Fall of Man facts for kids
The Fall of Man (also known as "The Fall") is a famous story from the Book of Genesis in the Torah (which is part of the Old Testament). It tells how Adam and Eve lost their innocence in the eyes of God. The story says that Adam and Eve ate fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, even though God had told them not to. Because they disobeyed, they were sent out of the beautiful Garden of Eden.
For many Christians, this event means that humans can't become good enough on their own to reach Heaven after they die. They believe that it's only possible to get into Heaven because Jesus Christ gave his life as a sacrifice.
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Different Beliefs About the Fall
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all believe the story of the Fall is true, but they each explain it in their own way.
Islam's View
Islam teaches that the Fall was a real event in history. However, it didn't change human nature forever. It says that Adam and his wife were sent out of the Garden of Eden and had to work and suffer because Adam ate from the Tree of Knowledge. But God still offered a way for those who stayed loyal to Him to enter Heaven.
Judaism's View
In Jewish tradition, Adam and Eve had the freedom to choose whether to obey God's first rule: not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge. When they ate the fruit, they had to face the consequences. They were sent out of the Garden of Eden, which is like Paradise, and had to work hard to survive.
But eating the fruit also gave them special gifts like knowledge, wisdom, and self-awareness. These are things that make humans different from animals. Judaism teaches that eating the fruit was an act of disobedience, but not a "sin" in the same way some other religions see it. Unlike Christianity, Judaism teaches that people do not inherit Original Sin from Adam and Eve. If someone does something wrong, they can pray directly to God for forgiveness. If they have hurt another person, they should also ask that person for forgiveness. Judaism believes that everyone can reach Heaven and be close to God again. You don't have to be Jewish to do this.
Judaism teaches these main ideas about the Fall:
- God loves all people.
- People are naturally good.
- People should use God's gifts wisely. These gifts include:
- Life on Earth
- Free will (the ability to choose)
- Knowledge
- Self-awareness
- Good human qualities
- Jewish people have a special responsibility to use these gifts well.
- Jewish people should be loyal to God with love. This means they should happily follow God's rules and teachings.
Christianity's View
Most Christians believe that everyone born after Adam is born with sin. They think that because of this, no one could get into Heaven on their own. However, they believe that Jesus, who was born without sin, died to take away the sins of those who believe in him. Christians believe that anyone who trusts in Jesus Christ gets a "second chance" to enter Heaven. As it says in the Gospel of John the Apostle: "...God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him would not be lost but have eternal life." (John 3:16, ERV) Different Christian groups have slightly different ideas about the Fall and how Jesus saves people.
Catholic Beliefs
Catholicism teaches that people are born with sin, but they also have free will. This means they can choose to clean themselves of sin and go to Heaven. They believe God's grace (His help) changes people so they want to do good. Without this first help from God, sinful people might not want to go to Heaven.
Calvinism and Puritanism
Calvinists believe that God chooses which humans will go to Heaven and which will not. They think humans don't get to choose in "spiritual matters."
Puritans took this idea even further. They said that humans could do nothing to earn their way into Heaven. They believed that no matter how good a person was, if God hadn't chosen them at birth, they wouldn't go to Heaven. However, a person could lose their chance to go to Heaven by being bad.
Some Protestants believe that when Jesus gave his life, he freed people from sin forever. Others believe that while Jesus freed people from sin, it didn't automatically guarantee they would go to Heaven.
Liberal Christian Views
Some Christians believe that the story of the Fall in Genesis 3 isn't a true historical event. Instead, they see it as a myth or a story that the Israelite people used to explain that the close relationship between humans and God was broken.
This view suggests that Bible stories about humans failing in the Garden of Eden and needing to be saved are explanations of deeper spiritual truths. Some also believe that Jesus Christ was God's way of trying to start a new relationship with humanity.
Eastern Orthodox Views
The Eastern Orthodox faith believes that children are not guilty of their parents' sins. So, they don't believe sin is directly passed down from Adam. They think that people are tempted to sin by the world around them. To go to Heaven, people must try hard to resist these temptations. However, they still believe that Adam's actions made it necessary for all humanity to work hard for their salvation. They strongly emphasize free will: even sinful people can be saved by working together with God's grace.
Pelagianism
Pelagianism is a belief that humans can freely choose to do good or bad things without God's help. It also teaches that humans are not born with Adam's sin.
Mormonism
Mormonism teaches that the Fall was actually part of God's plan to help His children get into Heaven.
Mormons believe that when Adam ate from the Tree of Knowledge, it wasn't wrong in the sense of being a "sin" (willful disobedience). Instead, they call it a "transgression." A transgression is breaking a rule, while a sin is knowingly going against God's will. Since Adam didn't know good from evil before eating the fruit, his act was a transgression of a rule, not a sin against God's known will.
Before eating the fruit, Adam could never die. Because he couldn't die, he couldn't go to Heaven. Eating the fruit allowed Adam to become mortal (able to die), so he could later go to Heaven. It also allowed Adam and Eve to have children, giving everyone a chance to live, die, and return to Heaven. Mormons believe that if someone follows God's Plan of Salvation, they can go to Heaven.
Mormons believe:
- People will be punished for their own sins, not for Adam’s transgression.
- Through Jesus Christ's sacrifice, all people can be saved by obeying the rules and practices of the Gospel.
- The first important steps of the Gospel are:
- Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ
- Repentance (being sorry for wrongs and changing)
- Baptism by immersion (being fully dipped in water) to wash away sins
- Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Unity Church
The Unity Church believes that "The Fall of Man" has an important spiritual meaning, but they don't see it as a true historical event.
Unitarian Universalism
Unitarian Universalists believe that people are naturally good. They think that our most precious gift, free will, is what sometimes allows people to do wrong things. They don't believe in predestination (that everything is decided beforehand) or outside temptation as the main cause of wrong actions. For them, the Fall is a story, a metaphor, or an allegory, not a historical event.
The Fall in Books and Stories
Philip Pullman wrote a book series called His Dark Materials. In his books, he suggests that the Fall was a good thing because it allowed humans to become free to learn. Pullman believes that being innocent isn't worth it if it means not knowing the truth.
C.S. Lewis wrote a book called Perelandra, where Adam and Eve's story takes place on the planet Venus instead of the classic Garden of Eden.
In the Japanese comic book series Neon Genesis Evangelion, the Fall is often discussed. At the end of the story, there's an attempt to cleanse Adam's sin and start a new beginning.
Other pages
See also
In Spanish: Caída del hombre para niños
