The Social and Cultural Impact of the Book of Genesis

 by Alexia Romaniuc

Expulsion from the Garden of Eden
 by Masaccio, 1425

As many know, Genesis (translates to ‘in the beginning’ in Hebrew) originated from the Old Testament in the Bible. A literalist Christian may argue that the genesis story is a historical event and the teachings that come from it should be taken literally: Adam and Eve (the first humans to exist) went against the only rule in the garden of Eden which said they shouldn't eat from the tree of knowledge therefore original sin is passed down through concupiscence. This is problematic because if Adam and Eve were the first human beings then it means their grandchildren would be products of incest. This is one of the many problems with the Genesis story however the impact it had on religion, philosophy and ethics is undeniably significant.

There are an estimated 1.2 billion people in the world who are baptised: this means that around a 7th of the world is baptised. The reason why this statistic relates to the Genesis story is because the main purpose of baptism is to remove original sin which proves that Genesis’ impact is global and generational. 

From an English Literature perspective, the Genesis story inspired many writers to produce creative responses or references which are interwoven with some of the most influential texts of all time (a brief example: Chaucer repeatedly makes allusions to the sinful betrayal in The Canterbury Tales). This is an accurate source of intertextuality which is easily and commonly identifiable.

Philosophical debates heavily rely on ‘The Fall’ which came from Adam and Eve’s sin in order to debate the cause/origin of evil and suffering. ‘The Fall’ are the events of Genesis where Adam and Eve face God’s punishment for disobeying his divine command to not eat the fruit from the tree of knowledge. Augustine’s theodicy suggests that as all human beings are ultimately descended from Adam, all human beings share Adam’s guilt and sin. Furthermore, we suffer through moral evil because it is humankind’s fault through actions performed on the basis of free will. This is just one of many ways in which famous philosophers were influenced by the Genesis story.