Did Jesus Redeem Mankind? — Page 57
57 reading. It says that God expelled Adam from the garden of Eden lest he should eat of the tree of life and live for ever. . In the event of death being the crop of sin, since he had become a sinner by partaking of the fruit of the tree of knowledge, even if he ate of the fruit of the tree of life umpteen of times, this could not have sustained his life. . Therefore, it should be admitted that death is not the harvest of wrong-doing and that partaking of that tree bestowed life. On the contrary it is averred on the one hand that death is the harvest of sin and, on the other, the Bible maintains that. God the Supreme turned Adam out of the garden of Eden lest by eating of the fruit of the tree, he should live for ever. . It is clear, therefore, that death is not the crop of sin, and on the contrary man could live after partaking of the forbidden fruit even though it be a sinful act. . VICARIOUS ATONEMENT UNCALLED FOR. Yet another question confronts us. It is said about Adam that he sinned though neither his father nor his mother had sinned. If a child can sin, notwithstanding the fact that his parents did not, then a child can likewise do an act of virtue, notwithstanding the fact that his parents did nothing of the sort. And if Adam (peace be on him) could act virtuously what is there to prevent other men from acting in like manner? Evidently the theory of heredity is not a factor in this. God the Excellent has made man so that he is capable of making progress and is likewise liable to fall. Adam's father had not sinned. In fact he had no father, But. Adam sinned. This goes to prove that virtue and vice are products of given circumstances and are unrelated to heredity. . Vicarious atonement is clearly, therefore, an uncalled for device.