The Archetype Conflict
As theologian Herman Bavinck puts it - “There was... no gap between what they were and what they knew they had to be. Being and self-consciousness were in harmony.”
But after the fall, that harmony was shattered.
Suddenly, Adam and Eve knew. They were exposed—physically, emotionally, spiritually- and their first instinct was to hide. They covered themselves with fig leaves, a desperate attempt to mask not just their nakedness, but their vulnerability and loss of innocence.
What follows is a cascade of brokenness:
These are the classic symptoms of shame. Shame is not simply regret over wrongdoing—it’s the deeply unsettling feeling that something is wrong with you. Unlike guilt, which says, “I did something bad,” shame says, “I am bad.” It attacks the core of identity. In our most intimate relationships, shame can be corrosive. It whispers, “You’re not good enough,” and leaves us wrestling with inadequacy, unworthiness, and a haunting sense of inferiority.
Shame didn’t just enter the individual heart—it wove itself into the human condition. It lingers beyond belief or reason. As one writer says, it becomes “the incurable stigmata of the Fall.”
The Consequences of the Fall were: for the woman - pain in childbearing, and a complicated dynamic in her relationship with her husband and for the man: toil and resistance from the ground he was called to cultivate.
Together, they were exiled from Eden.
And they have been locked into an archetypal conflict ever since.
This "archetype conflict" of Adam and Eve, particularly their "Fall" from the Garden of Eden, represents a universal human conflict: the struggle between autonomy and obedience, and the consequences of choosing one over the other.
This is another face of evil - the chaos - it is the face of conflict.
Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love. - Martin Luther King. Jr.
Personal Report
As I'm posting these scattered thoughts, I am often frustrated that I can't find the right words. But through processing it all, I eventually find a word - it might not be the right word but it is my word. In this processing of the heart, I have finally landed on the word "Conflict" as the face of this third evil or should I still call it chaos which means that whenever we are in an intimate relationship with a marriage partner or friend - we can expect conflict to be inherent in everyone of these relationships. It all began in the Garden of Eden. It is right there -- all of the dynamics.
Now I am onto the next.......Thank you for being part of this process.
But after the fall, that harmony was shattered.
Suddenly, Adam and Eve knew. They were exposed—physically, emotionally, spiritually- and their first instinct was to hide. They covered themselves with fig leaves, a desperate attempt to mask not just their nakedness, but their vulnerability and loss of innocence.
What follows is a cascade of brokenness:
- Adam blames Eve.
- Eve blames the Serpent.
These are the classic symptoms of shame. Shame is not simply regret over wrongdoing—it’s the deeply unsettling feeling that something is wrong with you. Unlike guilt, which says, “I did something bad,” shame says, “I am bad.” It attacks the core of identity. In our most intimate relationships, shame can be corrosive. It whispers, “You’re not good enough,” and leaves us wrestling with inadequacy, unworthiness, and a haunting sense of inferiority.
Shame didn’t just enter the individual heart—it wove itself into the human condition. It lingers beyond belief or reason. As one writer says, it becomes “the incurable stigmata of the Fall.”
The Consequences of the Fall were: for the woman - pain in childbearing, and a complicated dynamic in her relationship with her husband and for the man: toil and resistance from the ground he was called to cultivate.
Together, they were exiled from Eden.
And they have been locked into an archetypal conflict ever since.
This "archetype conflict" of Adam and Eve, particularly their "Fall" from the Garden of Eden, represents a universal human conflict: the struggle between autonomy and obedience, and the consequences of choosing one over the other.
This is another face of evil - the chaos - it is the face of conflict.
Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love. - Martin Luther King. Jr.
Personal Report
As I'm posting these scattered thoughts, I am often frustrated that I can't find the right words. But through processing it all, I eventually find a word - it might not be the right word but it is my word. In this processing of the heart, I have finally landed on the word "Conflict" as the face of this third evil or should I still call it chaos which means that whenever we are in an intimate relationship with a marriage partner or friend - we can expect conflict to be inherent in everyone of these relationships. It all began in the Garden of Eden. It is right there -- all of the dynamics.
Now I am onto the next.......Thank you for being part of this process.
RSS Feed
