Man’s original sin has been well-documented and extensively discussed by Christians and their theologians over the centuries. One of mankind’s firsts that is not studied or discussed as much is the first lie. Who told it? What was it? When and where was it uttered? Who believed it then, and who is still believing it today? I believe that the answers to these questions will affect the beliefs of Christians today.

      Anthropologists and sociologists teach that whenever a belief is held jointly by diverse cultures or people groups, it comes from a common experience. Finding isolated cultures that share a flood narrative within their creation story causes most Christians to agree with those experts. That same sound logic can be applied to the belief that humans possess an immortal soul. With a few variations, virtually all societies and people worldwide believe there is something more to them than just their physical life. That something is expressed in different ways, but the core teaching will contain the belief that they possess an immortal soul, spirit, or force that lives on consciously after their physical death. The Bible traces that universal belief back to a common human experience. 

      Although the Old Testament records an instance where humans are told they will not die, a Biblist should not believe it as truth. A skilled Biblist should always read scriptures within their context. As these scriptures contain quotes from Satan, Biblists need to be wary of lies. The conversation Eve has with Satan starts innocently, but turns deadly when Satan delivers the original lie to Eve in the Garden of Eden. Directly contradicting God with the lie that man will somehow not die, Satan infects Eve and mankind with the belief that they will indeed not die, but will somehow remain forever conscious. 

      Cleverly wrapping his lie in truth so it would be believed, Satan correctly points out how the tree of wisdom would make her wise, enabling her to make her own choices and free Adam and her from obeying God. Not following God is the choice Satan made for himself, and probably the same enticement he gave the angels when they chose to rebel against God. Satan’s lie that man will not die has infected humanity from the beginning and is still strong today. Having shared in the experience that there is some part of a human that can not die, most cultures and people around the world have followed Eve and believed Satan. Satan is a liar and is only out to deceive people. He gave his most cunning lie to Eve, and that lie has persisted and has led her and her children away from God ever since. Genesis 3:1-7 English Standard Version 1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

      When God called to Adam and Eve, another lesson was revealed to those who believe the Old Testament verses prove humans have an immortal soul. Once Adam tells God that he hid himself because he was naked, God knew he had eaten from the Tree of Knowledge. If Adam had not eaten its fruit, he would not have known he was naked. The same principle applies to some Old Testament verses, as they will only suggest that man has an immortal soul to those who already believe they have one. 

      Infected in Babylon with the immortal soul belief, the only Jews who came to adopt a belief in an immortal soul were from the post-second temple period. Strictly following the Old Testament words of God, Moses and the pre-captivity Jews stayed untainted by that belief. If the concept of having an immortal soul had never been introduced to the Jewish captives, they would have never thought of it, as it was not from God. Adhering to God’s words from the Old Testament, as Moses did, reveals that God created man mortal and subject to death. Genesis 3:9-11 Easy-to-Read Version. 9 The Lord God called to the man and said, “Where are you?” 10 The man said, “I heard you walking in the garden, and I was afraid. I was naked, so I hid.” 11 God said to the man, “Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat fruit from that special tree? I told you not to eat from that tree!”

      Further illustrating the mortality of mankind, after Adam and Eve are driven out of the Garden of Eden, God puts a guard on the Tree of Life so that they or their offspring cannot return, eat its fruit, and gain eternal life. The fact that God deliberately kept mankind away from the tree of life should be ample proof that God created mankind mortal. Genesis 3:22-24 GOD’S WORD Translation. 22 Then the Lord God said, “The man has become like one of us, since he knows good and evil. He must not reach out and take the fruit from the tree of life and eat. Then he would live forever.” 23 So the Lord God sent the man out of the Garden of Eden to farm the ground from which the man had been formed. 24 After he sent the man out, God placed angels  and a flaming sword that turned in all directions east of the Garden of Eden. He placed them there to guard the way to the tree of life.

      Tracing the origins of the original lie and when it was adopted and popularized by the Jews will help Christians as they follow Jesus today. Satan’s lie has infected mankind with the belief that they possess an essence that lives on after they are dead. Satan is a skilled and cunning liar. He is seeking those he can destroy and lead astray from the truths of God. The surest way not to become one of Satan’s victims is to understand and apply all the relevant words of God to our beliefs. Those who follow God’s words will gain eternal life.