The Human Fall

Are We Created with Contradictions?

Can it be that human life originated with such a contradiction? How could beings with a self-contradictory nature come into existence? If burdened by such a contradiction from its inception, human life would not have been able to arise. The contradiction, therefore, must have developed after the birth of the human race. Christianity sees this state of destruction as the result of the human Fall.

Can anyone dispute that the human condition is fallen? When we realize the fact that, due to the Fall, we have arrived at the brink of self-destruction, we make desperate efforts to resolve the contradiction within. We repel the evil desires coming from our evil mind and embrace the good desires springing from our original mind.

Search for the Ultimate Answers

Nevertheless, we have been unable to find the ultimate answer to the question: What is the nature of good and evil? We still do not have an absolute and definitive truth which can enable us to distinguish, for example, which of the two, theism or atheism, is good and which is evil. Furthermore, we remain entirely ignorant of the answers to such questions as: What is the original mind, the wellspring of good desires? What is the origin of the evil mind that incites evil desires in opposition to the original mind? What is the root cause of the contradiction that brings people to ruin? In order to ward off evil desires and follow good desires, we must overcome this ignorance and gain the ability to distinguish clearly between good and evil. Then we can take the path to the good life the original mind seeks.

Fall into Ignorance

Considered from the viewpoint of the intellect, the human Fall represents humanity's descent into ignorance. People are composed of two aspects: internal and external, or mind and body; likewise, the intellect consists of two aspects: internal and external. In the same way, there are two types of ignorance: internal ignorance and external ignorance.

Internal ignorance, in religious terms, is spiritual ignorance. It is ignorance of such questions as: What is the origin of human beings? What is the purpose of life? What happens after death? Do God and the next world exist? What is the nature of good and evil? External ignorance refers to ignorance of the natural world, including the human body. It is ignorance of such issues as: What is the origin of the physical universe? What are the natural laws governing all phenomena?