Adam and Eve: How Original Sin Shaped Christian Baptism and Belief
Adam and Eve committed the first sin in human history, called Original Sin. This is the reason Christians get baptized. This was a momentous event that shaped world history. Catholics believe that babies must be baptized to redeem them from this Original Sin. These baptisms, because of the sin committed by Adam and Eve, are celebratory moments for countless families. What Adam and Eve did in the Garden of Eden is very important. It is at the beginning of the Bible, in the book of Genesis. There has been a lot of political debate surrounding creationism versus evolution. However, is something so many families do evidence in favor of creationism?
The Original Sin of Adam and Eve
The Original Sin of Adam and Eve occurred in the Garden of Eden (The Garden was between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in modern-day Iraq). God forbade the first people, Adam and Eve, from eating fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. However, the Serpent tricked Eve into eating fruit from the tree. She then gave some of the fruit to her husband, and he ate it. The Serpent was really Satan. Their eyes were opened by eating the fruit. They realized they were naked. God was upset with them, and they hid from him.
When God found the first people, he asked them why they hid. They told him they hid because they were naked. Finally, they told him that the Serpent tricked them into eating the apple from the Tree of Knowledge. This was a momentous moment in human history because Adam and Eve ate from the tree God forbade them to eat from. What they did is called the Original Sin, and it is why billions of Christians have been baptized.
The Original Sin resulted in the Fall. It is interesting to note that this unfortunate incident kicks off a series of events with the first people on earth, in which they reveal their brokenness. Indeed, the lessons of Adam and Eve are that we are nothing without maintaining an existence in God’s good graces. Adam and Eve violated these good graces and paid the price; they were expelled by God from the Garden of Eden. God no longer walked with them. They also committed Original Sin, thus dooming mankind.
Why Snakes Crawl on the Ground
Special mention should be made of the Serpent that tricked Adam and Eve. The Serpent is really Satan. Because he tricked the first people into eating from the Tree of Knowledge, God said, “on your belly you shall crawl all the days of your life.” He also said he would put enmity between the Serpent and the children of Adam and Eve, saying the children would strike at the head of the serpent. This is probably why people are afraid of snakes.
Parting Thoughts
There is more to this first story. Adam and Eve lived for a very long time, but they only had two children. One murdered the other, as the story of the third and fourth chapters of Genesis shows. This event, Original Sin, is important because it is the reason Christians get baptized today. That is a major event in families and has happened thousands and thousands of times.
