Does 1 Timothy 2:14 & Romans 5:12 Contradict?
Does 1 Timothy 2:14 & Romans 5:12 Contradict?
"And Adam was not deceived, but the woman(ie Eve) being deceived, fell into transgression(ie sin)" (1 Timothy 2:14 NKJV).
"Therefore, just as through one man(ie Adam) sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned" (Romans 5:12NKJV).
So, what are these two verses telling us?
Adam wasn't deceived (1 Timothy 2:14).
Eve was deceived (1 Timothy 2:14).
Eve fell into sin from her transgression (1 Timothy 2:!4)
Adam caused sin to enter the world (Romans 5:12)
Death was caused via sin (Romans 5:12)
All are sinners (Romans 5:12)
These two passages seem to place the blame for sin on a separate person. Adam in Timothy, and Eve in Romans. So, is there an issue? Well, let us go a bit further. We must really examine the wording being used here.
In the Bible, Adam is actually the one blamed for the event. In Genesis, chapter 2, this is said, "15 And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die," (Genesis 2:15-17KJV).
So God told Adam all things may be eaten, except, of course, the fruit on the forbidden tree. Keep in mind, that Eve wasn't here yet, she comes into being a few verses later(verse 22).
Adam takes the blame because he was specifically given the command. The Bible doesn't specifically mention if Eve was also told by God, only that she knew that she should not do it. She said to the serpent, "But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die" (Genesis 3:3KJV). God never said you couldn't touch it, only to not eat from it. This seems to enforce the idea that Adam had told Eve this.
If this is so, I'd make sense for the serpent to ask her if God really said it. If God did say it personally to her, she would have known without a doubt he had said it and known the correct command, but if Adam had told her, she could have believed he was wrong.
Adam sinned through willful disobedience(by eating the apple), and Eve sinned by not listening to God's command and falling into deception. Adam wasn't deceived, he sinned willfully. Eve was deceived. By being deceived, she sinned. Adam caused the sin to engulf the world because he didn't stop Eve.
And I'd say, this "contradiction" is debunked.
Works Sited:
New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.