The narrative about Noah furthers the concerns regarding Original Sin in Genesis 3 by highlighting the drastic measures needed to repair its effects. Kass remarks that Noah is the “prototype for self-consciously mortal man” and that his surroundings are filled with chaos and madness. This environment stems from what happened in Genesis 3 when Adam and Eve ate from the forbidden tree. God told Adam and Eve that they would certainly die because of their sin, and this promise was fulfilled when Adam died in the year 930. The consequences of their sins are accumulating and hit a climax around the time of Noah’s birth.
Original Sin gave people the knowledge to know right from wrong. People were deliberately making wrong decisions and creating a world that was “boldly and heroically wild” (Kass 155). God thought that things got so bad that He had to redo his creation mentioned in Genesis 1-2. The extensive work that He put in for 6 days was in ruins and the very creatures that were made to be His delegates on Earth were doing the exact opposite. Also, instead of embracing the life they were given, people embraced death instead. They had the notion that they were immortal because no one really died until hundreds of years later. People wanted to play with the idea of death more than life, and tried to get as close to it as possible by committing acts of violence.
Noah was an opportunity for God to restore his original creation. Several different aspects of that narrative mimic Genesis 1. For example, the only things that were allowed on the ark were Noah and 2 of every creature on Earth (yes, that is still a lot on the boat but just wait!). These creatures (including one human like Noah) were the first beings on Earth, before it became chaotic. This direct representation of Genesis 1 demonstrates the extent to which people ruined God’s creation and the measures needed to fix it. Essentially, the narrative of Noah shows the drastic effects of Original Sin and what the knowledge of good and bad can lead to.
Summer Kerksick Theology Blog 
Hey Summer, I agree with your statement that Adam died as a result of God saying that he would die if he ate of the forbidden fruit. However, do you truly thing that people were playing with the idea of death? Or do you think that they just did not know that “death” was even a thing that God had created until it was too late and they had already died?
LikeLike
Hi Summer,
Great post! Do you think there is a certain pattern that repeats itself throughout Genesis 11? I agree with your comparison between the Noah Flood narrative, but are there any similarities between God’s recreation and Genesis? Can all of God’s destruction be attributed to original sin or did humanity make any more sins that engendered the Flood?
LikeLike
Hi Summer! I agree that the flood was an opportunity for God to restore His original creation. When you say “Original Sin,” do you mean the result of eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? Adam and Eve made moral decisions in the garden before eating the fruit but were free from original sin.
LikeLike