One Christian's Perspective on East of Eden

Yesterday at Becky's Book Reviews, I reviewed John Steinbeck's East of Eden. This classic provides Christian readers with much food for thought but it isn't a 'Christian' novel by any stretch of the imagination. Steinbeck uses themes and stories from the Bible in his fiction, but that doesn't mean how he uses them is strictly biblical.

It's a novel about parents and sons, good and evil, nature versus nurture, and a tricky little thing called free will. Do we have the ability to master sin and choose good? Or are we doomed to be mastered by sin, fated to keep repeating the same mistakes, and burdened down by shame and guilt?

Time and time again the story of Cain and Abel comes into the story. First, the story is read aloud from the Bible. Then the story is discussed between the characters. Later it is revealed that the story has "stuck" with a few of the characters and even led one to study ancient Hebrew. The critical verse is Genesis 4:7. This Hebrew word, Timshel, is uttered at several key places most significantly at the conclusion of the novel. Steinbeck's main point of the novel is that man has free will, he may or he may not master sin; the choice is his. Because the choice is his--it is not determined by his genes or by Fate or by God--there is hope for the future.

Here's what Genesis 4:6-7 says:

Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.” NIV

And Jehovah said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shall it not be lifted up? and if thou doest not well, sin coucheth at the door; and unto thee shall be its desire; but do thou rule over it. ASV

 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you furious?And why do you look despondent? If you do what is right, won’t you be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.” CSB

Adonai said to Kayin, “Why are you angry? Why so downcast? If you are doing what is good, shouldn’t you hold your head high? And if you don’t do what is good, sin is crouching at the door — it wants you, but you can rule over it.” CJB (Complete Jewish Bible)

The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.” ESV

Then the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance cast down?If thou do well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door: also unto thee his desire shall be subject, and thou shalt rule over him. 1599 Geneva Bible

And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. KJV 

“Why are you angry?” the Lord asked him. “Why is your face so dark with rage? It can be bright with joy if you will do what you should! But if you refuse to obey, watch out. Sin is waiting to attack you, longing to destroy you. But you can conquer it!” The Living Bible

“Why are you so angry?” the Lord asked Cain. “Why do you look so dejected? You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.” NLT

Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.” NASB

And Hashem said unto Kayin, Why art thou angry? And why is thy countenance fallen?If thou doest right, shalt thou not be accepted? And if thou doest not right, chattat croucheth at the petach. And unto thee shall be its teshukah (desire), and thou must rule over it. Orthodox Jewish Bible

The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is couching at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it.” RSV

The problem with ANY discussion of free will is that there are at least two different contexts. Context one for free will concerning salvation and matters of eternity. Context two for free will concerning how we live in the here and now. In which context is Steinbeck discussing free will? I would like to give him the benefit of the doubt completely and say the second context. I believe he is talking about ethics and morals: how we live our lives and how we treat others.

I wish that the term "free will" did not encompass both contexts. I would much rather phrase it: "Are we as humans responsible for how we live our lives, the good and bad choices we make day by day?" I think the Bible does teach human responsibility. Every word we speak, every action we take--we're ultimately responsible for. It does not end when our lives do. If anything, our accountability is even greater than when we were alive and facing only human judgments. The Bible teaches of God's judgment for one and all--based on our works, our words, our thoughts.

I do not think East of Eden addresses matters of eternity: heaven and hell, the corruption of human nature, the need for a Savior in Jesus Christ, the ins and outs of faith. Man's sinful nature may be illustrated in the novel, but, it's not necessarily discussed philosophically or theologically within the novel by the characters. Jesus is absent from the novel though the Bible is not.

I tend to hear the word "free will" and over-react. I automatically jump to the first context and go all defensive.The Bible clearly teaches the doctrine of sin, of the fall, of the radical--dare I say total--corruption of human nature. When Eve ate the "apple" man's free will--in its original, purest, truest form--was corrupted through and through. Our desires became tainted. So that no matter what we wanted, what we desired, what we willed--it would never, could never meet God's high standard of "good" of "righteous" of "holy" of "obedient" of "faithful." Before the fall, the choice was ours, ours in Adam and Eve--to choose God's way OR to choose our own way. In other words to trust or not to trust, to obey or not to obey. What would we do with God's commandments? What would we do with God's Words? The Fall has left natural man in a terrible state--blind, lost, enslaved, dead--in matters of salvation. We cannot justify ourselves before a righteous, holy, just God. There is no saving ourselves. There is no contributing to our salvation.




© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible