Fall From Grace

How this tradition expresses it

Humanity exists in a state of mortality and probation because of the Fall of Adam, which allowed for the existence of children and the capacity for joy.

Why this supports “Fall From Grace”

2 Nephi 2:25 ('Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy') is the foundational LDS 'fortunate fall' text. While LDS theology reframes the Fall as ultimately positive and enabling, the verse directly states that Adam's transgression is the reason humans exist in mortality, fitting Fall From Grace as the mechanism by which embodied life became possible.

Nuance

The Fall was a necessary part of God's wisdom to allow for growth and the existence of posterity.

How this tradition expresses it

Humanity became fallen and sensual through the transgression of holy laws.

Why this supports “Fall From Grace”

Mosiah 16's statement that 'by the transgression of these holy laws man became sensual and devilish, and became fallen man' is a direct articulation of the Fall doctrine—humanity's mortal, embodied condition resulted from transgression. This supports Fall From Grace as the mechanism through which embodied mortal life came about.

How this tradition expresses it

Human mortality, death, and misery are the direct consequences of the Fall of Adam.

Why this supports “Fall From Grace”

Direct LDS articulation of Adam's fall as the cause of human existence and mortality - classic fall-from-grace framework.

How this tradition expresses it

The presence of the 'sons of salvation' in the world is linked to a state of deficiency or a descent from the place of light.

Why this supports “Fall From Grace”

Mandaean myth of fallen angels needing salvation through Manda dHaije is direct Fall From Grace - earth-incarnation results from prior celestial descent and lack.

Nuance

The text suggests a 'lack' or 'deficiency' was attached to them, necessitating a messenger to bring them back.

How this tradition expresses it

Human existence in the physical realm is presented as a state of captivity or being 'thrown' into the body, implying a separation from a previous, higher state.

Why this supports “Fall From Grace”

The Mandaean soul's lament at being taken from its celestial home and thrown into the body is the most direct articulation of fall-into-incarnation as imprisonment and loss.

How this tradition expresses it

The earthly realm (Tibil) is characterized by a lack of impulses and constant shortage, serving as a place of struggle or a state to be left behind.

Why this supports “Fall From Grace”

The imperative to flee Tibil before decay sets in emphasizes the realm's inherent deficiency and the soul's vulnerability to deterioration within it, positioning earthly existence as a degraded state from which salvation requires immediate escape. This characterization of the material world as fundamentally "lacking" aligns with the doctrine that embodied souls have fallen into an inferior cosmic realm requiring redemption.

Nuance

The text presents the earthly life as a place of 'impulses' and 'shortage' that one should depart from before old age.

How this tradition expresses it

The Rulers of Destiny compel humans to sin through the 'cup of forgetfulness' and the 'counterfeit spirit' to ensure they remain subject to the Rulers' authority.

Why this supports “Fall From Grace”

The quote directly identifies the Rulers of Destiny as active agents who compel humans toward sin, establishing their role as external malevolent forces imposing transgression rather than humans choosing freely. This mechanism of compulsion through supernatural coercion exemplifies how gnostic humanity remains enslaved to archontic powers, embodying the fall from grace as ongoing subjection rather than mere moral failure.

Nuance

The compulsion is tied to the 'Rulers of the Destiny' and the 'counterfeit spirit' which acts as a vesture or sheath for the soul.

How this tradition expresses it

The current world and its rulers arose from a crisis of thought (Sophia's desire) rather than a purposeful divine plan.

Why this supports “Fall From Grace”

The Apocryphon of John's account of Sophia creating without consort, producing the misshapen Yaldabaoth, is the foundational Gnostic Fall From Grace - the cosmic error that produces material existence.

How this tradition expresses it

The material existence was engineered by the rulers to bind humanity in forgetfulness and subject them to death.

Why this supports “Fall From Grace”

The Apocryphon of John's account of archonic 'thieves' binding the man in forgetfulness and mortality is direct fall-from-grace mythology, not testing.

How this tradition expresses it

The soul's presence in the body is described as a descent from its original higher state, involving an 'admixture' with an inferior nature (matter).

Why this supports “Fall From Grace”

This Ennead I.6 passage describes the soul as 'fallen into impurity' and 'seized with irresistible inclination towards sense,' emphasizing moral degradation and contamination by matter. The language of impurity, absorption, and changed form through 'admixture with an inferior nature' aligns directly with the transgressive fall reading of tolma, not with voluntary constructive descent.

Nuance

The soul's current state is an 'accidental' or 'foreign' condition compared to its pristine nature.

How this tradition expresses it

The soul's descent into embodied life is characterized as an 'apostasy' or a loss of its original state due to audacity and the desire for independence.

Why this supports “Fall From Grace”

Plotinus names tolma ('audacity') and 'the desire to belong to none but themselves' as the 'origin of their evil.' The morally charged framing—calling the cause of descent 'evil' and linking it to prideful self-assertion—directly supports the transgressive reading of tolma as a culpable fall. This is the key passage for the Fall From Grace alternative within Plotinus' own writings.

How this tradition expresses it

Human existence is the result of 'falling into generation,' a process of descent into the sublunary region.

Why this supports “Fall From Grace”

Orphic doctrine (via Neoplatonic interpretation): the soul's fragmentation and suffering in embodied life results from its 'falling into generation'—i.e., descent into the material/sublunary realm. This is the canonical Orphic Fall From Grace teaching, depicting incarnation as a loss of prior divine unity.