THE CATECHISM OF
THE
CATHOLIC CHURCH
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THE PROFESSION OF FAITH
SECTION TWO
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".[250] This grace of original holiness was
"to share in. . .divine life".[251]
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.[252] The inner harmony of the human person, the
harmony between man and woman,[253] and finally the harmony between the
first couple and all creation, comprised the state called "original
justice".
377 The "mastery" over the world that God offered man from the beginning
was realized above all within man himself: mastery of self. The first man
was unimpaired and ordered in his whole being because he was free from the
triple concupiscence[254] that subjugates him to the pleasures of the
senses, covetousness for earthly goods, and self-assertion, contrary to
the dictates of reason.
378 The sign of man's familiarity with God is that God places him in the
garden.[255] There he lives "to till it and keep it". Work is not yet a
burden,[256] but rather the collaboration of man and woman with God in
perfecting the visible creation.
379 This entire harmony of original justice, foreseen for man in God's
plan, will be lost by the sin of our first parents.
IN BRIEF
380 "Father,. . . you formed man in your own likeness and set him over the
whole world to serve you, his creator, and to rule over all creatures"
(Roman Missal, EP IV, 118).
381 Man is predestined to reproduce the image of God's Son made man, the
"image of the invisible God" (Col 1:15), so that Christ shall be the
first-born of a multitude of brothers and sisters (cf. Eph 1:3-6; Rom
8:29).
382 "Man, though made of body and soul, is a unity" (GS 14 # 1). The
doctrine of the faith affirms that the spiritual and immortal soul is
created immediately by God.
383 "God did not create man a solitary being. From the beginning, "male
and female he created them" (Gen 1:27). This partnership of man and woman
constitutes the first form of communion between persons" (GS 12 # 4).
384 Revelation makes known to us the state of original holiness and
justice of man and woman before sin: from their friendship with God flowed
the happiness of their existence in paradise.
385 God is infinitely good and all his works are good. Yet no one can
escape the experience of suffering or the evils in nature which seem to be
linked to the limitations proper to creatures: and above all to the
question of moral evil. Where does evil come from? "I sought whence evil
comes and there was no solution", said St. Augustine,[257] and his own
painful quest would only be resolved by his conversion to the living God.
For "the mystery of lawlessness" is clarified only in the light of the
"mystery of our religion".[258] The revelation of divine love in Christ
manifested at the same time the extent of evil and the superabundance of
grace.[259] We must therefore approach the question of the origin of evil by
fixing the eyes of our faith on him who alone is its conqueror.[260]
The reality of sin
386 Sin is present in human history; any attempt to ignore it or to give
this dark reality other names would be futile. To try to understand what
sin is, one must first recognize the profound relation of man to God, for
only in this relationship is the evil of sin unmasked in its true identity
as humanity's rejection of God and opposition to him, even as it continues
to weigh heavy on human life and history.
387 Only the light of divine Revelation clarifies the reality of sin and
particularly of the sin committed at mankind's origins. Without the
knowledge Revelation gives of God we cannot recognize sin clearly and are
tempted to explain it as merely a developmental flaw, a psychological
weakness, a mistake, or the necessary consequence of an inadequate social
structure, etc. Only in the knowledge of God's plan for man can we grasp
that sin is an abuse of the freedom that God gives to created persons so
that they are capable of loving him and loving one another.
Original sin - an essential truth of the faith
388 With the progress of Revelation, the reality of sin is also
illuminated. Although to some extent the People of God in the Old
Testament had tried to understand the pathos of the human condition in the
light of the history of the fall narrated in Genesis, they could not grasp
this story's ultimate meaning, which is revealed only in the light of the
death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.[261] We must know Christ as the
source of grace in order to know Adam as the source of sin. The
Spirit-Paraclete, sent by the risen Christ, came to "convict the world
concerning sin",[262] by revealing him who is its Redeemer.
389 The doctrine of original sin is, so to speak, the "reverse side" of
the Good News that Jesus is the Saviour of all men, that all need
salvation and that salvation is offered to all through Christ. The Church,
which has the mind of Christ,[263] knows very well that we cannot tamper
with the revelation of original sin without undermining the mystery of
Christ.
How to read the account of the fall
390 The account of the fall in Genesis 3 uses figurative language, but
affirms a primeval event, a deed that took place at the beginning of the
history of man.[264] Revelation gives us the certainty of faith that the
whole of human history is marked by the original fault freely committed by
our first parents.[265]
391 Behind the disobedient choice of our first parents lurks a seductive
voice, opposed to God, which makes them fall into death out of envy.[266]
Scripture and the Church's Tradition see in this being a fallen angel,
called "Satan" or the "devil".[267] The Church teaches that Satan was at
first a good angel, made by God: "The devil and the other demons were
indeed created naturally good by God, but they became evil by their own
doing."[268]
392 Scripture speaks of a sin of these angels.[269] This "fall" consists in
the free choice of these created spirits, who radically and irrevocably
rejected God and his reign. We find a reflection of that rebellion in the
tempter's words to our first parents: "You will be like God."[270] The devil
"has sinned from the beginning"; he is "a liar and the father of lies".[271]
393 It is the irrevocable character of their choice, and not a defect in
the infinite divine mercy, that makes the angels' sin unforgivable. "There
is no repentance for the angels after their fall, just as there is no
repentance for men after death."[272]
394 Scripture witnesses to the disastrous influence of the one Jesus calls
"a murderer from the beginning", who would even try to divert Jesus from
the mission received from his Father.[273] "The reason the Son of God
appeared was to destroy the works of the devil."[274] In its consequences
the gravest of these works was the mendacious seduction that led man to
disobey God.
395 The power of Satan is, nonetheless, not infinite. He is only a
creature, powerful from the fact that he is pure spirit, but still a
creature. He cannot prevent the building up of God's reign. Although Satan
may act in the world out of hatred for God and his kingdom in Christ
Jesus, and although his action may cause grave injuries - of a spiritual
nature and, indirectly, even of a physical nature- to each man and to
society, the action is permitted by divine providence which with strength
and gentleness guides human and cosmic history. It is a great mystery
that providence should permit diabolical activity, but "we know that in
everything God works for good with those who love him." [275]
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