The origin of sin is not a conundrum. It is a question that can be answered.
In the broadest sense, sin is alienation from God.*
VARIETIES OF ALIENATION
Eve was seduced by the subtle argument of the serpent.** Adam was not.*** Eve was the first to fall. Adam differed from her in knowingly partaking of the forbidden fruit of knowledge. He knowingly chose her fate because he could not bear living without her. His wife Eve became more important to Adam than God.
Nothing or no one should take the place of God as our first allegiance. Most of all family.
The Fall was two-fold, necessitating a two-fold remedy to undue the act of Adam first and Eve second.
FIRST ADAM; SECOND ADAM
The death of Jesus vicariously negates the consequences of Adam's disobedience and is salvific for all humankind past, present, and future.**** The merits of His sacrifice are known as grace. Grace is stronger than sin.
Where sin abounds, grace does much more abound. In verses 5 and 6 of Exodus 20 we are told the family consequences of sin last for three to four generations. However, the benefits of grace are good for thousands of generations.
As His penalty for sin, Adam was given the task of working to support his family.***** For her part, Eve was told the key to rectifying her fall from immortality is child-bearing.****** Only thus could she preserve her name and memory.
DUAL MESSIAHS
The two-fold fall of humankind has fueled speculation about the need for complementary male and female messiahs to undo the actions of Adam and Eve.
MOTHERLY VIRTUE
Eve is the mother of humankind. She stands at the forefront of all families as the Queen of Righteousness. Her example is one of conversion from sin to righteousness through faith. She is exemplified in name and memory "if they [her children] continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety" (1 Timothy 2:15).
The highest achievement of mothers is the study and emulation of womanly virtues.
THE FAMILY OF FAITH
For those who have not benefited from a holy family; the synagogue, church, and mosque are an alternative family.*******
Through faith we may heal the world we live in and save it for our children.
FAMILY AND SOCIETY
The family rather than the individual is the basic unit of society. A society declines or thrives in relation to the cohesion of the family.
CONCLUSION
The entrance of sin was calculated to promote the growth of the soul through a process of moral conflict and decision-making. The conflict is resolved with the assistance of a loving family or faith community.
Someday we all must die. God's love is the answer to our sufferings and eventual fate. This love is modeled through family life in subordination to God.
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* "But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid [his] face from you, that he will not hear" (Isaiah 59:2).
** 2 Corinthians 11:3.
*** 1 Timothy 2:14.
**** Romans 5:14ff.
***** Genesis 3:17-19.
****** Genesis 3:16; 1 Timothy 2:15.
******* "Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee. But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother" (Matthew 12:47-50).
"And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life" (Matthew 19:29).