ADVENT TIP OF THE DAY 1: Adam in Advent and Christmas Carols

MJ. Smith

I am adding these posts to the previous tip list L/V 10 Tip of the Day ;

QUESTION: What does “everyone know” about Adam that is not stated in the Biblical story?

ANSWER: from Perplexity:

Many people hold common beliefs about Adam that are not explicitly stated in the Bible. These widely accepted notions often stem from cultural interpretations, artistic depictions, and religious traditions outside of the biblical text. Here are some common misconceptions about Adam:

Physical Appearance

1. Adam is often imagined as a fully grown adult man, despite no specific description of his age or appearance in Genesis.

2. He is frequently depicted with a navel, though as the first created human, he would not have been born and thus would not have had an umbilical cord.

The Forbidden Fruit

1. The fruit Adam and Eve ate is commonly believed to be an apple, but the Bible never specifies the type of fruit.

2. Many assume the serpent directly offered the fruit to Adam, but Genesis only mentions the serpent speaking to Eve.

Life in Eden

1. People often imagine Adam naming all animals in existence, but the Bible only mentions him naming livestock, birds, and wild animals.

2. There's a common belief that Adam and Eve lived in Eden for an extended period before the fall, though the Bible doesn't provide a timeframe.

Post-Eden Life

1. Adam is often thought to have lived exactly 930 years, but this is an interpretation based on genealogies and not explicitly stated.

2. Many assume Adam had only three sons (Cain, Abel, and Seth), though Genesis mentions he had "other sons and daughters."

Cultural Impact

1. Adam is sometimes portrayed as the first farmer, but the Bible only mentions him tending the Garden of Eden before the fall.

2. In some traditions, Adam is believed to be buried in the Cave of Machpelah in Hebron, though this is not mentioned in the Bible.

These common beliefs about Adam demonstrate how cultural interpretations and religious traditions often shape our understanding of biblical figures beyond what is explicitly stated in the text.

QUESTION: How is Adam used in Advent and Christmas carols?

ANSWER: pieced together from multiple sources

1. "Adam lay ybounden" (or "Adam Lay in Bonds")

15th-century English carol

Directly mentions Adam in the first line

Relates to the fall of man and Adam's bondage

2. "The Lord at first did Adam make" (or "The Lord at first had Adam made")

Traditional English Christmas carol

Explicitly mentions Adam in the title and first line

Relates the events of Genesis 3 and humanity's redemption

These two carols stand out as explicitly referencing Adam by name, connecting the narrative of the Fall to Christ's birth and redemption. While other carols may allude to the Fall or the concept of Christ as the "Second Adam," these two make direct textual references to Adam himself.

Adam plays a significant role in several Advent and Christmas carols, serving as a theological and narrative link between humanity's fall and Christ's redemption. His presence in these carols highlights important themes:

Theological Concept of Felix Culpa

The 15th-century English carol "Adam lay ybounden" celebrates the concept of felix culpa or "happy fault". This idea suggests that Adam's sin, while devastating, ultimately led to a greater good:

It allowed God's redemptive plan to be set in motion

It made possible Mary's role as the mother of Jesus

It enabled humanity to experience God's redemptive love in Christ

Connection Between Fall and Redemption

Carols featuring Adam often draw a direct line from the Fall to Christ's birth:

"The Lord at first did Adam make" relates the events of Genesis 3, connecting humanity's fall with its subsequent redemption through Christ

These carols emphasize Christ as the "Second Adam," coming to undo the effects of the first Adam's sin

Narrative Structure

Adam's story provides a narrative framework for understanding Christ's birth:

Carols often begin with Adam's creation and fall

They then progress to the need for redemption

Finally, they celebrate Christ's birth as the fulfillment of that need

Liturgical Significance

The use of Adam in these carols aligns with traditional Advent themes:

During Advent, the Church reflects on humanity's need for a Savior

Adam's story sets the stage for understanding why Christ's birth is necessary and significant

Musical Traditions

While the original music for many of these carols has been lost, the texts continue to inspire new musical settings:

Composers like Benjamin Britten, Boris Ord, and others have created modern choral arrangements of "Adam lay ybounden"

These carols are often featured in Advent and Christmas services, including the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols

By incorporating Adam into Advent and Christmas carols, these songs create a rich theological tapestry that connects the entire narrative of salvation history, from Creation to the Nativity.

QUESTION: How does one use Logos/Verbum to explore the theology of an Advent or Christmas carol?

SOFTWARE: Simply do a smart search on the title of the carol, surrounding the title with quote marks to avoid results with partial matches.

ANSWER: from Sawyer, John F. A. A Concise Dictionary of the Bible and Its Reception. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009.

Fall. In Christian tradition the descent from the original bliss and perfection of *Eden, brought about by the disobedience of Adam and Eve (Gen. 3). This interpretation of the story, which places the responsibility for sin and death on Eve, had important consequences for Christian attitudes to women (Sir. 25:24; 1 Tim. 2:13–14). It also provided Christian theologians, notably Augustine, with scriptural authority for the doctrine of original sin, inherited by all subsequent generations of humankind, and set against the grace of Christ as a “second Adam” (Rom. 5:18–21; 1 Cor. 15:21–22). There are no references to this doctrine in the Hebrew Bible, and in Jewish tradition the disobedience of Adam and Eve is not normally understood to have permanently corrupted the human race, although there are some exceptions (Job 4:18–19; 2 Esd. 3:5–8). The ultimate origin of evil is sometimes explained as due to the “fall” of an angel from heaven, as in Luke 10:18–19 (cf. Isa. 14:12–15).

Both Jewish and Christian writers from *Philo and *Paul to the *kabbalists described prelapsarian (“before the fall”) conditions in great detail: the snake had four legs (cf. Gen. 3:14); human beings were immortal; the primeval human being (adam kadmon) was incorporeal, both male and female, the source of cosmic light and a mystical link between heaven and earth. Modern readings of Gen. 3, anticipated by rabbinic legend, *Irenaeus, and others, recognize the theme of discovery whereby naïve, naked, and innocent beings became truly human, with free will, the ability to think for themselves, and the propensity to suffer and die. Nineteenth-century writers like Shelley (Prometheus Unbound) understood the fall of *Satan as progress. The paradoxical formula felix culpa, “happy guilt,” in a part of the Easter liturgy associated with *Ambrose (4th century), focuses on the fact that the joy of redemption could not have been experienced if there had been no fall, and the 15th-century carol Adam lay ybounden contains the words “Blessed be the time, the apple taken was.” Among the best-known artistic representations of the fall are those of Hugo van der Goes, Hieronymus *Bosch, *Michelangelo, *Raphael, and, very different from the rest, *Rembrandt.[1]

From Phillips, Helen. “Gardens of Love and the Garden of the Fall.” In A Walk in the Garden: Biblical, Iconographical and Literary Images of Eden, edited by Paul Morris and Deborah Sawyer. Vol. 136. Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement Series. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1992.

Guillaume de Deguilleville’s Pélerinage de l’ âme presents Mary as the green tree and Christ as her apple. Adam lay ybounden celebrates the double symbolism of the apple:

Ne had the apple taken been, the apple taken been,

Ne had never our Lady a-been heaven queen.[2]

From Sadgrove, Michael. Lost Sons: God’s Long Search for Humanity. London: SPCK, 2012.

This idea that the last Adam undoes what the first Adam did is part of a long, carefully reasoned argument in the Letter to the Romans about the redemption that Christ brings and how we enter into it. In this, Paul says, the death and resurrection of Jesus are central. It is through his death that Jesus demonstrates the obedience to his Father’s will that Adam rebelled against. The resurrection is not only God’s affirmation of the last Adam’s obedience, but is also the first day of the new creation into which he leads us in triumph: not merely back past the cherubim and flaming sword into Eden but into an even more glorious domain. So the last Adam gathers up and recapitulates the primeval history of the lost Adam in order to redeem human history and give it back a future. From this, Aquinas developed the thought-provoking insight of the ‘happy fault’: had Adam not transgressed, God would not have come among us in Jesus Christ and humanity would never have known the blessing of salvation. O felix culpa! As the fifteenth-century carol ‘Adam lay ybounden’ puts it:

Blessed be the time that apple taken was,

Therefore we moun singen Deo gratias!

This gives us the most direct way into the passion narrative from the Genesis story of the first lost son.[3]

Sir. Sirach (Ecclesiasticus)

Esd. Esdras

[1] John F. A. Sawyer, “Fall,” in A Concise Dictionary of the Bible and Its Reception (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009), 89.

[2] Helen Phillips, “Gardens of Love and the Garden of the Fall,” in A Walk in the Garden: Biblical, Iconographical and Literary Images of Eden, ed. Paul Morris and Deborah Sawyer, vol. 136, Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement Series (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1992), 209.

[3] Michael Sadgrove, Lost Sons: God’s Long Search for Humanity (London: SPCK, 2012), 125–126.