Adam Eve And The Serpent Summary

926 Words4 Pages
In her book Adam, Eve, and the Serpent, Ellen Pagels attempts to study and track the origins of the traditional patterns of gender and sexual relationships found in Christian movement. During the centuries immediately following the life of Christ, the Christian movement formulated and solidified many of the values still prevalent among churches and Christian communities today; while controversies surrounding human sexuality, freedom, and sin still evidence themselves in our modern era, the early church in particular struggled to confront these issues as they transformed from an illegal sect to the accepted religion of the entire Roman Empire. As Christian doctrine and traditions changed with the evolution of Christianity into a wide-scale religion,…show more content…
Pagel dedicates much of the remainder of her book summarizing the various interpretation of Genesis by Gnostics and Orthodox Christians alike, and explaining the political and social ramifications of each interpretation. Whereas the early Christians believed in the idea of free will and self-autonomy through baptism, the emerging fusion of the Roman Empire with the Christian church could not allow the existence of such autonomy. As Chrysostom stated, “[In the Roman Empire] everything is done through fear and constraint; [in the church], through free choice and liberty” (105). What I find particularly interesting is the dilemma that Pagel presents: given the autonomy that the early Christians enjoyed, how could they accept and legitimize the role of a Christian emperor and government who sought to extend their influence from “unruly pagans, to Christians themselves” (107). Augustine’s new theology offered somewhat of a solution to this dichotomy; rather than reading into the Genesis narrative as proof that human beings are free and autonomous, Augustine interprets that all of humanity is corrupted and enslaved to repeatedly sin. This new ideology and interpretation allows the new institution of the Roman Church to validate its own authority. Should the humanity truly be diseased and destined to sin, the Church accepts the role of a spiritual healer and governs humanity because their very nature has been corrupted as a result of Adam’s sin. This doctrine and theory of Adam’s fall justifies – and necessitates – the marriage of the church and
Show More
Related

  • Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde Research Paper

    1190 Words  | 5 Pages

    (Stevenson, 51) The strange phenomenon that Dr. Lanyon once regarded as being “scientific balderdash” has just occurred before his very eyes, because of Hyde. Shocked, Lanyon dies from this experience. Furthermore, Stevenson, alludes to the story of Adam and Eve here. Hyde tempts and satisfies Dr. Lanyon’s “thirst for knowledge” and metaphorically “invites him

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Created In God's Image Hoekema

    1787 Words  | 8 Pages

    depth of how Adam was a historical man who was created good: without sin. He had a perfect relationship with God. Matt. 19:4-6 and Mark 10:6-8 are used by Hoekema to show how even Jesus Christ viewed Adam as a real being made clean by God. However, Adam’s helper Eve was deceived by a serpent and ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil with Adam. Thus sin entered into the world. Adam was the world’s representative therefore, when he sinned we all sinned. The fact that Adam and Eve were historical

    Read More

  • Gnostic Paul Summary

    943 Words  | 4 Pages

    Elaine Pagels, a professor of religion at Princeton University and a prominent Gnostic scholar, is the author of the 1975 book The Gnostic Paul: Gnostic Exegesis of the Pauline Letters. Her other publications, The Gnostic Gospels, Adam, Eve and the Serpent, The Origin of Satan, and Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas are some of the most substantial works in Gnostic studies to date. Similarly, her Gnostic Paul does not disappoint in the provocative nature of its content and her thorough treatment

    Read More

  • The Moral Law By C. S. Lewis Mere Christianity

    1624 Words  | 7 Pages

    In today’s zeitgeist, there are insurmountable religious affiliations and branches of each religious group. For example, in the realm of Christianity there are branches such as Catholicism, Baptist, Southern Baptist, and so forth. In opposition to the Christian faith stands the notions of modern atheism, which states simply that there is no God and if there is in fact any sort of omnipotent entity, he cannot be good and must have played a part in their notions of evolutionary existentialism. However

    Read More

More about Adam Eve And The Serpent Summary

Open Document