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The Adam Complex: The Passions of Adam & Eve
96 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 23, 2024
As per recommendation, I got through this book in just a couple leisurely sittings. It's a good intro book, but I think it could use more.
This short book gives a good introduction to what the Orthodox mean when they talk of "the passions". This word is used so much more often than "sin" in the Orthodox world and has to do with a more inner state of neurosis or sickness than a judgment call on someone's value or "goodness". The author gives an in depth look on what a "passion" is, how it manifests, and how someone can heal from it.
This could basically be retitled, "how to not be a narcissist". I mean, so much of this book applies to that, and we all have a bit of narcissism in us (just some of us waay more than others). I like how clearly it labeled what passions are, and the message that trauma and poor upbringing can actually create passions in you (which isn't your fault), but it IS your fault if you don't attempt to undo the damage and instead just throw up your hands in defeat. I love the promise of God's unequivocal help in healing from passions, and that the author is under no delusions about how hard healing is or how long it can take. This book is very up front: healing requires patience and perseverance. It is not an overnight fix, often taking years if not a lifetime. But it's worth it, in any degree it can be obtained, and a diligent person CAN obtain it with God's help.
I don't like how the book oversimplifies mental disorders or how it just basically reverts to "pray a lot and eventually things will change". I mean, yes, prayer and spiritual disciplines are good and can help but you also need the guidance of a) a spiritual director like a priest and b) a therapist especially for really intense trauma or disorders. As a firm believer in "all healing is God's healing", I think it's unwise to assume a one-size-fits-all mentality of healing or that a person can heal without help from the community at large. We're all gifted by God in ways meant to help each other. By all means, pray hard and fervently for help fighting your passions...AND talk to a priest...AND see a therapist...AND do what they suggest for your overall wellbeing and health as people who know you and your unique situation and have the necessary knowledge to help.
I also don't like how the book ended. It just stops. There's no real conclusion or synthesis, it just...ends. I know a summary conclusion can feel redundant, but with a book like this, I felt that it really needed some sort of "tie it all together" chapter at the end. It was really jarring to not have that or even any acknowledgement of an ending at all. Very, very strange.
Overall, I think it's worth the read for catechumens or people wanting more clarity on the "passions", but definitely discuss what you read with your priest if you feel something doesn't quite hit right for your situation.
This short book gives a good introduction to what the Orthodox mean when they talk of "the passions". This word is used so much more often than "sin" in the Orthodox world and has to do with a more inner state of neurosis or sickness than a judgment call on someone's value or "goodness". The author gives an in depth look on what a "passion" is, how it manifests, and how someone can heal from it.
This could basically be retitled, "how to not be a narcissist". I mean, so much of this book applies to that, and we all have a bit of narcissism in us (just some of us waay more than others). I like how clearly it labeled what passions are, and the message that trauma and poor upbringing can actually create passions in you (which isn't your fault), but it IS your fault if you don't attempt to undo the damage and instead just throw up your hands in defeat. I love the promise of God's unequivocal help in healing from passions, and that the author is under no delusions about how hard healing is or how long it can take. This book is very up front: healing requires patience and perseverance. It is not an overnight fix, often taking years if not a lifetime. But it's worth it, in any degree it can be obtained, and a diligent person CAN obtain it with God's help.
I don't like how the book oversimplifies mental disorders or how it just basically reverts to "pray a lot and eventually things will change". I mean, yes, prayer and spiritual disciplines are good and can help but you also need the guidance of a) a spiritual director like a priest and b) a therapist especially for really intense trauma or disorders. As a firm believer in "all healing is God's healing", I think it's unwise to assume a one-size-fits-all mentality of healing or that a person can heal without help from the community at large. We're all gifted by God in ways meant to help each other. By all means, pray hard and fervently for help fighting your passions...AND talk to a priest...AND see a therapist...AND do what they suggest for your overall wellbeing and health as people who know you and your unique situation and have the necessary knowledge to help.
I also don't like how the book ended. It just stops. There's no real conclusion or synthesis, it just...ends. I know a summary conclusion can feel redundant, but with a book like this, I felt that it really needed some sort of "tie it all together" chapter at the end. It was really jarring to not have that or even any acknowledgement of an ending at all. Very, very strange.
Overall, I think it's worth the read for catechumens or people wanting more clarity on the "passions", but definitely discuss what you read with your priest if you feel something doesn't quite hit right for your situation.
June 6, 2025
The last three chapters are amazing.
"The Adam complex gives men an urge to get rid of God and take over his authority for themselves. And to take over the knowledge that belongs with God (that is, holy wisdom, the "mother" figure, Hagia Sophia) and drag "her" down into ungoldy service, into human reasoning and rationalization, to beget all kinds of schemes in opposition to God's commandments." p.83
"To usurp the father's place, they misuse the mother, knowledge. They force "her" into a rationalization and justification of their rebellion instead of letting her, as Holy Wisdom, draw them to the Father." p.84
"Freud thought this urge to kill the father and possess the mother was to be found in all men. (In his notes, with remarkable intuition, he wrote that he had, besides, a suspicion that perhaps the sense of guilt of mankind as a whole, which is the ultimate source of religion and morality, was acquired in the beginnings of history through the Oedipus complex.)" p.86
And then the descriptions of the dysfunctional Adam and Eve pattern are powerfully reminiscent of contemporary discourse on avoidant and anxious attachment styles, respectively:
"Eve will typically avoid looking at any truth that would interfere with what she wants. Truth wouldn't deter Adam from disobeying God. But it would deter Eve, because straight-out disobedience wouldn't suit someone who sees herself as "good", which Eve does. To disobey God, a woman in the Eve pattern has to be beguiled into thinking that what she's doing is good.
Adam gets a sense of self-righteousness by altering God's laws to his own design and then obeying his own man-made laws. But Eve is enthralled with the conviction that her intentions are good. Her behavior doesn't matter so much to her. She feels righteous simply on the basis of her "good" intentions." p.89
"The Adam complex gives men an urge to get rid of God and take over his authority for themselves. And to take over the knowledge that belongs with God (that is, holy wisdom, the "mother" figure, Hagia Sophia) and drag "her" down into ungoldy service, into human reasoning and rationalization, to beget all kinds of schemes in opposition to God's commandments." p.83
"To usurp the father's place, they misuse the mother, knowledge. They force "her" into a rationalization and justification of their rebellion instead of letting her, as Holy Wisdom, draw them to the Father." p.84
"Freud thought this urge to kill the father and possess the mother was to be found in all men. (In his notes, with remarkable intuition, he wrote that he had, besides, a suspicion that perhaps the sense of guilt of mankind as a whole, which is the ultimate source of religion and morality, was acquired in the beginnings of history through the Oedipus complex.)" p.86
And then the descriptions of the dysfunctional Adam and Eve pattern are powerfully reminiscent of contemporary discourse on avoidant and anxious attachment styles, respectively:
"Eve will typically avoid looking at any truth that would interfere with what she wants. Truth wouldn't deter Adam from disobeying God. But it would deter Eve, because straight-out disobedience wouldn't suit someone who sees herself as "good", which Eve does. To disobey God, a woman in the Eve pattern has to be beguiled into thinking that what she's doing is good.
Adam gets a sense of self-righteousness by altering God's laws to his own design and then obeying his own man-made laws. But Eve is enthralled with the conviction that her intentions are good. Her behavior doesn't matter so much to her. She feels righteous simply on the basis of her "good" intentions." p.89
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