Questions in Genesis: On Death Before The Fall, Part 2

On Death Before the Fall, Part 2

            I prefer the answer that this design of predation and the cessation of life was part of the original plan as it makes more sense of how the Bible speaks about death and how we see the world actually functioning.  Indeed, if death did not exist before the fall, it would seem rather inappropriate for God to warn Adam that on the day he ate of the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil that he would die.  This statement by God assumes that Adam knew what death was and that it was something he knew that should be avoided.  Further, the idea that the “death” Adam and Eve experienced was a physical event not only ran into the problems previously mentioned in Genesis, but these same problems are compounded by St. Paul in his letter to the church in Rome.  Below is a rather long quote so that the context of his statements can be slightly more evident.

           

 “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned- ¹³ for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law.  ¹⁴ Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.  ¹⁵ But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.  ¹⁶ And the free gift is not like the result of that one man's sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification.  ¹⁷ If, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.  ¹⁸ Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.” (Romans 5:12-18, English Standard Version)

            For our purposes, the contrast in verses 17 and 18 are terribly important.  The trespass of Adam brought death, but the free gift through Jesus brings life.  What is the life that Jesus brings to all humanity?  It is certainly not a physical immortality.  Or else, the followers of Jesus would be clearly evident by the fact that they just do not die as every other human being.  Therefore, the life which Jesus brings is not a matter of physical life (at least at this time).  If this life which Jesus brings to solve the problem of death started by Adam, it would appear that St. Paul certainly understood the death of Adam speaks primarily to the spiritual state of humanity before God. 

            From a larger biblical perspective there is also a clear connection made between spiritual death and physical death.  Once Adam and Eve were expunged from the Garden, God separated them from the Tree of life lest they eat of it and live forever (Genesis 3:22-24).  And so the genealogies in Genesis repeat the theme of death as nearly everyone in the list died.  So also St. Paul picks up on the same theme by noting that death reigned from Adam to Moses.  Yet, we also see in this statement that St. Paul is not speaking of physical death alone, or else he could have extended death until Jesus not stopping at Moses.  By stopping at Moses we have a clear hint that spiritual death is what Paul means when he speaks of death here.

            This lengthy excursus into Romans does help to clarify the idea that the death which appeared in the sin of Adam is primarily a spiritual death.    Since this death is primarily a spiritual death, then it frees one from the difficulty of postulating how creatures who appear to be highly efficient killers came to be highly efficient killers instead of vegetarians trying to adapt to a world in which meat/carrion is now a food source.  Indeed, it allows one to wonder at the creative work of God who designed the (now) largest mammals to swim through the water and filter living creatures out of the water.