Excuses of Eden

I have not read the Steinbeck novel. Somehow I dodged it in my formal education. From my authoritative source, Wikipedia, it sounds as if it has literary parallels to the biblical story of Cain and Abel. No light reading.

In the Fall of Man story in Genesis, God asks the three parties involved--the man, the woman, and the serpent--what happened (Genesis 3:12). The man blames the woman and God, the woman blames the serpent, and the serpent pleads the 5th and keeps his trap shut. It says something bad when Satan acts more honorably than the human actors. He's guilty and he knows it.

Excuses and blame-shifting are as old as human history. I have wondered if the Curses of God would have been any different if Adam had said, "I am guilty" and left it at that. And Eve, "I am guilty" and left it at that. Even with all of the finger-pointing, God is still graceful and promises redemption to the human race rather than treat our first parents as deserved.

When we make morally sinful decisions, there are of course outside influences and temptations. Yet, in the end, we make choices. It seems unfair that we have inherited a corrupt nature at birth from our first parents without being the principals who committed the crime. However, it shows us the immense risks that relationships have. Our decisions have a profound effect on the moral landscape. There is no escaping the reality that we take the hit for the crimes of all in one way or another.

Christ ultimately took the collective hit on Calvary in the judicial sense. Although sin still runs amok in the world, the curse consequences have been paid in full. From the excuses of Eden to the excellencies of Christ.