is preserved in the traditions of almost all ancient peoples, especially the Semitic generation.

The legends of the Zend Avesta among the Persians are similar to the biblical legends about the first man. Ormuzd created the first man from fire, water, air, earth and breathed into him an immortal soul. In the Garden of Eden grows the tree of life - Hôm, the fruits of which give immortality. The vengeful Ahriman in the form of a serpent appears to the ancestors, seduces them and disrupts the happiness of the immortal soul. According to Persian legends, vultures guard the golden mountain.

According to Brockhaus, both Jews and Persians borrowed their legends about the first people from ancient Assyro-Babylonian sources, since identical legends are also found in wedge-shaped inscriptions compiled 2000 years BC, i.e. long before Moses and Zoroaster, and discovered in modern times in the ruins of ancient Nineveh. On one tile from a collection of tiles recovered from the ruins of the Sardanapalus Palace, stored in the British Museum, there is the following fragmentary inscription: “After the gods created living beings, cattle and beasts and creeping things of the field... god (Hao) created two...”.

Here, obviously, we are talking about the creation of the first man, and the Assyrian tradition is thus consistent with Gen. 1, 26-30. We find a similar coincidence between the biblical and ancient Babylonian tradition regarding the legend of the Fall, which in Assyrian sources is even illustrated by bas-relief images. Thus, one bas-relief on a cylinder, also kept in the British Museum, depicts a man and a woman sitting near a tree and stretching out their hands to its fruits. A snake rises from behind the woman. Another bas-relief also represents a tree covered with fruits, surrounded by winged figures. Obviously, the first bas-relief depicts the fact of eating the forbidden fruit, and the second depicts expulsion from paradise and its guarding by cherubim.

Later teachings inherited the ideas about the creation of the world among Jews and Christians, with varying degrees of “creative processing.” Thus, the Koran says that God created the body from clay and the soul from fire. All the angels recognized the new creation, but Eblis alone refused and was expelled from paradise, where Adam settled. Eve was created in paradise. Eblis, out of revenge, seduced the first people, and they were thrown to the ground. God took pity on the repentant Adam and sent the Archangel Gabriel to teach him the commandments of God on the very spot where the temple in Mecca was later built. Adam religiously fulfilled the commandments, for which 2000 years later he found his wife again on Mount Ararat. Adam is buried on Mount Abukai, near Mecca.

Adam and Eve - why do we pay for the sin of Adam and Eve?

What exactly did Adam and Eve do, since the Lord kicked them out of Paradise, and moreover, that for some reason we are all paying for their actions?
What are we talking about here, what forbidden fruit is this, what kind of tree of knowledge is this, why was this tree placed next to Adam and Eve and at the same time forbidden to approach it? What happened in paradise? And how does this relate to our lives, to the lives of our loved ones and friends? Why does our fate depend on an act not committed by us, and committed a very, very long time ago? What happened in paradise? The most terrible thing that could happen between loving beings who trust each other happened there. In the Garden of Eden, something happened that, some time later, would be repeated in the Garden of Gethsemane, when Judas brought there a crowd of armed guards looking for Jesus. Simply put, there was a betrayal in paradise.

Adam and Eve betrayed their Creator when they believed the slander against Him and decided to live solely according to their own will.

A man learned to betray those closest to him when he accused his wife of his own sin.

The man betrayed himself. After all, “to betray” literally means to convey. And man transferred himself from the good will of the God who created him to the evil will of his killer - the devil.

This is what happened in heaven. Now let’s try to find out in more detail how this all happened and why it turned out to be connected with the lives of each of us.

You can't imagine!

God created man and placed him in the place most favorable for his life. That is, to the beautiful Garden of Eden, which is also commonly called paradise. Today we can only make various assumptions and conjectures about what the Garden of Eden was like. But you can safely bet that any of these guesses will turn out to be incorrect. Why?

But because the man himself was different then - pure, joyful, not knowing worries and worries, open to the world, greeting this world with the happy and powerful smile of his master. The reason here is simple: Adam and Eve had not yet erased God from their lives, they were in close communication with Him and received from God such knowledge, consolation and gifts that we have no idea about today.

We, today, as has already been said, can only fantasize about heaven. Moreover, with effort, squeezing these fantasies through the narrow gaps between gloomy thoughts about the falling exchange rate of the ruble, grievances against the mother-in-law, worries about buying winter tires for the car, the upcoming Unified State Exam for the eldest son and a thousand other unpleasant thoughts that simultaneously torment any modern person every day with morning until night. That meager stuffing of fantasies that comes out of this mental meat grinder will be our current ideas about paradise.

Of course, the Garden of Eden was beautiful. But life with God can turn out to be paradise for a person even in the middle of a waterless desert overgrown with camel thorn bushes. And life without God and the Garden of Eden instantly turns into ordinary thickets of grass, bushes and trees. Only by understanding this can one understand everything else that happened in paradise with the first people.

Man has occupied a unique place in God's creation. The fact is that God created the spiritual world and the material world. The first was inhabited by angels - disembodied spirits (some of which subsequently fell away from God and became demons). The second is all the inhabitants of the Earth who have a body. Man turned out to be a kind of bridge between these two worlds. He was created as a spiritual being, but at the same time had a material body. True, this body was not at all the same as we know it today. This is how Saint John Chrysostom describes it: “That body was not so mortal and perishable. But just as a golden statue shines brightly, just emerging from the crucible, so that body was free from all corruption, it was neither burdened by work, nor exhausted by sweat, nor tormented by worries, nor besieged by sorrow, and no such suffering depressed it. " And Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov) speaks of the even more amazing capabilities of the body of primordial man: “...Clad in such a body, with such sense organs, man was capable of sensual vision of spirits, to the category of which he belonged with his soul, was capable of communicating with them, to that vision of God and communication with God, which are akin to holy spirits. The holy body of man did not serve as an obstacle to this, did not separate man from the world of spirits.”

Adam and Eve - why do we pay for the sin of Adam and Eve?

Capable of communicating with God, man could proclaim the will of God to the entire material world, over which he received enormous power from God. And at the same time, only he alone could stand on behalf of this world before its Creator.

Man was created as a king or, more precisely, a vicegerent of God on Earth. Having settled him in a beautiful garden, God gave him a commandment to preserve and cultivate this garden. Combined with the blessing, be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, this meant that over time, man had to make the whole world a Garden of Eden.

To do this, he received the broadest powers and opportunities. The whole world happily obeyed him. Wild animals could not harm him, pathogens could not cause illness in him, fire could not burn, water could not drown, the earth could not swallow him in its abysses.

And this almost sovereign ruler of the world received only one prohibition from God: “And the Lord God commanded man, saying: Of every tree of the garden thou shalt eat, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat of it, for on the day on which If you eat of it, you will die” (Genesis 2:16–17).

It was this only prohibition that man violated in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve, who had everything, decided that in order to be completely happy they still had to do something that was impossible.

The sandbox is mined

But why did God plant such a dangerous tree in paradise? Just hang a sign on him with a skull and crossbones: “Don’t interfere, he’ll kill you.” What a strange idea - in the middle of the most beautiful place on the planet, to hang deadly fruits on the branches? It’s as if a modern architect, when planning a kindergarten, suddenly for some reason designed a small minefield on the playground, and the teacher then said: “Children, you can play everywhere - on the slide, on the carousel, and in the sandbox. But don’t even think about coming here, otherwise there will be a big bang-badabum and a lot of trouble for all of us.”

Here it is immediately necessary to clarify: the prohibition on eating the fruits of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil did not mean at all that a person without these fruits knew nothing about good and evil. Otherwise, what was the point of giving him such a commandment?

Chrysostom writes: “Only those who by nature do not have reason do not know good and evil, but Adam possessed great wisdom and could recognize both. That he was filled with spiritual wisdom, see its discovery. “God brought the beasts to him,” it is said, “to see what he would call them, and that whatever a man called every living soul, that would be its name” (Genesis 2:19). Think of the wisdom of the one who could give names to the various breeds of cattle, reptiles and birds. God himself accepted this naming of names so much that he did not change them and even after the Fall did not want to abolish the names of animals. It is said: Whatever a man calls every living soul, that is its name... So, he who knew so much, did you really, tell me, not know what was good and what was evil? What will this be consistent with?”

Adam and Eve - why do we pay for the sin of Adam and Eve?

So, the tree was not a source of knowledge about good and evil. And its fruits were not poisonous either, otherwise God would have turned out to be like the alternatively gifted architect of a kindergarten already mentioned here. And it was called that for one simple reason: a person had ideas about good and evil, but only theoretical ones. He knew that good was in obedience and trust in the God who created him, and evil was in violating His commands. However, in practice, he could know what good is only by fulfilling the commandment and not touching the forbidden fruits. After all, even today, any of us understands: knowing about good and doing good is very much not the same thing. Just like knowing about evil and not doing evil. And in order to translate your knowledge about good and evil into a practical plane, you need to make some effort. For example, in a situation where a loved one in the heat of the moment said something offensive to you, the good thing, of course, would be to remain silent in response, wait until he cools down, and only then calmly and lovingly find out what made him so angry. And the evil in this situation, just as certainly, would be to say all sorts of nasty things to him in response and quarrel for long painful hours, or even days. Each of us knows about this. But, alas, it is not always possible to use this knowledge in a real conflict.

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is named so in the Bible because it was an opportunity for the first people to experimentally demonstrate their desire for good and aversion from evil.

But man (Adam and Eve) was not created as a robot, rigidly programmed for only good. God gave him freedom of choice, and the tree of knowledge became for the first people exactly the point where this choice could be put into practice. Without it, the Garden of Eden, and indeed the entire beautiful world created by God, would have turned out to be just a golden cage with ideal conditions for man. And the essence of God’s prohibition boiled down to a caring warning addressed to people who were free in their decision, as if they were being told: “You may not listen to Me and do it your own way. But know that such disobedience is death for you, who were created by Me from the dust of the earth. Behold, I also leave open to you the path of evil, on which inevitable destruction awaits you. But this is not why I created you. Strengthen yourself in goodness through the renunciation of evil. This will be your knowledge of both.”

But - alas! - people did not heed this warning and decided to learn evil through the rejection of good.

We are not to blame!

The Bible goes on to describe the events in the Garden of Eden as follows: “The serpent was more cunning than all the beasts of the field that the Lord God had created. And the serpent said to the woman: Did God truly say: You shall not eat from any tree in the garden? And the woman said to the serpent: We can eat fruit from the trees, only from the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, God said, do not eat it or touch it, lest you die. And the serpent said to the woman: No, you will not die, but God knows that on the day that you eat of them, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like gods, knowing good and evil. And the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes and desirable because it gave knowledge; and she took of its fruit and ate; And she gave it also to her husband, and he ate” (Genesis 3:1–6).

The serpent here refers to Satan - the head of the angels who fell away from God and turned into demons. One of the most powerful and beautiful spirits, he decided that he did not need God, and turned into Satan - the irreconcilable enemy of God and all of His creation. But Satan, of course, could not cope with God. And therefore he directed all his hatred at the crown of God’s creation - at man.

In the Bible, Satan is called the father of lies and a murderer. We can see both in the passage from Genesis quoted above. Satan created a false story that made God look like an envious deceiver afraid of human competition. And Adam and Eve, who had already received so many gifts and blessings from God, who knew Him, communicated with Him and were convinced from the experience of this communication that He was good, suddenly believed this dirty lie. And they decided to taste the fruits from the forbidden tree in order to become “like the gods.”

But instead, they just discovered that they were naked, and began to urgently build themselves primitive clothes from tree leaves. And when they heard God’s voice calling them, they were afraid and began to hide between the trees of paradise from the One who planted this paradise for them.

Traitors are always afraid of meeting those they betrayed. And what the first people did was a real betrayal towards God. Satan subtly hinted to them that by eating the forbidden fruits, they could become like God, become equal to their Creator. Which means living without Him. And people believed this lie. They believed Satan and stopped believing God.

This terrible changeling was the main tragedy of what happened in paradise. People refused to obey God and voluntarily gave themselves over to the devil.

Adam and Eve - why do we pay for the sin of Adam and Eve?

God forgave them for this first betrayal and gave them a chance to return to Himself, but Adam and Eve did not want to take advantage of it. The wife began to justify herself by saying that the snake had seduced her. And Adam completely blamed his wife and... God, who gave him such a “wrong” companion, for his crime of the commandments. Here it is, the last conversation of people with God in paradise: “...didn’t you eat from the tree from which I forbade you to eat? Adam said: The wife whom You gave me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate. And the Lord God said to the woman: Why have you done this? The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate” (Genesis 3:11–13).

So the first man betrayed God, his wife and himself in paradise. Created to reign over the material world, he turned into a pitiful creature, hiding in the bushes from his Creator and reproaching Him for the wife ... which You gave me. This is what made him so poisoned by the lies he received from Satan. Once having fulfilled the will of God's enemy, man himself became God's enemy.

Saint Theophan the Recluse writes: “The falling away from God was accomplished completely with disgust by a certain hostile rebellion against Him. That is why God retreated from such criminals - and the living union was interrupted. God is everywhere and contains everything, but He enters into free creatures when they surrender themselves to Him. When they are contained within themselves, then He does not violate their autocracy, but, preserving and containing them, does not enter inside. So our ancestors were left alone. If they had repented sooner, perhaps God would have returned to them, but they persisted, and despite obvious accusations, neither Adam nor Eve admitted that they were guilty.”

All in Adam

That's all, actually. Having betrayed God, Adam and Eve fell away from the source of their life. And they began to slowly die. Thus, a branch broken off from its native trunk still remains green for some time in the roadside dust, but its further fate is predetermined and inevitable. The beautiful human body, shining with the beauty and power of God being with it, immediately turned into a miserable body, subject to disease and the threats of the elements, when God departed from it. And paradise itself - the meeting place of man and God on earth - became for man a place of fear and torment. Now, having heard the voice of his Creator, he, overcome with horror, rushed around the Garden of Eden in search of shelter. To leave such a person in heaven would be senseless cruelty.

Thus, according to the word of the Bible, man found himself expelled from paradise and became a vulnerable, mortal being subject to Satan. This was the beginning of human history. All these terrible changes in human nature, associated with the falling away of the first people from God, were inherited by their descendants, and therefore by us, and our friends, and all contemporaries.

Why did this happen? Because man was designed to be constantly with God and in God. This is not some additional bonus to our existence, but its most important basis, the foundation. With God, man is the immortal king of the universe. Without God - a mortal being, a blind tool of the devil.

A series of births and deaths did not bring a person closer to God. On the contrary, each generation, living in spiritual darkness, accepted more and more new shades of evil and betrayal, the seeds of which were sown by sinners back in paradise. Macarius the Great writes: “... Just as Adam, who transgressed the commandment, accepted the leaven of evil passions in himself, so those born from him, and the entire race of Adam, by succession, became partakers of this leaven. And with gradual success and growth, sinful passions have already multiplied in people so much that they extended to adultery, lewdness, idolatry, murder and other absurd deeds, until all of humanity was soured with vices.”

This, in a nutshell, is the connection between what happened in paradise to the forefathers of mankind and how we are forced to live today.

Fallen man was unable to return to God. But what is impossible for people is possible for God. And then on one of the cold Palestinian nights, under a star shining in the night sky, a young mother gave birth to a boy in whom God united Himself with humanity that had fallen away from God. The boy's name was Jesus. A short life awaited Him on earth—only 33 years—the end of which would be yet another betrayal, terrible torment, and shameful execution on the cross on false charges. But it is from here, from the moment of His birth, that a new history of humanity begins, in which reconciliation with God has become possible for everyone who longs for it, strives to find it and can no longer live without it.

Alexander Tkachenko

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Iconography

Descent into hell. Dionysius. 1502-1503

The images of Adam and Eve are based on the texts of the book of Genesis (Gen. 2, 7-25; Gen. 3, 1-24; Gen. 4, 1-2).
The earliest and most common plot in the monuments of Christ. art - the fall of Adam and Eve, for example: paintings of the catacombs of San Gennaro in Naples, 3rd century, and Saints Peter and Marcellinus in Rome, 2nd half. III - 1st half. IV century; painting of the Dura-Europos synagogue (Syria), ca. 250 g; painting of the tomb of Aurelius in Rome, 3rd century; sarcophagus of Junius Bassus, 359 (Vatican Museums). Naked Adam and Eve are depicted standing at the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, around which a serpent is entwined. On the sarcophagus of Junius Bassus there is a sheaf of ears of grain next to Adam, and a sheep near Eve, which indicates their labors after expulsion from paradise. Scenes from the story of Adam and Eve are illustrated in detail in miniatures from early manuscripts.

The patristic tradition of comparing Christ with Adam and the legend that Golgotha, where the Savior was crucified, is the burial place of Adam, determined the image of Adam or the head of Adam in the composition “The Crucifixion”. The idea that the blood of the Savior atoned for the sin of Adam is expressed directly in iconography - drops of blood from the wounds of Christ fall on the head of Adam. The image of the head of Adam in the cave under Golgotha has been known since c. [5]. In Byzantine art there are compositions where in the lower part, on the sides of Golgotha, Adam and Eve are depicted rising from the tombs [6]. This detail can be explained by the influence of the iconography of the “Descent into Hell,” known since the 9th century. [7]. Adam appears as a gray-haired old man, in a tunic and himation, Eve - in a red dress and maforia.

Adam and Eve kneeling on either side of the Etymasia (prepared throne) are depicted in the composition “The Last Judgment” [8]. In the image of an elder, Adam is depicted among the Old Testament forefathers and prophets in temple paintings [9].

In Western iconography, the “Crucifixion” type with the half-figure of Adam at the base of the cross has become widespread [10].

Icon of the foremother Eve

There are quite a few icons with the face of St. Eve. Most often, the ancestress was depicted together with Adam. The iconography was based on biblical scenes. In early Christianity, drawings depicting scenes of the fall of the first people were found on frescoes and sarcophagus lids.

There are several famous icons with the prototype of the foremother:

“Descent into Hell” by Andrei Rublev, written in 1408. Transferred by the Vladimir Assumption Cathedral to the State Tretyakov Gallery.
An image painted by the leading Moscow icon painter Dionysius in 1502. Transferred for storage by the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary to the St. Petersburg Russian Museum.
An ancient image, created in the 17th century, can be seen in the Novgorod Anthony Monastery.

On ancient icons, most often there are images of Saint Eve, made in full height. Her face is sad, full of humility. The ancestress is wearing red veils, indicating her birthright.

The image of Saint Eve reminds Christian believers of the fall of their ancestors, as well as the consequences of the offense committed by the foremother. Therefore, in front of the icon, the ancestors pray for forgiveness for actions that violate God's laws.

Repentance coming from the soul will certainly be heard by Foremother Eve. The saint always acts as an intercessor before the Almighty for believers who ask her for help and protection. Women baptized in her name enjoy special protection from Saint Eve.

You can pray not only in front of the image of the ancestress, but also in front of the icon with the images of All Saints. It depicts the faces of the Old Testament forefathers and foremothers.

Literature

Malov E., prot. About Adam according to the teachings of the Bible and the teachings of the Koran. Kaz., 1885
Filaret (Drozdov), archimandrite. [Metropolitan Moscow]. Notes on the book of Genesis. [1816]
Bogorodsky Ya. A. The beginning of the history of the world and man according to the first pages of the Bible. Kaz., 1902
Thielicke H. How the World Began: Man in the First Chapters of the Bible. Phil., 1961
Renckens H. Israel's Concept of the Beginning: The Theology of Genesis 1-3. NY, 1964
Seraphim (Rose), Hierom. Orthodox understanding of the book of Genesis: Trans. from English M., 1998
Flemming J. Die Ikonographie von Adam und Eva in der Kunst vom 3. bis zum 13. Jh. Jena, 1953
Mazure A. Adame et Eve: Le thème d'Adame et Eve dans l'art. P., 1967