Do you believe that original sin could not have occurred until the evolution of the human species?
Original Sin could not have occurred until the evolution of the human species. Free will is required for sin. I have yet to see a slug that blasphemes or takes morality into its own hands after a long philosophical debate.
According to Sacred Tradition, the act of Original Sin involved Man defining good and evil for himself, without reference to God. The fruit which Adam ate was the consequence of this act, which is despair. Of course, despair leads to death. Atheism, in its varying degrees, is a continuation of this primordial rebellion.
Whether or not Man would have died before the Fall is kind of a useless question, in a sense. Whether or not Adam was immune to suffering, disease, and so forth is quite trivial. The fact of the matter is, Adam fell, so what he would have been matters very little. What he was, and what we are, is all that’s important. We are fallen.
I find it odd to hear someone say: “You are a heretic! You admit ignorance to whether or not Adam would be immortal if he did not fall!” However, Adam fell, so he was mortal.
Suppose I said, “If Christ had been a woman, Christ would have given birth to a daughter.” Would it make sense to say, “Heretic! Christ would never have a daughter!”? No, because in reality, Christ was a man, so what he might have done had he been a woman is irrelevant. It would be like me seeking revenge and murdering my best friend, because if my father had won the lottery last week, which he didn’t, my best friend would have killed him and taken the money. See my point?
Understand, I accept the Church’s teaching on original justice, in the literal sense. I mean, it’s dogmatic. There’s no choice when it comes to truth. No one, especially me, has a right to choose error.
I believe man would not have died, if he had not fallen. But I don’t think it mattered much to Adam. I mean, even I have enjoyed a day or so without pain and such. It seems Adam lost original justice long before he could ever appreciate its eternal duration.
Also, we had one pair of original parents. This is not that hard to accept at all. Somebody has to draw the line somewhere between human and prehuman…although there are some scriptural passages that imply animals are responsible for their actions and will share in the resurrection (just ask me if curious).
Or do you hold that the possibility that it occurred prior to that must be held open?
Unless the ACLU has members who are bacteria, then no, Original Sin occurred at the Dawn of Man.
Also, if humans were to evolve in the future into an entirely new species, how would that effect the whole Christian teaching that Jesus died to redeem “men” (humans). I believe this is the question posed in the other thread, but they all seem to be staying within the realm of microevolution - where the species would still be “human”.
Man, in the Biblical sense, is a being capable of abstract reasoning, or intellect, and covanental relationships. Michael the Archangel is referred to as the man of God, and yet he is incorporeal.
Adam and Eve might have technically been members of the homo erectus species, but they were still human beings. We are homo sapiens, but some think there was cross-breeding between us and neandrathals. Were they human beings? Of course. I think a case can be made that homo erectus and the neandrathal were another race, not species.
At the end of the day, we won’t become another species for several million years. God usually comes and gives us a covenant or something every few thousand years, so either the world will be over by then, or the Lord will provide more instructions when the time comes. Let’s worry about crossing the bridge once we get there.
Pax Christi,
Geoffrey
