Blog #3

Prior to the first sin of mankind, in which Eve was seduced by the Serpent into eating the product (different books suggest different fruits) of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and shared some with Adam when Gods only command was that its fruits were forbidden, not much is known of how those consequences God cursed upon mankind have shaped us. One thing was proven though in the early scriptures of Genesis, and that is that evil was inevitable. Following Adam and Eve’s casting off from the Garden of Eden, they produced their first two children, Cain and Able. Evil showed up for the second time early in the life of those two children, when Cain attacked and killed Able for God’s likeness of Able and his gifts of fat portions. God begins to worry about his creations of mankind, fearing that their long lifespans made them act as if they were immortal gods and their knowing of death following their time from his quote to Adam and Eve “For you were made from dust, and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3) made mankind act out of pride. An example of this pride Kass wrote about evolving from non-immortality is the tendency formed for men to judge and pick women by appearance. He said appreciation of natural beauty is good, but desire for it is not. To end this age of darkness caused by mankind, God had a plan. The first man God saw fit to start the new age, Noah (the first man to not be related to Adam and the first man born prior to Adam’s death), was to build a boat and bring upon his family and the right amount of animals God commanded. This time, God’s commands were followed and the New Age of life on earth began. The narrative about Noah furthers the concerns present in the account of the first sin in Genesis 3 because the first sin of mankind in Genesis 3 is a product of emphasis of self over community. After this sin, the issues of self over community continues to worsen. For example, Eve first tries to become more God-like by eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Bed. Then, the first offspring (s) of Eve show signs of this problem worsening when Cain kills his brother Able. Noah being the first to not be a “Children of Adam,” god hopes this continuation of the same issues just stems from the bloodline of Adam and is a curse that will be continues to be passed down for as long as that bloodline is present. Therefore, Noah is saved due to God seeing good in him and not being of Adam’s blood, and the rest of the “Children of Adam” were wiped out. From each of the Genesis scriptures I have read, the sins of humanity are not individual instances, but are all products of the first sin in Genesis 3, and the products of the consequences god cursed upon his creations for the ability to have such abilities to do wrong.