Adam or Eve?

Today we ask who is actually responsible for original sin? This is a confusing question depending on which part of the bible you read. On the one hand you have 1 Timothy 2:14 saying this:

and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.

1 Timothy 2:14

Because of passages like this, you get the idea that because Eve was deceived by the snake that she is the one responsible. It also doesn’t help when that verse says that Eve became the transgressor. Of course, this is not actually an epistle written by Paul. Someone forged it in his name sometime in the second century [1].

 

What Paul Actually Said

If we look at what Paul actually wrote in Romans 5:12:

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—

Romans 5:12

Paul admits sin came into the world through one man making Adam the transgressor, not Eve.

The official Christian stance is that Adam is ultimately to blame for sin because he was made by God to be the leader; therefore, Adam’s sin was much greater than Eve’s. This is a bit of doublespeak because in the same breath some Christians will say that God made Adam and Eve as equals yet Eve is not also a leader. And because she’s not a leader her sin is less egregious. This doesn’t sound like being created equal to me. This also contradicts the notion that all sin is equal in the eyes of God.

Another defense is that Adam was not deceived by Eve or the snake making his sin even worse. This is also confusing not only because of the aforementioned reasons but also how could Adam know it was wrong/bad to disobey God when he didn’t have any knowledge of Good or Evil. Also, was eve deceived by the snake? I mean the snake convinced her to eat the fruit but doesn’t the deceived part take away some responsibility for her actions? Is she not responsible for her actions? Are men to blame for the actions of women?

Even though traditionally, Christians have blamed Adam for the fall of man, you would technically be right by saying Eve was responsible. Not only because she actually did eat the fruit first but also because that is a doctrine taught by some Christians that made its way into the Bible.

(h/t BibViz.com)