-- I don't mean chronologically; that is a silly fundamentalist question. So I'll restate:
Q. Had Adam and Eve attained the age of reason? Which leads to the question; was Eve's decision to follow the interpretation of the serpent , rather than God's command, a sin, or simply disobeying an instruction?
Adam certainly had achieved the age at which he could name the animals, and distinguish the woman as one like himself, unlike the animals; on the other hand, it's obvious that ;they had NOT reached the age of puberty, because they were walking around in the garden, not rolling around in it. They did not "Know" each other, in the Scriptural sense, until they were cast out of the garden.
So these are my conclusions:
1) Eve (and Adam) did not, and COULD not, have "sinned" because they had not reached the age of reason. 2) Eating the fruit of the tree was not really "matter" for sin because Eve was not choosing evil; she was choosing knowledge. 3) The serpent was "cunning". The serpent was NOT evil. The serpent pointed out to Eve that God was making threats he was not ready to follow up on. (After being cast out of Eden, Adam lived to an age of 930 years (Gn 5,5). Were I condemned to die at the age of 930, I would not consider that a punishment)
4) In fact, Eve and Adam DID receive the results the serpent promised: they would "Know" good and evil. In the Hebrew sense, "know" means to fully experience, in body, soul, and mind, the dualism of good/evil. The results of this action are much better described as "karma", not punishment:
a. They immediately saw their nakedness not as innocence, but also vulnerability; they chose to cover themselves in disguise rather than see and accept each other as they were created.
b. God ANNOUNCES the karmic consequences of this dualism; the man will be opposed to his wife, the serpent accursed among all animals; the farmer will be alienated from the land; the woman will experience pain in childbirth. These are NOT "punishments" for a SIN that has been committed; they are the karmic consequences of leaving the innocence of childhood for the knowledge and maturity of adulthood.
c. God tenderly makes garments for Adam and Eve; this is a sign of pity and love, the gesture of a parent who knows their children must go out into a cruel world, but cannot stop them.
d. However, God makes good on the one punishment he promised; he bars the way back to Eden, where the tree of life remains; Adam and Eve will die; but they pass on to their children the memory of the fabulous garden, to which every human being nourishes the desire to return.
ReplyDeleteQ: How old were Adam and Eve?
-- I don't mean chronologically; that is a silly fundamentalist question. So I'll restate:
Q. Had Adam and Eve attained the age of reason? Which leads to the question; was Eve's decision to follow the interpretation of the serpent , rather than God's command, a sin, or simply disobeying an instruction?
Adam certainly had achieved the age at which he could name the animals, and distinguish the woman as one like himself, unlike the animals; on the other hand, it's obvious that ;they had NOT reached the age of puberty, because they were walking around in the garden, not rolling around in it. They did not "Know" each other, in the Scriptural sense, until they were cast out of the garden.
So these are my conclusions:
1) Eve (and Adam) did not, and COULD not, have "sinned" because they had not reached the age of reason.
2) Eating the fruit of the tree was not really "matter" for sin because Eve was not choosing evil; she was choosing knowledge.
3) The serpent was "cunning". The serpent was NOT evil. The serpent pointed out to Eve that God was making threats he was not ready to follow up on. (After being cast out of Eden, Adam lived to an age of 930 years (Gn 5,5). Were I condemned to die at the age of 930, I would not consider that a punishment)
4) In fact, Eve and Adam DID receive the results the serpent promised: they would "Know" good and evil. In the Hebrew sense, "know" means to fully experience, in body, soul, and mind, the dualism of good/evil. The results of this action are much better described as "karma", not punishment:
a. They immediately saw their nakedness not as innocence, but also vulnerability; they chose to cover themselves in disguise rather than see and accept each other as they were created.
b. God ANNOUNCES the karmic consequences of this dualism; the man will be opposed to his wife, the serpent accursed among all animals; the farmer will be alienated from the land; the woman will experience pain in childbirth. These are NOT "punishments" for a SIN that has been committed; they are the karmic consequences of leaving the innocence of childhood for the knowledge and maturity of adulthood.
c. God tenderly makes garments for Adam and Eve; this is a sign of pity and love, the gesture of a parent who knows their children must go out into a cruel world, but cannot stop them.
d. However, God makes good on the one punishment he promised; he bars the way back to Eden, where the tree of life remains; Adam and Eve will die; but they pass on to their children the memory of the fabulous garden, to which every human being nourishes the desire to return.