Autumn 1 - Creation/Fall

What do Christians learn from the Creation story?

At the end of the Creation story in Genesis 1, the world is ‘very good’. The story of Adam and Eve focuses on what happens next in this ‘good’ world. Adam has been told by God not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Eating from this tree is the one and only thing that God forbids Adam and Eve to do. However, both of them give in to the temptation to eat the fruit of the tree, an action that comes with a huge price.

This is the first time that something has gone wrong in God’s very good world, and it is not caused by God (who is completely good), but by humans. The story can be read as an insight into human nature — people are not always good. As part of God’s creation, humans should obey God, but this can be very difficult to do. In the case of Adam and Eve, disobeying God is presented as humans corrupting the good world and bringing evil into it.

This ‘Fall’ changes the relationship between humanity and God. Humans are punished and forced to leave the Garden of Eden. The Bible goes on to show ways in which people can be close to God after this Fall. This recognition of failure, and also the desire to be close to God, are reflected in Christian practice today.