Often, I am surprised at the realism of the Bible. As we read the Book of Genesis, we might think the creation stories, the fall of Adam and Eve, the fratricide of Cain and Abel, and so on are anything but real stories. They are certainly not historical or scientific accounts of the origins of the universe and man. However, these stories expose theological and philosophical truths of the universe and man.
As for the fall of Adam and Eve, some may question how taking the fruit of a tree can be sinful. Just because God forbade it? Is not this too arbitrary? Nobody got hurt. How can we call it sinful? To answer these questions, we should examine why Adam and Eve took and ate the fruit. They wanted to be like God. They wanted to own the knowledge of good and evil as God did. They wanted to act as they wish, even against the order of creation and God’s commandment. This reveals the essence of sin: to do whatever I want disregarding God’s will and ignoring the order of creation. Sin is essentially against God. Some might think a man alone on an island could not sin because all his acts could not affect anyone. It is not true. Even when we are alone, we are to respect and follow the order of creation and the purposes of creation. If I would destroy lives or abuse myself for pleasure, even if I were the only human being in the whole world, I would still sin against God. Sin is not a situational by-product. Nor is it essentially social or structural. It comes within man’s heart as Jesus taught, “Nothing that enters man defiles him, but what comes out of man’s heart defiles.” Every time we commit sins, we first take the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, saying to ourselves, ‘I want to be like God. I want to do what I want. I can ignore what God commands. But I will not die.’ Is not this happening to every sinner? Is not this truly real?
Regarding the story of Cain and Abel, some may raise the question of why God did not accept the sacrifices of Cain. It seems God was partial to Abel. Some might even think God’s favouritism indirectly caused the fratricide. To answer this question, we should examine the meaning of the sacrifices Cain and Able offered. God did not ask for sacrifices. Somehow, the two brothers offered sacrifices from what they laboured on. It shows that man already had a sense of duty to offer thanksgiving to God even before an established religion prescribed it. Those sacrifices were man’s expression of his thanks to God. In other words, the man was offering his thankful heart to God with burnt offerings. Now, what God did not accept from Cain was his greedy heart because God saw Cain’s inner heart. I do not think Cain offered something defective or worthless. While offering his harvest, Cain was not happy because he loved his possessions more than God. That was why God, who sees man’s heart, rejected his offerings. His act of offering sacrifices was, then, hypocrisy.
We might have an impression that God was responsible for the fratricide because of his favouritism. Not at all. Before committing the murder, Cain sinned against God first. When God reminded him of his sinfulness, Cain did not repent. Instead, he became sad that God accepted his brother Abel. Cain became envious – spiritual sadness about other’s good. Then, he murdered his brother.
Who commits sins? Those who are not happy with God commits sins. Or those who are sincerely happy with God does not sin. Those, who are not content with what God gives, look for other consolations and pleasures – fame, money, power, sex, speed, drugs, and the like. Is not this real?
These stories of the Bible might sound unsophisticated. But their profundity is not easy to measure. They always surprise me with an unfathomable depth of truth.
