Adam’s fall lies in his refusal to perform this mission. Instead of looking and moving forward, he chose to cling to what was already there, to nature, and, above all, to himself, to his senses, to what St Maximus calls τὰ αἰσθητά. Either out of fear or out of ignorance—or, most importantly, self-love (φιλαυτία)—the first human being from its beginning (ἅμα τῷ γενέσθαι) preferred to hold fast to what was given rather than to what was promised, to the certainty of reality which could be controlled by its senses, instead of embarking on a journey in faith, to the future. Adam preferred to be god
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