{"id":4302,"date":"2017-11-01T08:00:36","date_gmt":"2017-11-01T00:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/?p=4302"},"modified":"2021-10-20T10:37:05","modified_gmt":"2021-10-20T02:37:05","slug":"187-creation-freedom-sin-and-shame","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/?p=4302","title":{"rendered":"187. Creation: From Innocence to Shame"},"content":{"rendered":"

6<\/sup> So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate.\u00a07 <\/sup>Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.\u00a08 <\/sup>They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 <\/sup>But the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?”\u00a010 <\/sup>He said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.”<\/span><\/strong> [Genesis 3:6-10<\/span>, NRSV<\/em>]<\/span><\/p>\n

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From innocence to shame, and the possibility of return, the Bible speaks of a journey that promises a rich soil for contemplation. Here are some points for starters.<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Friendship and Estrangement<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

When the author of Genesis 2:15 writes about Adam and Eve being naked and yet they were not ashamed<\/em>, he sets up a significant bridge for understanding their \u201cfall\u201d in Genesis 3. What he does is to prepare the readers for a dramatic contrast with Genesis 3:7\u201d \u2013 \u201cThen the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves<\/em>.\u201d He takes the readers from the beauty of human innocence and honour, to a point of shame and dishonor, on account of an abuse of human freedom.<\/span><\/p>\n

The writer of Genesis attempts to place all this as the singular reality that stands at the origin of the three-part itinerary of human history in Holy Scriptures \u2013 creation, fall, redemption.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the beginning, Adam and Eve had no shame in their relationship to themselves and to others. The crucial underlying reality was that they were in the right relationship with God. Innocence was bliss. The moment that innocence was lost, shame set in. Dragged along in the trail of being ashamed, were a cocktail of painful effects such as guilt and fear. Along with these effects, compulsive behaviour emerges:<\/span><\/p>\n