A Doctrine & Theology Feature | The Way Bible Blog
What Is “The Fall”?
The term “The Fall” refers to humanity’s decisive turning point in Genesis 3 — when Adam and Eve chose to distrust God’s word, eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and step beyond His moral boundary. “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food… she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.” (Genesis 3:6)
That single act broke fellowship with God and introduced sin, shame, and death into the world. Humanity fell from innocence into guilt, from harmony into conflict, and from life into mortality. Theologically, this was more than disobedience — it was a cosmic rebellion. The Fall severed the relationship between Creator and creation, leaving humankind spiritually dead yet still bearing the divine image (Genesis 1:26; 9:6).
📘 WORD BOX: THE FALL
Meaning: Humanity’s moral and spiritual descent through Adam’s sin, resulting in alienation from God (Romans 5:12).
Significance: Explains why evil, suffering, and death exist in a world originally pronounced “very good.”
From Augustine to Aquinas to modern theologians like Jack Cottrell, the Fall is viewed as the root of both personal and systemic sin. We inherit not Adam’s guilt, but the effects of his disobedience — a world tilted away from God, a nature prone to self-rule, and a soul that needs redemption.
