The Denial of the Other: Genesis 2 and the Anthropological Grammar of Abuse

This article explores the anthropological mechanisms underlying abuse, both within and outside the Church, through a theological reading of Genesis 2. Read as a mythical and symbolic account of the human condition, Genesis 2 presents human beings as essentially relational: they realize their humanity in community, freedom, and language, and in recognizing the other as genuinely other. The narrative’s progression from Adam’s solitude, through his encounter with the animals, to the creation of Eve shows that genuine human community emerges only in relationship with a being who is both different and fundamentally equal. From this perspective, abuse appears as a radical distortion of the original human vocation. By refusing to recognize the other as genuinely other and by violating his or her dignity, the perpetrator exercises illegitimate domination. Abuse thus entails the dehumanizing objectification of the other, the destruction of genuine community, and the replacement of free communion with coerced unity. Language, which should open the way to dialogue, may likewise become an instrument of manipulation and control. The themes of nakedness and shame further illuminate the dynamics of concealment, victimization, and institutional denial. The article argues that Genesis 2 offers an anthropological grammar for understanding abusive relationships, in which abuse appears as the refusal, through the misuse of power, to recognize the other as genuinely other and to respect his or her dignity. This reading does not seek to establish a causal hierarchy among anthropological, theological, institutional, and cultural factors. Rather, it illuminates a relational distortion that can arise wherever human relationships exist—including within the Church, where ecclesial structures may enable, intensify, or conceal it.