Effects of the Fall

Sometimes single events are so momentous that they change the course of our lives. Events like marriage, the birth of a child, the death of a loved one, or a terrible medical diagnosis can be watershed moments. On a larger scale, sometimes single decisions affect the fate of millions of people worldwide. A single choice—the murder of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria—helped start World War I which ended with 40 million military and civilian casualties.

Even more dramatically when Adam sinned by disobeying God for the first time, human nature became poisoned. Adam didn't trigger a chain reaction, or the start of a deteriorating human conscience. His choice initiated a radically deformed epoch in the history of people. Human nature changed. People were no longer innocent. The race entered a state of fallenness. This two-fold state can be described as a state of sinfulness (Rom. 3:23) and misery (Rom. 3:16).

We consider this two-fold state as anthropologists, students of humanity. We want to know the ugly truth about who we are. Studying sin can lead us to so hate sin that we instead pursue Christ and righteousness.