Reflection on September 19, 1979 –

http://www.ewtn.com/library/papaldoc/jp2tb3.htm

It seems very important to understand that Genesis 1 is an objective view of the creation and Genesis 2 is subjective, but I am struggling with this distinction. Genesis 1, being objective, is strictly a narration of the creation story. Day 1…Day 2… etc. Genesis 2 has interaction, reaction, more story, but I don’t get that the author is biased in writing it. Man is made to be above all other things in both. I looked at the definitions to try and help. Genesis 2 deals more with man on a personal basis. He is created, given responsibility, woman is created and he reacts. I looked back, and Genesis 1 was focused on our “being and existing”. Subjectivity, according to the definition I found, deals with the nature of a thing. Genesis 1 deals with us being created as human “beings” while Genesis 2 deals with our human nature.

And Genesis 2 is subjective, therefore deals with psychology. I didn’t understand this either until I thought more about it with the paragraph above. Because genesis 2 deals with our human nature, how and why we act the way we do, that is what psychology is. The study of why we do things, how are minds work and process things. Genesis 2 is the first story of human’s choices, to do or not do something, what happens when we are tempted, what happens when we are shameful. We see the difference in reaction from Adam and Eve, before and after the fall, so we can look at the nature or psychology of humans before and after the fall.

Christ tells them to go back to the beginning, before the fall. When I was thinking about this, I thought of when He also commands us to do what He did, to love as He loves. He is commanding us to do the impossible, because we are not perfect, we are not God. He is commanding us to go back before the fall because that is where we are supposed to be, that is where we were meant to be. This, what we are, isn’t what we were meant to be, this isn’t our full purpose. We were meant to be like Adam and Eve before the fall, but we cannot. Yet, all things are possible with God. He tells us to go back to the beginning, back to where we belong, and tells us that is what He came for. His infinite Mercy is what will get us there. His love, His justice, His sacrifice, is what can take us back to the beginning. His focus to the beginning here is about marriage, but I think Christ points to the beginning every time He talks about what He wants us to become, what His hope is for us.

I was thinking about primitive innocence as it relates to Christ, Mary, and baptized children. Was Christ like Adam and Eve before the fall? I don’t think so because He is unique in that He was God and Adam and Eve were not. Also, He was fully human, and I am assuming that is fully human after the fall. Christ has to be tempted by sin, or else there is no point in His sacrifice, His coming, His emptying Himself. But Adam and Eve were tempted and fell, so, being before the fall doesn’t mean there is no temptation, just no sin, which Jesus had. I thought that maybe a better example was Mary, who was fully human, yet conceived without the stain of original sin and sinless throughout her life. Was she like Adam and Eve before the fall? Then I thought “but she died and Adam and Eve would not have died without sin”. But, We believe Mary was taken body and soul into Heaven. I don’t believe it is clearly stated whether she actually died before she was taken up. I don’t believe there is an affirmative Catholic teaching on that issue. So, if she didn’t die, I think she would be very close to what God had in mind for what Adam and Eve were supposed to be.

Words I looked up.

Subjective – relating to or of the nature of an object as it is known in the mind as distinct from a thing in itself.

Psychology - the science of the mind or of mental states and processes.

Objective - not influenced by personal feelings, interpretations, or prejudice; based on facts; unbiased:

Archaic - marked by the characteristics of an earlier period; antiquated:

In nucleo – in nucleus

Nucleus - a central part about which other parts are grouped or gathered; core:

Line of Demarcation - a boundary marking something off from something else;

Integral (Nature) - entire; complete; whole:

Normative (conclusion) - reflecting the assumption of such a norm or favoring its establishment:

Actus Essendi - Translated as 'act of being,' the expression actus essendi refers to a fundamental metaphysical principle discovered by Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) in his Christianizing of Aristotle.

Ontotheology - the ontology of God and/or the theology of being. It refers to a tradition of philosophical theology first prominent among medieval scholastics, notably Duns Scotus. In some usages, the term has been taken to refer to Western metaphysics in general.