Recently I have been reflecting… beyond what I should be doing for school (summer classes suck you know what since you basically do a week in one day, and I am currently taking two classes… plus readings… again… suck [blank]) on the Flood in Genesis, and its relationship to Baptism and Original Sin.
As most know, Original Sin is a big part of Christianity, for without it, Christ would have no purpose, and therefore Creation itself would be flawed… see my previous articles on God and Evil, etc… I will link them later. However, I aks the question, what was the purpose then of the Flood.
Yes, mankind was wicked, mankind is wicked, and the argument goes back to Original Sin. St. Augustine called this sin Lust (Confessions), however, I believe our beloved theologian was mistaken.
I believe the Original Sin was “uncovering.” Thus why the Flood was insufficient in satisfying the cost of removal and redemption. What do I mean? Simple. Yes, both Eve and Adam sin… Eve was left alone… so it was possible that the serpent could reach her… i.e. Adam did not protect… or rather cover his wife. Once the LORD knew, Adam uncovers Eve (her fault) and Eve uncovers the serpent (his fault… Margaritaville???). Of course, the course of mankind continues until we reach Noah and the Flood.
I believe the Flood, itself, was a Baptism… in its truest and purest form. In fact, I believe it is here that God instituted Baptism… yes, Circumcision can be also seen… but Baptism coexisted with circumcision… therefore, to me that argument is irrelevant. Yes, liturgically, Baptism marks us as Christ’s own, but that is not the point of Baptism, the point of Baptism is to cleans, it is the point of Confirmation to mark us as God’s own, therefore, it is my belief, and argument, that Circumcision relates to Confirmation, the Baptism relates to the Flood… why?
The people of the earth were and are wicked. Yet, Noah was righteous, so the LORD decided to save him, and mankind along with him. However, God destroyed the rest of mankind in a Flood… wait… water… Baptism. This Flood… CLEANSED the earth.. not just mankind, but the entire planet of wickedness… of course we know the rest of the story… Original Sin continues.
The Flood ends… the Baptism is over… and God makes a covenant with Noah, i.e., all mankind. As we often do, man celebrates… and Noah got a little tipsy, and fell asleep naked IN HIS TENT. Ham, being the curious son, went in, saw his father’s nakedness, and reported it to his brothers, Shem and Japeth. Now, segue… Many people like to say that “seeing his father’s nakedness had some sort of sexual connotation…possible, but I do not think so… the logic behind thinking that it must be sexual is obvious… goes back to St. Augustine… the Original Sin was lust… therefore, well… though it does not say this, Ham must have “knew” his father… I highly doubt it… Semites hated homosexuality. Human sacrifice, fine… homosexuality, not so much…. so what was the sin?
He uncovered his father… its that simple. Instead of covering his father up, and keeping his big fat mouth shut, he left him naked, and not only that, he went and told his brothers… he not only left him uncovered – thus is vulnerable, he further uncovered him – to his brothers. What did his brothers do? Again, simple… went to the tent, walked in backward, took a cloth, and covered their father.
Original Sin has been defeated… it was defeated in the Flood… Christ was the New Adam, yes, but it was not Original Sin that he was defeating, it was simply man’s sinful nature… which, for Eve and Adam to eat the fruit, they had to have with them before the sin… oh wait… free will. Original Sin is not what holds us back, it is ourselves. Whats the greatest threat to the Church and her members… again, simple, uncovering. What does that mean? Again, simple, gossip, rumor – whether true or false. Instead of talking about people… we should talk to them, and not condemn them, but love them. Instead of going behind people’s backs to make a point, we should meet them face to face, or not say anything at all. Why did God have to “cover” Adam and Eve with fig leaves, because they were uncovered before each other… not just before God… we are all uncovered before God, the shame hits when we are uncovered before each other… and it is not a “righteous” shame,” but a sinful shame, for we are shamed, yes, because of our sin, but also because of another’s.
Is lust a sin, yes, so is murder… murder happened when a man, Cain, uncovered himself, and he shamed himself. However, both of these sins are by-products of the Original Sin, uncovering… for the one thing God wants us to have with Him, and each other, is relationship. You can have a relationship with lust… though I do believe St. Augustine would disagree… since he was hardly able, however, you cannot have one with uncovering.
On a personal note, I myself have been uncovered many times. However, the most recent was a daunting task, the discovery that my girlfriend was pregnant. I have not need to go in to details, for I do not wish to uncover, however, actions taken by others almost resulted in very dire consequences, and to this day, only one man, outside my family, has talked directly to me about it, to my face, or at least in a manner in which I could respond immediately, yet, more people then both myself and her not only know about the situation, have made judgments, etc. To me this is sad, and yes, to me, this is the Original Sin. I do not feel this way because of this reason, I have felt this way for a long time, for this was the one issue in which my father, Bp. John Holloway, always prided himself in, he never uncovered. I only mention this to note I have personal experience, as I am sure we all do, in this area.
JZ Holloway
