IN THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE BIBLE LESSON November 3, 2008 Issue

ORIGINAL VIRTUES—ENTIRELY SPIRITUAL

CHRISTA KREUTZ

THIS WEEK'S BIBLE LESSON, titled "Adam and Fallen Man," presents a clear denial of the Adam story in Genesis as saying anything factual about creation, and an equally clear explanation of our true nature as God's spiritual creation.

From a material, mortal, egocentric standpoint, the Adam story seems valid. But this Lesson's Golden Text (I Tim. 4:7, New International Version) links this account of a wholly material creation with "profane and old wives' fables," or as some modern translations put it, with godless stories and silly tales. It portrays what happens when we size up life according to personal history, belongings, appearance, and relationships, with all their inherent flaws and spiritual voids.

The creation of Adam and Eve—and their life within "the garden," and once they've been banished, outside it—is actually an ancient folk tale, older than the Bible itself. It was rewritten and edited probably during the time of King David, circa 1000 B.C. There are many theories as to its purpose in the Bible, besides offering a justification for the age-old doctrine—or godless fiction—of "original sin." Some see the account as an explanation of free will. Others say it might explain why early human societies had to grow food to survive. Still others say it might have been used to justify the need for a king, or to describe the problems associated with having a king.

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