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385 God is infinitely good and all his works are
good. Yet no one can escape the experience of suffering or the evils in nature
which seem to be linked to the limitations proper to creatures: and above all to
the question of moral evil. Where does evil come from? "I sought whence evil
comes and there was no solution", said St. Augustine, and his own painful quest
would only be resolved by his conversion to the living God. For "the mystery of
lawlessness" is clarified only in the light of the "mystery of our religion".
The revelation of divine love in Christ manifested at the same time the extent
of evil and the superabundance of grace. We must therefore approach the question
of the origin of evil by fixing the eyes of our faith on him who alone is its
conqueror.
I. WHERE SIN ABOUNDED, GRACE
ABOUNDED ALL THE MORE
The reality of sin
386 Sin is present in human history; any attempt
to ignore it or to give this dark reality other names would be futile. To try to
understand what sin is, one must first recognize the profound relation of
man to God, for only in this relationship is the evil of sin unmasked in
its true identity as humanity's rejection of God and opposition to him, even as
it continues to weigh heavy on human life and history.
387 Only the light of divine Revelation clarifies
the reality of sin and particularly of the sin committed at mankind's origins.
Without the knowledge Revelation gives of God we cannot recognize sin clearly
and are tempted to explain it as merely a developmental flaw, a psychological
weakness, a mistake, or the necessary consequence of an inadequate social
structure, etc. Only in the knowledge of God's plan for man can we grasp that
sin is an abuse of the freedom that God gives to created persons so that they
are capable of loving him and loving one another.
Original sin — an essential truth
of the faith
388 With the progress of Revelation, the reality
of sin is also illuminated. Although to some extent the People of God in the Old
Testament had tried to understand the pathos of the human condition in the light
of the history of the fall narrated in Genesis, they could not grasp this
story's ultimate meaning, which is revealed only in the light of the death and
Resurrection of Jesus Christ. We must know Christ as the source of grace in
order to know Adam as the source of sin. The Spirit-Paraclete, sent by the risen
Christ, came to "convict the world concerning sin", by revealing him who is its
Redeemer.
389 The doctrine of original sin is, so to speak,
the "reverse side" of the Good News that Jesus is the Savior of all men, that
all need salvation and that salvation is offered to all through Christ. The
Church, which has the mind of Christ, knows very well that we cannot tamper with
the revelation of original sin without undermining the mystery of Christ.
How to read the account of the
fall
390 The
account of the fall in Genesis 3 uses figurative language, but affirms
a primeval event, a deed that took place at the beginning of the history of
man. Revelation gives us the certainty of faith that the whole of human
history is marked by the original fault freely committed by our first
parents.
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