The story of Cain and Abel is among the more famous episodes in the Bible. We are all acquainted with this account of the first murder—indeed, the first fratricide—by which the bonds of brotherly love and responsibility were torn asunder. What we do not know, however, is what Cain said to his brother—at least not entirely. It’s probably that he said something more than the spare account in Genesis 48: “Let us go out in the field.” And insofar as he had to use some persuasive communication, Cain’s crime is magnified in a way that is not often considered in accounts of the story. Indeed, it may be argued that Cain’s presumed deceptive speech has greater implications than the murder. For, by lying to his brother, Cain destroyed the very basis of human community. As such—like his parents who ate fruit from the prohibited tree— Cain killed us all.

Truthful communication is at the very heart of the Christian understanding of human existence. Creation’s description in Genesis 1 tells us that God merely spoke the universe into existence and order. Psalm 33:6 declares, “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all their host by the breath of his mouth.” Indeed, creation itself is an expression of divine reason: a manifestation of the creative, rational mind of God communicated through truthful speech

Moreover, it is through His word that God gives Himself to His creation, while remaining distinct from it. As the first chapter of the Gospel of John explains, the divine Word commands creation to be, puts it in order, and mediates God’s presence to it. The principle by which we humans uniquely communicate with
our Creator is the unique power of speech. Alone among God’s creatures, humans are given the gift of participating in the very rationality that gives order, purpose and meaning to the created universe. The capacity to communicate through speech unites humankind in a bond of truthfulness and trust.

Which brings us back to Cain and Abel. Whatever words are missing from the Genesis account, we can be fairly confident that Cain did not say something like, “Come, Abel, let us go out into the field so I can kill you.” Rather, we would surmise his persuasion was cast in language such as, “Let us go out to the field so that I can show you my crops,” or, “Let us go to the field so that I can ask your opinion about this parasite problem.” Regardless of his exact words, Cain used communication to persuade Abel to come to his domain, where his intention was to kill him. Cain’s crime was premeditated, and he used some form of persuasive speech to effect the crime.

Thus, even before he took Abel’s life, Cain destroyed their brotherly community through deceptive communication. He perverted the very purpose of communication—to create truthful community— by using it deceptively. Power, rather than discourse, became the currency of their relationship, and Cain used his power to deny Abel the possibility of rational, communicative subjectivity. Cain took away part of Abel’s humanity even before he killed him. He used Abel’s presumption that Cain was truthful—faithful to their common rationality—to deceive and destroy Abel.

In so doing Cain also violates his own naturally social and communicative being. He destroys himself by his lie. Cain’s essential subjectivity is no less dependent upon rectitude and truthfulness than is Abel’s. Once Cain has violated that natural bond between naturally social creatures, Cain’s world becomes one of chaos and alienation. And having introduced this alienation into the world, we all become participants in it.

It naturally follows that Cain’s alienation from his brother immediately becomes alienation from God, whom Cain must now regard as an enemy. After the murder is committed, God indicts Cain for the crime. In response, Cain assumes a deceptive, defensive posture before God. “Where is your brother Abel?” God
asks (Gen. 4:9). God’s question presumes a natural, communicative relationship between Cain and Abel, sustained by truthful speech. Truthful communication establishes the possibility, condition and context of mutual accountability, such that Cain would be aware of his brother’s location. Or, if Cain as not aware, God presumes he should be concerned to learn about Abel’s absence.

And, of course, Cain knows that God knows the answer. Thus, Cain’s reply is more of an assertion than a question. “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” (Gen. 4:9). This is not a declaration that Cain does not know where Abel is; rather Cain is denouncing any responsibility for his brother’s well-being. In the process, Cain implicitly accuses God of being a liar in God’s presumption that Cain should be aware or concerned about Abel’s whereabouts. And, thus, Cain’s
alienation is complete.

Cain is us. Any time we use deception, fraud or deceit in communicating with one another, we participate in Cain’s crime against Abel. We do not have to kill our neighbor to destroy the natural community in which God created us in his image and likeness. Rather, we can do it merely by our failure to be truthful persons. Violent—and thus false— communication doesn’t merely kill one person. Rather, it destroys the very bonds of fraternal community into and for which were created.

Dr. Kenneth Craycraft holds the James J. Gardner Chair of Moral Theology at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary & School of Theology. He is the author of Citizens Yet Strangers: Living Authentically Catholic in a Divided America.

This article appeared in the January 2025 edition of The Catholic Telegraph Magazine. For your complimentary subscription, click here