/lit/ - Literature

>>23024535
The further thing to consider is that the introduction of sin into the world by Adam and Eve had an ontological effect on the human and his relationship with God. For all of the righteousness of Moses and Abraham, they were still ultimately cut off from true communion with God and went to Hades. This is why the oft-overlooked Harrowing of Hades is so important. It's only in the God-man Jesus Christ that we can find life because in His own Person He mediates Divinity and humanity. On our own, we cannot forge a path back to God. We can only partake in the life of God through Christ and the sacraments that unite us to Him. As such, even if a man prior to the Incarnation repented of all of his iniquity, he would remain cut off from God. St Athanasius says this beautifully in picrel.