The Fall of Man

At a glance

Scripture for reflection

“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.”

Romans 5:12 KJV

UECF.NET summary

Lewis treats Genesis 3 as conveying a real, theological truth about humanity’s turning from God, while declining to insist on a strictly literal reading of every narrative detail. What matters, he argues, is the shape of the event: a creature capable of self-awareness and choice used that capacity to make itself, rather than God, the center of its own will.

He describes the effect as a disordering rather than a simple broken rule: reason no longer reliably governs appetite, the will no longer easily aligns with the good, and the body — once a willing instrument — becomes something that can resist and betray its owner through illness, decay, and death. Human life inherits this disorder rather than each person starting from a clean slate.

UECF.NET’s note: this is one of the more philosophically debated chapters in the book, since Lewis explores how an ancient, not-strictly-literal Fall might relate to what was then known about human origins, without claiming to settle every scientific question. Readers from different traditions weigh this chapter differently; it is presented here as Lewis’s own proposal, not as the only Christian account of human origins.

Main themes

• The Fall as a real spiritual event rather than merely a myth or merely a scientific claim
• Disorder of will, reason, and body as the inheritance of the Fall
• Humility about how much of Genesis’s imagery is literal versus figurative

Key ideas

• Lewis separates the theological claim (humanity really turned from God) from a specific theory of exactly how it happened.
• The Fall, on his account, disorders the human person internally, which helps explain why pain is not merely an external accident.
• Christians disagree about how far to press Lewis’s specific proposals in this chapter.

Important concepts

• The Fall — The biblical doctrine of humanity’s turning from God’s will to self-will, with consequences for the whole created order.
• Corporate solidarity — The idea that humanity shares a common condition rather than each person beginning entirely unaffected by others’ choices.

Related Bible references

• Genesis 3
• Romans 5:12–19
• Romans 8:20–22
• Psalm 51:5

Practical application

• Read Romans 5:12–19 slowly this week and notice how Paul pairs Adam’s fall with Christ’s redemption — what comfort does that pairing offer?

Questions for study