Problems with dogmas regarding Adam and Eve

[Vico]

The State of Sanctifying Grace is not something we are born with. Because of the results of Original Sin, Adam’s human nature, which is passed on to his descendants, was deprived of Original Holiness and Justice. (CCC404) It is the grace of Baptism which erases the State of Original Sin and turns the person back toward God as we share in His Divine Life. (CCC 405 & CCC 375) This is possible because of Genesis 1: 27.

Sharing in God’s Divine life is not the same as immortality. Immortality strictly refers to our normal decomposing anatomy.

Modern Cateholic Dictionary, Original Justice (excerpt):

Sanctifying grace is restored at justification, but the preternatural gifts are returned only as capacities (such as the ability to overcome concupiscence) or only eventually (such as bodily immortality after the final resurrection).

 

[grannymh]

Question from Post 18.

“No im not asking about sanctifying grace in the post. My post focuses on adam and his state before the fall. Was his body immortal? My conclusion that he did not have an immortal body lead me to think he also was without sanctifying grace. But i said i would focus on that in another post. Now im only asking about if adams body was immortal.”

In response to the question Was Adam’s body immortal before the Fall?

Why would God give the Gift of Immortality to Adam when Hecould put out his hand to take fruit from the Tree of Life. Genesis 3:22. Why was the Gift of Immortality necessary when the Tree of Life was already in the middle of the garden. Genesis 2: 9. Certainly, we cannot know the mind of the Genesis author in relationship to above questions. We can use Catholic teachings. For example, the place of humans in creation.

CCC 343
**“**Man is the summit of the Creator’s work, as the inspired account expresses by clearly distinguishing the creation of man from that of the other creatures.”

The “inspired account” is footnote 211, Genesis 1: 26 usccb.org/bible/genesis/1
“Then God said: Let us make* human beings in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the tame animals, all the wild animals, and all the creatures that crawl on the earth.

Granted there are different interpretations of verse Genesis 1: 26.Still, there is not a creature who is above “Man is the summit of the Creator’s work.”

Another point. Animals have no hint of a spiritual Soul. For example. The Border Collie is at the top of the list of the most intelligent dog breeds.https://www.canidae.com/blog/2010/10/just-how-smart-is-border-collie/ Still, no one considers this amazing animal as in the image of God. Genesis 1: 27. We know that animals, regardless on their special gifts, will never be immortal.

We should refer to Ott’s (full name) statement that the “Gift of Immortality” is badly misunderstood. This is not the gift of being “not able to die, but of being “able not do die” because of God’s loving Gift of Immortality. The Gift of Immortality retains Catholic teaching that the human body is first oriented to life by the animation of a rational spiritual soul. Adam is a spiritual being.
(CCC 364, CCC396 & CCC 1730)

In response to Post 18 question – Was Adam’s body immortal before the Fall?

The answer is yes based on God’s pure love in these three paragraphs from the universal* Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition*. The words in bold are evidence that God, in His love for Adam and Eve, gave them the uniquely wonderful gift of immortality.

CCC 374
The first man was not only created good, but was also established in friendship with his Creator and in harmony with himself and with the creation around him, in a state that would be surpassed only by the glory of the new creation in Christ.

**CCC 375 **
The Church, interpreting the symbolism of biblical language in an authentic way, in the light of the New Testament and Tradition, teaches that our first parents, Adam and Eve, were constituted in an original “state of holiness and justice”. This grace of original holiness was “to share in. . .divine life”.

CCC 376specifically refers to the gift of immortality**.**
By the radiance of this grace all dimensions of man’s life were confirmed.** As long as he remained in the divine intimacy, man would not have to suffer or die**. The inner harmony of the human person, the harmony between man and woman, and finally the harmony between the first couple and all creation, comprised the state called “original justice”.

Because of God’s great love, Adam’s body was immortal before the Fall.

nnn

 

[grannymh]

Question from Post 18.

“No im not asking about sanctifying grace in the post. My post focuses on adam and his state before the fall. Was his body immortal? My conclusion that he did not have an immortal body lead me to think he also was without sanctifying grace. But i said i would focus on that in another post. Now im only asking about if adams body was immortal.”
​

In response to the question “Was Adam’s body immortal before the Fall?”

CCC 343
**“**Man is the summit of the Creator’s work, as the inspired account expresses by clearly distinguishing the creation of man from that of the other creatures.”

The “inspired account” is footnote 211, Genesis 1: 26 http://www.usccb.org/bible/genesis/1
“Then God said: Let us make human beings in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the tame animals, all the wild animals, and all the creatures that crawl on the earth.”

Granted there are different interpretations of verse Genesis 1: 26. Still, there is not a creature who is above “Man is the summit of the Creator’s work.”

Another point. Animals have no hint of a spiritual Soul. For example. The Border Collie is at the top of the list of the most intelligent dogs.https://www.canidae.com/blog/2010/10/just-how-smart-is-border-collie/ Still, no one considers this amazing animal as in the image of God. Genesis 1: 27. We know that animals, regardless of their special gifts, will never be immortal.

We should refer to Ludwig Ott’s statement that the “Gift of Immortality” is badly misunderstood. This is not the gift of being “not able to die, but of being “able not to die”. The Gift of Immortality retains Catholic teaching that the human body is first oriented to life by the animation of a rational spiritual soul. Adam is a spiritual being.
(CCC 364, CCC 396 & CCC 1730)

In response to Post 18 question – Was Adam’s body immortal before the Fall?

The answer is yes based on God’s pure love in these three paragraphs from the universal* Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition*. The words in bold are evidence that God, in His love for Adam and Eve, gave them the uniquely wonderful gift of immortality.

CCC 374
The first man was not only created good, but was also established in friendship with his Creator and in harmony with himself and with the creation around him, in a state that would be surpassed only by the glory of the new creation in Christ.

**CCC 375 **
The Church, interpreting the symbolism of biblical language in an authentic way, in the light of the New Testament and Tradition, teaches that our first parents, Adam and Eve, were constituted in an original “state of holiness and justice”. This grace of original holiness was “to share in. . .divine life”.

CCC 376 refers to the gift of immortality**.**
By the radiance of this grace all dimensions of man’s life were confirmed.** As long as he remained in the divine intimacy, man would not have to suffer or die**. The inner harmony of the human person, the harmony between man and woman, and finally the harmony between the first couple and all creation, comprised the state called “original justice”.

Because of God’s great love, Adam’s body was immortal before the Fall.

 

[grannymh]

As far as Im aware the faithful are required to believe Adam and Eve had imortal bodies before the fall. However i find that the biblical narrative does not support this, so here are my reasons.

My reading of genesis 3 begs me to interpret this differently. To me it seems that eating from the tree of life grants immortality to man. God put man in the garden with access to the tree of life and gave no command not to eat from it. So Adam had access and the right to obtain immortality but he was not created with immortality. Upon eating from the tree of knowledge however, he lost the chance to obtain immortality for he was banished from the garden.
Reasons why this view makes sense from the text.

1. gen 3:22 seems to suggest 4 things, that the tree of life gives eternal life; that Adam lost the chance to obtain immortality; that Adam had not yet eaten from the tree of life; he would only need to eat from it once to obtain eternal life.
2. Also considering that Adam only need to eat from the tree of knowledge once to obtain knowledge permanently, then only eating from the tree of life once grants life permanently.
3. The text never mentions Adam eating from the tree of life before the fall.

The main difference im getting at is, that God did not create man with an immortal body, rather God gave man a choice between Life and Knowledge. Man chose knowledge and not life. Man had access to immortality he was not created in an imortal state

As far as I can tell, God created a man who had a regular physical body which he had to nourish by eating. Genesis 2: 15-17. The reference to bad organic fruit, Genesis 2: 17 clearly points out that Adam did not have the Gift of Bodily Immortality. In addition, according to CCC 376, the Gift of Immortality banished suffering as long as Adam remained “in the divine intimacy”.

Your above reading of Scripture and your reasoning lead to all kinds of interesting questions. For example. Where is the action of Adam which would lead to life permanently? I doubt if God forgot to give Adam the directions. Even the talking serpent knew where the middle of the Garden was.

My question is why were the three Preternatural (not part of natural human nature) Gifts necessary for Adam and Eve. The best answer I have found was that God really truly loved Adam and Eve and sincerely wanted them to be in heaven with Him in joy forever.

 

[Reuben_J]

As far as I can tell, God created a man who had a regular physical body which he had to nourish by eating. Genesis 2: 15-17. The reference to bad organic fruit, Genesis 2: 17 clearly points out that Adam did not have the Gift of Bodily Immortality. In addition, according to CCC 376, the Gift of Immortality banished suffering as long as Adam remained “in the divine intimacy”.

I would reason it this way too - that Adam did not have immortal body and that he as to eat the fruits from the tree of life to stay immortal.

The slight gap there however, and that would be academic, is whether he has to eat the fruit only once to be immortal or everyday, like how we eat everyday?

Another thing which is not specified in the Genesis narrative is whether he had eaten the fruit of the tree of life and therefore was immortal at that point in time but losing it when he ate of the forbidden fruit of the knowledge of good and evil.

Or if he could not lose his immortality, then he had not eaten the fruit of the tree of life yet at that point in time when he ate of the fruit of knowledge.

 

[grannymh]

I would reason it this way too - that Adam did not have immortal body and that he as to eat the fruits from the tree of life to stay immortal.

The slight gap there however, and that would be academic, is whether he has to eat the fruit only once to be immortal or everyday, like how we eat everyday?

Another thing which is not specified in the Genesis narrative is whether he had eaten the fruit of the tree of life and therefore was immortal at that point in time but losing it when he ate of the forbidden fruit of the knowledge of good and evil.

Or if he could not lose his immortality, then he had not eaten the fruit of the tree of life yet at that point in time when he ate of the fruit of knowledge.

Instead of all of the above, which seems a tad not profitable, I consider it easier to start with Catholic doctrines. Beginning with the Catholic doctrine that Adam, with his spouse Eve, are the sole founders of the human species. Is that o.k. with you?

Note: I also like to read the Catechism of the Catholic Church Second Edition, including checking foot notes, cross-references, and the Index of Citations.

Genesis 2: 15-17 is a great source of information coinciding with some basic Catholic doctrines. I am truly embarrassed to say this – It is rare that CAF participants take the time to actually study the Catholic truths in the first three chapters of Genesis. The biggest truth which does not often appear on CAF is the original relationship between the human Adam and the Creator God.

And yes, it is the middle of the night and I am very grumpy. On the other hand, I do write in the middle of the night when all is good.

As a start, we need to consider that Adam did not need to eat the fruit of the Tree of Life. Why would he? Genesis 1: 27 is an excellent source of basic information.

The gap I see is the point when Adam and Eve received the Preternatural Gift of Bodily Immortality.

 

[Vico]

…As a start, we need to consider that Adam did not need to eat the fruit of the Tree of Life. Why would he? Genesis 1: 27 is an excellent source of basic information.

The gap I see is the point when Adam and Eve received the Preternatural Gift of Bodily Immortality.

1. Sanctifying Grace

Our first parents, before the Fall, were endowed with sanctifying grace. (De fide.) …

The Council of Trent has deliberately left the question [of when] undecided (whence constitutus, not creatus…The Fathers found the supernatural endowment with grace indicated in Gn. 1, 26 (similitudo = supernatural identity of image and likeness with God) ; in Gn. 2, 7 (spiraculun vitae = supernatural life-principle), and in Eccles. 7, 30: “Only this have I found that God made man right.” …​

1. The Gifts of Integrity

a) The donum rectitudinis or integritatis in the narrower sense, i.e., the freedom from irregular desire. (Sent. fidei proxima.) …

Holy Writ attests the perfect harmony between reason and sensuality. Gn.2, 25: “And they were both naked … and were not ashamed.” It was only sin that gave rise to the feeling of shame (Gn. 3, 7. 10). …

b) The donum immortalitatis, i.e., bodily immortality. (De fide.)The gift of immortality is, as St. Augustine teaches (De Gen. ad Litt. VI 25, 36), to be conceived as posse non mori (= the possibility of not dying) not as non posse mori (= impossibility of dying). The Fathers regarded bodily immortality as being transmitted through the tree of life (Gn. 2, 9; 3, 22).

c) The donum impassibilitatis, i.e., the freedom from suffering. (Sent. communis.) …
Our first parents immediately after their creation by God received from Him the order to till the land (Gn. 2, 15), and thus, in a limited measure, to participate in the work of the Creator. …

d) The donum scientiae, i.e., a knowledge of natural and supernatural truths infused by God. (Sent. communis.)In Holy Writ the deep knowledge ofAdam is indicated in his naming of the animals (**Gn. 2, 20) **and in his immediate knowledge of the status and tasks ofthe woman (Gn. 2, 23 et seq.). Cf. Ecclus. 17, Set seq.
In Gn. 2, 20 (naming of the animals), St. Augustine sees" a proof of the transcendental wisdom" (indicium excellentissimae sapientiae: Op. imperf. contra JuI. V I).​

– Ludwig Ott, Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma pp 103-104

 

[po18guy]

Independent thinking, lack of submission to or obedience to the Church exposes a certain lack of trust in the Church. This may be hyperbole, but the reformation was founded on just such thinking.

Are we really more intellectual, more faith filled, more enlightened than 2,000 years of the world’s greatest theologians?

I think not.

 

[grannymh]

1. Sanctifying Grace
   Our first parents, before the Fall, were endowed with sanctifying grace. (De fide.) …
   
   The Council of Trent has deliberately left the question [of when] undecided (whence constitutus, not creatus…The Fathers found the supernatural endowment with grace indicated in Gn. 1, 26 (similitudo = supernatural identity of image and likeness with God) ; in Gn. 2, 7 (spiraculun vitae = supernatural life-principle), and in Eccles. 7, 30: “Only this have I found that God made man right.” …
   ​

​

​

The key issue in Sanctifying Grace is that it is a state, that is, it exists within the person. It is over and above the normal natural material blood and guts human nature. It is supernatural.

In the account of creation, Genesis 1: 26 starts the shift from the natural material world to the human person who is capable of sharing in the life of the Divine Creator. Adam did not need a tree of life because at the moment of his creation, he was in a friendship relationship (State of Sanctifying Grace) with his Divine Creator.

The Tree of Life “bestowed immortality upon those who ate of its fruit (Gen 3: 22)” * Catholic Bible Dictionary*, Scott Hahn. We need to be careful not to confuse basic immortality with the State of Sanctifying Grace.

As said above – “Our first parents, before the Fall, were endowed with sanctifying grace. (De fide.) …”

 

[Vico]

[/INDENT][/INDENT]The key issue in Sanctifying Grace is that it is a state, that is, it exists within the person. It is over and above the normal natural material blood and guts human nature. It is supernatural.

In the account of creation, Genesis 1: 26 starts the shift from the natural material world to the human person who is capable of sharing in the life of the Divine Creator. Adam did not need a tree of life because at the moment of his creation, he was in a friendship relationship (State of Sanctifying Grace) with his Divine Creator.

The Tree of Life “bestowed immortality upon those who ate of its fruit (Gen 3: 22)” * Catholic Bible Dictionary*, Scott Hahn. We need to be careful not to confuse basic immortality with the State of Sanctifying Grace.

As said above – “Our first parents, before the Fall, were endowed with sanctifying grace. (De fide.) …”

And that state is called original justice.

 

[grannymh]

And that state is called original justice.

“Justice” as in the Original State of Adam and Eve needs to be explained.

The following CCC paragraphs are from section “IV. Man in Paradise”, page 95.

**374 **
The first man was not only created good, but was also established in friendship with his Creator and in harmony with himself and with the creation around him, in a state that would be surpassed only by the glory of the new creation in Christ.

**375 **
The Church, interpreting the symbolism of biblical language in an authentic way, in the light of the New Testament and Tradition, teaches that our first parents, Adam and Eve, were constituted in an original “state of holiness and justice”. This grace of original holiness was “to share in. . .divine life”.

**376 **
By the radiance of this grace all dimensions of man’s life were confirmed. As long as he remained in the divine intimacy, man would not have to suffer or die. The inner harmony of the human person, the harmony between man and woman, and finally the harmony between the first couple and all creation, comprised the state called “original justice”.

The following CCC paragraphs are from section “Man’s First Sin”, page 100.

**399 **
Scripture portrays the tragic consequences of this first disobedience. Adam and Eve immediately lose the grace of original holiness. They become afraid of the God of whom they have conceived a distorted image - that of a God jealous of his prerogatives.

**400 **
The harmony in which they had found themselves, thanks to original justice, is now destroyed: the control of the soul’s spiritual faculties over the body is shattered; the union of man and woman becomes subject to tensions, their relations henceforth marked by lust and domination. Harmony with creation is broken: visible creation has become alien and hostile to man. Because of man, creation is now subject “to its bondage to decay”. Finally, the consequence explicitly foretold for this disobedience will come true: man will “return to the ground”, for out of it he was taken. Death makes its entrance into human history.

Note:
Because this thread leans toward the harmony between Adam and his Divine Creator, we explore the meanings of the State of Original Holiness aka the State of Sanctifying Grace. The Tree of Life, because it is God’s life, requires that Adam lives in harmony with God. Original Sin is the opposite of harmony with God.

Original Justice brings harmony within the person. By understanding the consequences in CCC 400 above, we can understand the marvelous gift of Original Justice which includes bodily immortality aka one of the Preternatural gifts.

In my opinion, we first learn about Original Holiness aka State of Sanctifying Grace because it is the foundation for true human nature, which originally included Original Justice.

I am so glad I am too old to be a student taking a test on the above. :yup:

 

[Wesrock]

So to Jesus who is also fully man being without sin should also be without death, thats my point. Therefor how did Jesus die?

The preternatural gifts are not the same as sanctifuing grace, though we forfeited the former when we rejected the latter.

 

[grannymh]

So to Jesus who is also fully man being without sin should also be without death, thats my point. Therefor how did Jesus die?

The Catholic Church teaches that Jesus is the Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity.
Please share what that fact means to you. Thank you.

 

[fhansen]

As far as Im aware the faithful are required to believe Adam and Eve had imortal bodies before the fall. However i find that the biblical narrative does not support this, so here are my reasons.

My reading of genesis 3 begs me to interpret this differently. To me it seems that eating from the tree of life grants immortality to man. God put man in the garden with access to the tree of life and gave no command not to eat from it. So Adam had access and the right to obtain immortality but he was not created with immortality. Upon eating from the tree of knowledge however, he lost the chance to obtain immortality for he was banished from the garden.
Reasons why this view makes sense from the text.

1. gen 3:22 seems to suggest 4 things, that the tree of life gives eternal life; that Adam lost the chance to obtain immortality; that Adam had not yet eaten from the tree of life; he would only need to eat from it once to obtain eternal life.
2. Also considering that Adam only need to eat from the tree of knowledge once to obtain knowledge permanently, then only eating from the tree of life once grants life permanently.
3. The text never mentions Adam eating from the tree of life before the fall.

The main difference im getting at is, that God did not create man with an immortal body, rather God gave man a choice between Life and Knowledge. Man chose knowledge and not life. Man had access to immortality he was not created in an imortal state

I think there’s a sense in which this is true. Adam and Eve were given gifts that we don’t have today but at the same time those gifts were contingent on their actions. They were sort of morally neutral towards God unless and until they would opt to make the right choice, until they actually were bound to Him, until they loved Him with their whole heart, soul, mind, and strength IOW, which would’ve naturally precluded their act of disobedience. This teaching from the Catechism applies equally to them as it does to us now:
1732 As long as freedom has not bound itself definitively to its ultimate good which is God, there is the possibility of choosing between good and evil, and thus of growing in perfection or of failing and sinning. This freedom characterizes properly human acts. It is the basis of praise or blame, merit or reproach.:

God deemed it better that man now doesn’t possess all the gifts he was once given; it’s best that we gain an appreciation for what’s missing, for what we should desire, for what only unity in spirit and will with God can give us. In this way we can develop a hunger and thirst for righteousness, a hunger for Him as we directly live and experience the evil, sin, corruption, and death that result when creation-ourselves-are out of communion with Him, a state we’re now born in as a result of Adam’s sin, a state without direct knowledge of, let alone hope in and love for, God. With the help of revelation and grace we may gain those virtues now in a struggle that leads to eternal life, as we’re in a state of “journeying to perfection”, a condition the Church teaches God actually created His universe* in.*

 

[IWantGod]

As far as im aware these are the dogmas of the Catholic church regarding adam and eve and there level of certainty.

The first man was created by God. (De fide.)
The whole human race stems from one single human pair. (Sent. certa.)
**Our first parents, before the Fall, were endowed with sanctifying grace. **(De fide.)
The donum rectitudinis or integritatis in the narrower sense, i.e., the freedom from irregular desire. (Sent. fidei proxima.)
The donum immortalitatis, i.e., bodily immortality. (De fide.)
The donum impassibilitatis, i.e., the freedom from suffering. (Sent. communis.)
The donum scientiae, i.e., a knowledge of natural and supernatural truths infused by God. (Sent. communis.)
Adam received sanctifying grace not merely for himself, but for all his posterity. (Sent. certa.)
Our first parents in paradise sinned grievously through transgression of the Divine probationary commandment. (De fide.)
Through the sin our first parents lost sanctifying grace and provoked the anger and the indignation of God. (De fide.)
Our first parents became subject to death and to the dominion of the Devil. (De fide.) D788.

The whole human race stems from one single human pair. (Sent. certa.)

What does Sent certa mean and why is it not De fide?

 

[grannymh]

The Preternatural Gifts were intended to help Adam and Eve get to heaven.

Today, our help is the Catholic Church.

 

[Monica4316]

The Church does teach that Adam would not have died. We only die because of the fall.

Our Lord gave Our Blessed Mother a choice, because she was sinless she could have not died. She chose to voluntarily to share in her Son’s suffering. Then her body was taken to Heaven in the Assumption.

Baltimore Catechism

1. What befell Adam and Eve on account of their sin?

A. Adam and Eve, on account of their sin, lost innocence and holiness, and were doomed to sickness and death.

1. Were we to remain in the Garden of Paradise forever if Adam had not sinned?

A. We were not to remain in the Garden of Paradise forever even if Adam had not sinned, but after passing through the years of our probation or trial upon earth we were to be taken, body and soul, into heaven without suffering death.
Q. 256. What evil befell us on account of the disobedience of our first parents?

A. On account of the disobedience of our first parents, we all share in their sin and punishment, as we should have shared in their happiness if they had remained faithful.

Catechism of Trent

Production Of Man

Lastly, He formed man from the slime of the earth, so created and constituted in body as to be immortal and impassible, not, however, by the strength of nature, but by the bounty of God. Man’s soul He created to His own image and likeness; gifted him with free will, and tempered all his motions and appetites so as to subject them, at all times, to the dictates of reason. He then added the admirable gift of original righteousness, and next gave him dominion over all other animals. By referring to the sacred history of Genesis the pastor will easily make himself familiar with these things for the instruction of the faithful.

So yes Adam and Eve were immortal. That is the clear teaching of the Church everywhere… Their bodies were such that they would not have died.

 

[Monica4316]

No im not asking about sanctifying grace in the post. My post focuses on adam and his state before the fall. **Was his body immortal? **My conclusion that he did not have an immortal body lead me to think he also was without sanctifying grace. But i said i would focus on that in another post. Now im only asking about if adams body was immortal.

He was made immortal as the quote from the Council of Carthage said in another thread. If he had not sinned he would not have died. It doesn’t mean the immortality isn’t connected to anything. It only means that he really had an immortal body, with the preternatural gifts. As the Council said, he would not have died if there had not been the fall

 

[Richca]

As far as Im aware the faithful are required to believe Adam and Eve had imortal bodies before the fall. However i find that the biblical narrative does not support this, so here are my reasons.

I think it is rather straightforward from the Genesis narrative that the death of our first parents, Adam and Eve, was the result of them eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil from which God commanded them not to eat and which God told them that on the day they eat of it they will die. The implication being that if our first parents had not disobeyed God’s command they would not have to die and they would also still have access to the tree of life and not been banished from the garden of Eden. St Paul sums it up succinctly “through one man sin came into the world and through sin death, and so death spread to all men” (Romans 5:12). Death was the penalty God threatened our first parents with if they broke his command to not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Therefore, before sin, man was immortal. “God created man immortal, and made him in the image of his own nature, but through the devil’s envy death entered the world” (Wisdom 2: 23-24). It is the clear teaching of the Church that in the state of innocence, our first parents possessed bodily immortality. Confer post #44 from Vico and post #75 from Monica. From the CCC, Man in Paradise, “As long as he remained in the divine intimacy, man would not have to suffer or die” (#376); and

‘Death is a consequence of sin. the Church’s Magisterium, as authentic interpreter of the affirmations of Scripture and Tradition, teaches that death entered the world on account of man’s sin. Even though man’s nature is mortal God had destined him not to die. Death was therefore contrary to the plans of God the Creator and entered the world as a consequence of sin. “Bodily death, from which man would have been immune had he not sinned” is thus “the last enemy” of man left to be conquered’ (#1008).

Now, the bodily immortality of Adam and Eve in the garden of paradise was not of the same nature, kind, or degree as the bodily immortality of glory which we hope to possess when we rise again with our bodies on the last day and which Jesus and Mary possess now. The Church teaches that the bodily immortality of our first parents before they sinned was first of all and principally a supernatural gift of grace bestowed on them as part of the supernatural gift of original holiness and justice. St Thomas Aquinas explains it as a supernatural force bestowed upon the soul to preserve the body from corruption. But this gift of bodily immortality was of such a nature in our first parents, unlike that which we hope to possess some day of heavenly glory when we rise with our bodies, that it required some instrumental or earthly causes as well as it were. For example, the partaking of food and drink and the tree of life. God commanded Adam that he may freely eat of all the trees of the garden except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. So, in the state of innocence, Adam and Eve had to partake of food and drink to preserve the body from corruption just as we do now or we will die. After the resurrection of the dead when we rise with our bodies, we will have an incorruptible body as St Paul says by which it will not be necessary to eat or drink to preserve the body from corruption. Our first parents before they sinned also had access to the tree of life in the garden by which St Thomas Aquinas explains was a remedy to ward off old age which is a natural process of the body by which it deteriorates and which eventually results in death. And St Thomas explains that eating of the ‘fruit’ of the tree of life would have had to have been continuous, not just one time, as a one time eating of the tree of life would have warded off incorruption of the body not for an infinite time but for some definite finite time, which after this some definite finite time, another partaking of the tree of life would be necessary (cf. ST, Part I, Q. 97, art. 4; cf. also art. 1 of q. 97).

So, as regards the tree of life in the garden of paradise or Eden, St Thomas says that it was a cause of bodily immortality in a certain degree, but not absolutely. The tree of life was more like an instrumental or secondary cause of immortality (cf. what I have said above and the references to St Thomas in the Summa Theologica.) St Thomas says that ‘neither was the soul’s intrinsic power of preserving the body due to the tree of life [this was a supernatural or what is called a preternatural gift of grace from God, a spiritual power bestowed upon the soul], nor was it [the tree of life] of such efficiency to give the body a disposition to immortality whereby it might become indissoluble; which is clear from the fact that every bodily power is finite; so the power of the tree of life could not go so far as to give the body the prerogative of living for an infinite time, but only for a definite time. For it is manifest that the greater a force is, the more durable is its effect; therefore, since the power of the tree of life was finite, man’s life was to be preserved for a definite time by partaking of it once; and when that time had elapsed, man was to be either transferred to a spiritual life, or had need to eat once more of the tree of life.’

Still, as the scripture says and Aquinas says quoting St Augustine “even after sin man would have remained immortal, had he been allowed to eat of the tree of life.” This apparently even without the supernatural gift bestowed on the soul to preserve the body from corruption. But, as I said above, this gift apparently was not of itself as it will be in heavenly glory enough for bodily immortality as Adam and Eve in the garden had need for food and drink and the tree of life.

 

[Richca]

Other questions to consider regaining jesus and man’s original state.