Intriguing question.
Before saying anyone of this, needing Scripture verses quoted, I am presenting an alternate, as the OP has done, simply to make us think outside the box, or the repeated Church belief one may have been born into, so as to never really think about it
I do not believe that because Adam and Eve sinned, all humans are now born into sin. As a Lutheran, I could never understand Catholics that would talk about babies going to Pergatory if they hadn’t been baptized, or even hell.
A baby? I don’t know if babies have concrete thoughts yet enough to be deemed evil word, thoughts or deeds.
Does that mean that when a baby grows to a toddler, to a child, to a teen to an adult, that they won’t make bad choices that do not love their neighbor, but are done in selfishness? Of course. If we were born perfect, or we were able to lead a Christ-like life, we would never understand forgiveness. I don’t think our imperfections are a curse, but rather, what challenges us to learn, to choose between our lower human desire to hold a grudge or get even, to the divine soul God designed us as, where we forgive those who sin against us, and bless those who curse you.
And if we pray for the ability to forgive, to love our enemies, it is given in abundance.
What I find really intriguing about the story is that the serpent tells Eve that she will not die, but will become like God. When God sees that they have eaten form the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil (shouldn’t he just know?), he says, “They have become like us,” so, technically, the serpent did not lie. God then says to remove them from the garden before they eat of the Tree of Life, or else they will become eternal, like us.
But it reads like a myth to explain why there are rainbows in the sky, or why it gets cold in winter.
Men may have wondered why life was so hard, why tilling the land, and growing food was so much work, and women may have wondered why giving birth was so painful. By having a story about how Adam and Eve disobeyed, one can understand that life is hard because it is a punishment.
And following this belief, when one was born with a handicap, such as blindness, or being lame, it was seen as punishment for “sins of the father” passed on to the child. This is why, when Christ healed, he would often say, “Your sins are forgiven.” I do not believe the sins of the father are punished in the child. It is unjust.
So, in being made imperfect, we are able to forgive the imperfections of others. In being imperfect, we acknowledge our imperfections and humble ourselves before others, who also have imperfections. In being made imperfect, can choose to forgive those that will not ask for it, to love our enemies, and to love others as they are, not despite their imperfections, as we are loved by God. We also stumble and harm another lashing out in anger, and acting in selfishness, in order to learn how to own one’s sin, ask the person harmed for forgiveness, learn how to humble oneself, and yet, focus on actively loving to fulfill the law, instead of trying to remember every command of Scripture, and especially, not condemning another for minor or even questionable offences (men and women wearing the same garments, like pants.)
Each moment is a choice. On the left, you have love of self. It is where you are self-righteous, help others only if they can help you, lie if it gives you what you want, have disrespect for others, etc.
On the right, you have loving your neighbor as yourself. This will hold love, hope, forgiveness, mercy, kindness, gentleness, humility.
Standing in the centre, neutral between self and loving your neighbor, each opportunity arises.
Today, you walk by a homeless person. They ask you for money to get some food.
You can:
Give them a referral to a food shelf
Give them money
Go buy them some food
Tell them to get a job and keep walking.
The last choice will move you two steps to the left, justifying the selfish response.
The other 3 will give varying steps to the right, making you a little more full of empathy, a little more generous, a little more humble because you would want help if your situations were reversed...
Soon, if continuing in the same way, acting selfishly or selflessly will become second nature, your choice your own nature that makes your actions more predictable.
At any moment, the individual can choose to go the opposite direction - try to be kinder, and in effect, become a little kinder, or being burned at some point, stop helping others in order to care about oneself first, and become more selfish.
Every moment, every conversation, every interaction, every thought, holds an opportunity for change and improvement, or detriment.
Had we been born perfect, and had Adam and Eve simply obeyed, we wouldn’t have been able to really understand love, forgiveness, what it feels like to harm another or be harmed, fighting against injustice, and really being challenged to choose the high road.
So, I can’t imagine where mankind would be, where there is no need for forgiveness, no sadness, no death, no separation just....sunny and happy every day, the same, for eternity.
