Adam and Eve would not withstand the test of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. In Genesis 3, we read that Eve took of its fruit and ate, giving some to Adam who ate of it, as well. Thus original sin entered the world, bringing sin and darkness, pain and suffering, and toil and shame. Their minds and wills would now be drawn to such disorder as the seven deadly sins, moved by the mark of pride. Most momentously, Adam and Eve’s disobedience would result in their inevitable experience of death. The story of humanity would thus be inseparable from this first act of rebellion, this first fall from grace.

While the word "myth" has come to mean "untrue account," we mean something quite different. Throughout the long ages of human life and culture, myth has been a way of expressing deep truths. And so, here, "mythic narrative" means "meaningful account." Indeed, it is an account that might be entirely true... or mostly false... or somewhere in between. We know where we stand, but that's for each listener to discover.

www.primematters.com

A text version of this project is under production by ActsXXIX. See www.primematters.com/text.