Human Action in the Fall

Abstract

The Christian tradition takes moral evil with radical seriousness. The tradition is divided on how to read Genesis 3 as seen in the work of Augustine and Symeon the New Theologian. We need several angles of vision to do justice to the fall and to human sin: a theological reading of Genesis 1–11, the many concepts used to describe sin, canonical lists of sins, hierarchies of sin, and the morphology of temptation. These enable us to develop a rich description of sin which does not undermine the goodness of creation. The deepest level of sin is represented by demon possession.