Fallen Emotions? Who Created Our Emotions?

I had never heard the term “fallen emotions” until a few weeks ago when I saw a pastor who I respect use it on social media. If I were to summarize what he was saying, it was that we are commanded in the Bible to not fear and not be anxious, therefore these emotions did not exist prior to the fall of Adam, and Jesus could not have experienced them. To make it clear on the outset, after considering what he had to say, I disagree with this man on this one, but because it got me thinking about the fact that there are pastors out there teaching this sort of idea, I wanted to write about it. I will be writing multiple posts to keep them more brief because it is a very deep subject deserving of full treatment from God’s Word.

It is important to define terms in every conversation. I am going to define emotions how I believe the vast majority of people in our world would define them, as the feeling we get in response to something else. When we use the words fear and anxiety to describe emotions, we are describing a way we feel in our gut. The “something else” could be almost anything that invokes this feeling in us. Let me illustrate with both the emotions of fear and anxiety to help you understand what I mean by these particular emotions.

If I am walking in our neighborhood and a large dog snarls, barks, and runs toward me, I am going to get a feeling in my gut that I would define as the emotion of fear. If I have forgotten to pay my electric bill and I get a notice in the mail stating I am going to be cut off in five days if I do not pay it, I am going to get a feeling in my gut that I would define as the emotion of anxiety. Those reactions are perfectly normal, and I would argue that most healthy people would have those same emotions rise up in them in similar circumstances. I would say they are natural, and as I will lay out, God given.

Scripture is not unclear, God in Jesus created everything, including all our emotions.

Of course, that is the ultimate question, then, who created these emotions? If there are emotions that did not exist prior to the fall of Adam, they must have been created at the fall or after the fall. The Scripture at creation seems to be clear, that God finished His creative work on day six and rested on day seven (Genesis 2:1-3). God was not creating anything after day six. If these emotions are a real thing, and they are, then who created them at or after the fall? Did Adam create these emotions? Perhaps Satan created them?

None of those answers would do, however. “For in Him [Jesus] all things were created, both in the heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things have been created though Him and for Him” (Colossians 1:16, Legacy Standard Bible). “All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being” (John 1:3). Scripture is not unclear, God in Jesus created everything, including all our emotions. Therefore, since God finished His creation on day six, those emotions, even what is being described as “fallen emotions”, must have been in existence.

It was not that fear and anxiety did not to exist in the garden, rather fear and anxiety was to be directed in one direction in the garden, to Yahweh God and maintaining relationship with Him.

Now, someone might ask whether there was a purpose for these emotions prior to the fall, and I would argue that there was. If Eve would have been more anxious to know and trust God’s Word than be anxious to gain more knowledge, she would not have been so easily deceived by the serpent. If Adam had feared God and His Word more than he feared losing his wife, perhaps he would not have rebelled. It was not that fear and anxiety did not to exist in the garden, rather fear and anxiety was to be directed in one direction in the garden, to Yahweh God and maintaining relationship with Him. It was not that these did not exist, it is that they were to be directed properly, and only when they were misdirected did they cause sin.

We can see where fear and anxiety would have been helpful to Adam and Eve if they used these emotions properly. Now, if the term fallen emotions means that our emotions have been marred and scarred since creation, all of us ought to agree that this is true, but that is very different from saying that the emotions did not exist. One could argue that every emotion could be misdirected in a sinful manner, however, not just fear and anxiety. Grief could be misdirected and misapplied, happiness can be misdirected and misapplied, anger can be misdirected and misapplied, as well as any other emotion. It is probably true that fear and anxiety are misdirected more often than most other emotions, but that in no way makes them more fallen than our other emotions, if one means that they have been affected by the fall.

For now, I just want to encourage you, do not feel guilt when fear or anxiety simply wells up in your gut due to some outside stimulus...

We still have to deal with the commands in the Bible not to fear or be anxious, and we also should deal with whether Jesus ever felt fear or anxiety. Those, however, will be dealt with in future posts. For now, I just want to encourage you, do not feel guilt when fear or anxiety simply wells up in your gut due to some outside stimulus, and continue reading this blog for future posts for help in knowing how our Creator who gave us these emotions calls us to respond to those feelings.