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World Religions - Sacred
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CHAPTER 8: Fall and Deviation
This chapter deals with topics around the theme of fall and
deviation. The Fall can refer to the primordial human fall posited by
Christianity, or to a continual falling away from the purpose of
existence in the life of each individual person, or both. In Adam's sin
we all have sinned: this can mean we are genetically damaged by an
Original Sin or that Adam was the archetypal sinner whose fall we repeat
continually. Regardless of how the Fall is understood, once having
deviated, fallen humans do not manifest their purpose of existence. In
particular, we no longer experience the immediate presence of God, nor
are we truly ourselves. Hence we require salvation to be restored to
our original purpose.
The theme of deviation includes the topic of demonic powers.
These have no place in a world that fulfills its true purpose, yet they
manifestly exist and wreak damage in our world. A related topic is
heresy, where error masquerades as true teachings and leads people
astray.
A fourth section describes how the original human nature has been
defiled, occluded, or damaged. Animal instinct rather than wisdom has
come to dominate behavior, and people's value as temples of the divine
spirit has been lost. The chapter closes with passages depicting the
sadness, grief, and pity which this human deviation elicits from the
heart of God.
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