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Thanks for your most excellent post. It presents the Orthodox view nicely but I wish it contrasted the Orthodox/Catholic position a bit more.

I would take exception with one part of the article.

What constituted the sin of the first people? St Augustine believes it to be disobedience. On the other hand, the majority of early church writers say that Adam fell as a result of pride. Pride is the wall that separates humans from God.

A number of later Protestants writers believed that pride was the reason man fell as well. At the risk of sounding pompous, I personally don't believe it was pride. It could not have been pride as pride is a sin and Adam, up to this point, was sinless. I would submit Augustine was closer to the mark although I don't believe it was disobedience. Rather Adam fall was simply because He lacked the one thing that the scriptures tells us we must continuously rely upon the Father for; wisdom.

I would call your attention to the following text:

Luk 2:52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.

There are only two things our Lord Jesus increased in. He physically grew and He increased in His wisdom. Unlike our Lord, Adam did not grow in wisdom simply because Adam did not make a wise choice.

That is also why sin came into the world through Adam and not Eve. Eve was deceived. She was going by flawed information. Adam was not deceived but he simply made a poor choice (yes, choice but based upon information that he did not have). One may argued that Eve should have been wise enough to know she was being deceived but a careful examination of scripture tells us that Christians are repeated warned not to be deceived. Christ showed that he would not be deceived at Caesarea Philippi when Satan spoke through Peter right after Christ's benediction.

Wisdom come from God. Adam made a bad choice. Bad choices show a lacked wisdom. Therefore, God did not give Adam wisdom to make the right choice. Unlike Adam, our Lord Jesus (the second Adam) grew in wisdom. (As an aside, it wasn't pride that caused Satan to fall but the lack of wisdom that comes from God.)

I have studied this rather exhaustively believing myself to hold some heretical doctrine. Frankly, I've been told there isn't a whole lot of things that hasn't been thought of throughout the ages, so I have looked for holes in this argument. Additionally, I know this puts me at odds with most of the greatest theologians throughout the ages; Orthodox, Catholics and Protestants.

At the risk of sounding prideful, I believe most of the greatest theological minds of the church age are incorrect on this matter. This argument seems to be biblically based and I can't find any holes. It also appears to be a most simple solution to a very complex problem which is the reason I continue to study it. Augustine was closes when he thought Adam's fall was disobedience but he didn't go into the motive of why Adam was disobedient.

Hopefully and God willing, someday during my retirement years, I will write a book on this and straighten everyone out on this subject. For the meantime, this post will have to do.

I like your book proposal, Harley. Hurry up and retire so you can write the book and we can all read it on Free Republic.

"Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? or who hath given understanding to the heart?" -- Job 38:36

I really like your perspective with regard to Adam in light of God's decree and in all the verses that speak of the Holy Spirit "renewing our minds."

We are to perceive Christ through our eyes and ears and hearts and most especially, through our minds. And thereby we are able to give an answer to every man for "the reason of the hope that is in us" (1 Peter 3:15).

Not just the hope, but the reason for the hope.

"Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;
Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds:
That I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.
Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.
Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man." -- Colossians 4:2-6

A number of later Protestants writers believed that pride was the reason man fell as well

I believe that many Anglicans and Lutherans would agree with that to this day.

It could not have been pride as pride is a sin and Adam, up to this point, was sinless

Pride was the cause of disobedience. His pride diminished God's commandment as he desired to be equal to God. His pride prevented him from repenting when it was time to repent.

Often times we don't even see our pride. In fact, we blame someone else. Just as Adam and Eve did.

Adam was guilty because Eve was given to Adam and man is the "head of the woman" as Apostle Paul says. He took the blame because it was on his watch.

Hopefully and God willing, someday during my retirement years, I will write a book on this and straighten everyone out on this subject

On that "humble" note, I will close with "good luck."