Fall - Alienation and Corruption

In our last “Musings4Mission,” we looked at the roles and responsibilities of humanity established by God at creation. These included the responsibility of worship toward God (spiritual), relationship toward other people (social), and stewardship of the natural order (physical). This ‘paradise’ created by God’s plan did not last too long, however. After humanity's surrender to the temptation of the devil in the guise of a serpent (Genesis 3), everything went drastically wrong. The two main results of this fall into sin can be expressed as ‘alienation’ and ‘corruption.’ Alienation is a description of what happened in the three major roles of humanity, and corruption is a reflection of what happened in the main actors themselves.



We see the ‘alienation’ effects in the account of the Fall itself. Humanity is alienated from God, as Adam and Eve hide from the Lord as He walks in the garden (Genesis 3:8). Adam and Eve are alienated from each other, as their shame causes them to cover themselves with fig leaves and hurl accusations (Genesis 3:12, 16). Finally, as a result of the curse, humanity is alienated from the natural order (Genesis 3:17-19). These various categories of alienation, left unchecked, lead to more comprehensive problems. Alienation from God leads humanity to seek substitutes for Him, resulting in idolatry. Alienation from other people leads to multiple dysfunctions in human society, a condition which we can (as we shall see in later “Musings4Mission”) call underdevelopment. Finally, alienation from the natural world and a rejection of humanity’s role as stewards of it leads to environmental degradation (see diagram below).



Key actors in this horrific drama are also corrupted by the fall into sin. God Himself, of course, is holy and remains untouched by sin. However, humanity’s choice of disobedience leaves opportunity for the infiltration of a usurper – Satan with his demonic forces (Ephesians 2:2). The facilities of man, created in God’s image, are corrupted (Ephesians 4:17-19). We call this ‘the flesh,’ humanity’s natural powers being used in a way of life which exalts self and opposes God (Ephesians 2:3). The collection of fleshly humans into society is also corrupted, resulting in the evil world system (Ephesians 2:2; 1 John 2:15-17). Finally, the natural order is corrupted, resulting in universal decay (Romans 8:20-23).



The results of human sin on the paradise created according to God’s holistic plan were nothing short of devastating. All of the problems we face in the world today can probably be categorized in the fields of idolatry, underdevelopment, and environmental degradation. All of them can be traced back to a single root cause – humanity’s sinful rebellion against the holistic plan of the Creator.