This summer, a good friend introduced me to the writings of the Italian psychoanalyst and philosopher Massimo Recalcati. His books range from pure psychological to more philosophical or theological themes. These excursions by a psychologist into theology interest me. In my theological explorations, I often look at how non-theologians interpret theological texts and what new insights they may offer to understand these texts better. What is even more exciting is how this can go in both directions. Sometimes, a theologian can provide valuable insights into other academic discussions. At least, I have found it so in law and philosophy.
Recently, a translation of Recalcati’s book Cain’s Act on the foundation of human history and life was published in translation by Europa Editions (Original: Il gesto di Caino, 2020). In this book, Recalcati looks at the two foundation stories at the beginning of the Bible, the story of Adam and Eve and the story of Cain and Abel. How is it possible, Recalcati wonders, that the Christian story which is so full of the language of love, shows that in the beginning, human beings were not so lovable at all? The first family of Adam, Eve, and their sons Cain and Abel steal, lie, and murder.
One of the reasons, according to Recalcati, that this could happen is that the whole of creation was created ex nihilo (out of nothing). This concept of creation out of nothing has kept theologians busy for centuries. It can be compared with the discussions in other fields of science, such as “what was there before, and then exploded, to cause the Big Bang that started our universe”? Some theologians have argued that the creation “out of nothing” tries to express how God is outside everything we can see and know and cannot be influenced by us. Recalcati reads the ex nihilo discussion as saying something important about the human condition, namely that our separation from God makes real freedom possible. We are not made out of some divine leftovers that determine our actions but are unique and free. The rest of the Bible then becomes a story of how human beings discover for better and worse what real freedom means and that, ultimately, real freedom lies in the ability to love God, neighbour, and oneself.
Having established human freedom as a starting point, the proposal of the serpent to eat the forbidden fruit is not about stealing an apple. The real danger is that by eating the forbidden fruit, human beings stop being free as they become equal to God. There would be no more individuality. It would be a totalitarian absorption into the infinite. Not everyone would be like God, but everything would be God and nothing else.
Seen in this light, the story of Cain killing his brother Abel becomes a story of someone refusing the freedom of someone else to exist and be different. Cain becomes so self-absorbed that he gets jealous when his brother gets attention from God. This creates envy, the sorrow that other people are doing good. It is one of the deepest and most dangerous human emotions because it can lead to violence. According to Recalcati, envy is an inability to deal with the otherness of the other. It is a jealousy that believes that happiness is a limited material so that when someone else is happy, I cannot be happy. From this follows the logic of violence, stating that my happiness depends on the destruction of the other.
Rereading the story of Cain and Abel with new eyes can help us understand our world and the emotions of the people we encounter. And it even may offer some hope. Ultimately, Cain admitted that killing his brother was the worst thing he could have ever done. And that simple admission broke the power of envy and evil. After this, God reached out to protect Cain and enabled him to go out into the world and start a new life. This new life would not be characterised by envy but by generosity. There is now space for other people in his life. Cain becomes a father and builds a city.
In conclusion, Recalcati’s book left me wondering how different our families, religious communities, and countries would look if we tried to let go of our envy of other people and embrace the otherness of others.