The Fall and Original Sin — Genesis 3 and Romans 5

Gen 3:1-7 narrates the first disobedience: the serpent's question, the forbidden fruit, and the eyes that are opened to shame. The harmony of creation fractures in a single act. Augustine's reading of original sin became the West's standard: Adam's guilt and corruption pass to all his offspring. He found its warrant in Rom 5:12, "sin came into the world through one man." Aquinas refined it as the loss of original righteousness. The curse of 3:15-19 sets up the whole drama of redemption, and the Adam of this chapter is the representative head whose trespass Rom 5:18 contrasts with Christ's obedience. The fall is answered by the second Adam.