1 Genesis 1−3 as a Theodicy (Updated 8/2011)

One way of understanding Genesis 1−3 is as an explanation of how there can be evil in a world created by God. Genesis 1 affirms that there was no evil in the world when God created it − it was ‘very good ’ (1:31). Genesis 2 and 3 express how evil came into it − through creatures abusing the freedom God had given them. God allowed them to commit their crimes, and only intervened after they had done so (3:8). He then punished them for what they had done, and changed the natural order to make their lives less pleasant for them (3:14−24). In particular, he cursed the ground, and brought physical death on human beings. This understanding of Genesis 1−3 underlies Milton’s Paradise Lost. It has, however, been criticized by modern authors.1 Here I offer a defence of it. In what follows, Genesis 1 ' = 1:1−2:3 and Genesis 2 ' = 2:4−25. I refer to Adam and Eve’s disobedience as the Fall and God’s response to this as the Curse (the word use