Father Smith Instructs Jackson (Noll Library). Archbishop John Francis Noll, D.D., LL.D.

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       Instruction 2

       The Fall of Man and original sin

      Father S. Well, Mr. Jackson, have you had any difficulty in accepting what you were taught in the last instruction?

      Mr. J. No, Father; only I was impressed by what you said about the fallen angels — the poor devils, who have lost heaven for good.

      Father S. It does seem sad, but it was all their own fault. They knew what would be the consequences of their rebellion, and possessing free will, could have chosen to obey the Almighty. They surely could not have expected to be rewarded, and rewarded eternally, for rebellion against their Creator, their only Lover, the One Who drew them out of nothingness, clothed them with beauty and offered them happiness indescribable in His own heavenly home. Eternal reward had no alternative but eternal separation from God; if they could not have heaven, they must be excluded from heaven, which is the worst torment of hell.

      The Almighty dealt quite similarly with the first human creatures He made; that is, He tested their loyalty with a promise of heaven for fidelity and a threat of hell for disobedience. We shall take this up presently. According to the Bible (Gn 1-5), God made the universe and all it contained in six days, beginning with purely material things, followed by the lower kind of living things, then by animals, and finally by man, who was to have only a temporary home here below. His final destiny, like that of the angels, would be heaven; but like the angels, he would receive it only as a reward for service. God could deal honorably with man in no other manner and still leave him what he is, a free being.

      Mr. J. Was the whole structure of the universe really formed in six days?

      Father S. Not likely. Most experts in the interpretation of Sacred Scripture are inclined to support geologists who contend that the word “day” used by Moses, could not have been the brief period spanned by twenty-four hours. Not that God could not have produced all in six days or even six seconds, but they say facts are against the literal “day.”¹ We measure our days from sunrise to sunrise, but, according to the Bible, the sun was not made until the fourth day. The word “day,” as used by Moses, in the absence of a better word, may have covered a very long period of time. The Church does not oppose this view.² What we wish to note is that man, who appeared on the scene, differs from all other living creatures of the visible world in this, that he was made to serve God here and win for himself eternal happiness with God hereafter.³ Speaking of the creation of man, after all material things were formed, the Bible says that the Almighty created him after His own image (Gn 1:27), which refers chiefly to the soul, because God does not have a body. Man’s soul is like God in this, that it is a spirit, immortal, and endowed with understanding and free will.⁴

      Mr. J. Do not scientists hold that man’s body evolved from an ape?

      Father S. Some hold that, but offer no convincing proof. They say that an ape’s body is similar in construction, but that does not mean anything. Since man has been on earth for thousands of years, why are there still apes? All should have evolved into human bodies long ago. But the most renowned scientists have discarded the “ape” theory. Even if the evolutionists were right, we are not contending that man differs so much from the animals as to body, but as to soul. Our very conversation proves the spirit within our bodies. Every effect shows the nature of its cause. Our thoughts, whether expressed in word or not, are spiritual; they certainly are not material, for they cannot be seen or handled. Therefore their source, the soul, must be spiritual. And a spirit cannot die (Wis 3:1-4). It is not made of parts into which it can dissolve or corrupt. Hence, whether God made Adam’s body out of the earth or not, matters little. The Bible says, and reason proves it, that God breathed into his body a living soul, a spirit that would ever live, and hence excel in value the whole material creation. This fact itself explains why God should have so interested Himself in man.⁵

      Mr. J. Doesn’t the Bible say that God formed Eve’s body from a rib of Adam?

      Father S. Yes; and that is easy as well as pleasant to believe. If Adam’s body was made directly by God, Eve’s should have been, for Adam and Eve having been the first man and woman, could not have been born as other people are. God intended and did make Adam and Eve husband and wife immediately, thus they became the first parents of the whole human race. Moreover, by forming Eve from a rib of Adam, God emphasized the oneness that should characterize the married pair: “They shall be two in one flesh” (Gn 2:24).

      Mr. J. There is surely something very fitting in that.

      Father S. Now I must inform you what God’s original intention was concerning all mankind, providing our first parents would not disobey Him. God not only gave to them all that belonged to a complete human nature, such as keen intelligence of mind, physical health, and sharp senses of body, but He elevated their nature by causing them to share in His own divine life as far as it is humanly possible in this world and clothing their souls with a supernatural beauty, which will be frequently referred to as “sanctifying grace.” In this condition, their souls bore God’s own image, reflected His own divine life, and hence were objects of His intense love.⁶ But that was not all God did for our first parents, and was ready to do conditionally for all their descendants. He intended that earth should be a veritable paradise for them. They lived in a state of complete earthly happiness because God gave them full knowledge befitting their position; they were in no way disturbed by evil inclinations of their bodily desires for the pleasures of food or sex; they were free from all bodily suffering and hardship, and would never die. These perfections were gifts СКАЧАТЬ