The Role Of Sin In Genesis

There is a great misconception in how the world perceives and treats sin versus how a theologically informed reader of Genesis understands the issue. Rather than suppressing the truth of sin, as the world often attempts to do, Pope Benedict XVI and the Holy Spirit use Genesis to convince us of sin’s existence in order to attain salvation. The story of Genesis reveals much about relationality as God intended. Pope Benedict takes from Genesis these points to explain sin as the destruction of this relationship. First, the garden, as depicted in the Bible, represents the world, our home (Ratzinger 64). God willed it to be a place of shelter, nourishment, and sustainability (Ratzinger 64). It would not be right, then, to exploit this world,

The chapter begins, “The man had intercourse with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain” (Gen 4:1). This is exactly the point brought up earlier by Pope Benedict that our lives are dependent on relationships. These relationships are broken, however, so the world that Cain and, by extension, ourselves are brought into is also broken. Though in our lives, we may attempt to right this relationship with God, if we do not do so with the proper intention and action, we cannot attain salvation. In this account, God reminds us, “If you act rightly, you will be accepted; but if not, sin lies in wait at the door: its urge is for you, yet you can rule over it” (Gen 4:7). This echoes the earlier chapters in Genesis when God presents the garden to Adam and Eve as a gift out of goodness and love. The earth which they are given is their home where they can be nourished and sustained, but God explicitly warns them, “From [the tree of the knowledge of good and evil] you shall not eat; when you eat from it you shall die” (Gen 2:17). The serpent, and thus sin, are ever present in our world just as in the garden of Eden and the fields of Cain and Abel. It is a temptation that “lies in wait”. It follows us, but it is not altogether unavoidable. God promises us that we can rule over it (Gen 4:7). Salvation is attainable. As the story continues,