B-1 The Fall or The Rise of Humankind? An Analysis of Genesis 3 and Its Echoes throughout the Canon

For centuries, theologians have generally interpreted Genesis 3 as describing the fall of mankind. Recently, however, more and more theologians are interpreting the chapter as displaying the rise of mankind to its full potential and not its fall from a state of perfection. Moreover, some of these theologians even claim that this is the actual intention of the text. This paper will address said claim through a) a narrative analysis of Genesis 3, with emphasis on key markers within the text and b) an analysis of the reverberations of the events in Genesis 3 through the rest of the Canon. The paper will show that the authors of the Bible view the events in Genesis 3 as having an utterly negative effect on humankind with very few (if any) positive aspects. An assessment of the historicity of Genesis 3 will not be attempted in this paper due to lack of space and incongruences in methodology.