Theology of the Body, "Original Man"

In John Paul II’s Theology of the Body, he compares and contrasts the three states of man; “Original Man,” mankind before the Fall or first sin, “Historical Man” man after the Fall, (our current state,) and “Eschatological Man,” man following Christ’s second coming, (our life in heaven).

Original Man

The state of original man concerns two human beings – Adam and Eve. They viewed each other with, “all the peace of the interior gaze.” God walked in their midst, suggesting an intimacy with their creator we can only imagine. Adam and Eve’s lives were untouched by sin. Vice, depravity, and despair were foreign to their experience.

The boundary line between the state of original man and historical man is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This is key. Man was the only person in the garden. The animals were not persons. They could not choose like Adam could. They could not till the ground or tend to the garden as human beings were called to do.

We have a choice. We can love God or reject God. We can be good stewards or bad stewards. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil represents this choice.