so reading genesis is kind of difficult in that i've grown up hearing the creation story, so it's a little easy to just skim over. first day, watery expense, day, night, done. second day water seperates, land's here, done.
so it was all kind of run of the mill until i hit on something i honest to god do not remember ever reading. i am going to look like such an idiot for this, but turns out in the creation story there are two trees. TWO TREES! A tree of life and a tree of knowledge. Crazy. CRAZY. also turns out that the tree of life, i believe, makes a guest appearance in revelation.
a couple of observations: first the bible i'm using has turned out to be perfect for me as its little study guide is relatively progressive (which i am too), essentially folding in that evolution and creationism (or the idea that there is a creator) are not mutually exclusive.
also, and this is what i really appreciated, they emphasize that god created man in his own image. meaning that both genders possess the characteristics of the creator and that neither gender should be held in higher esteem than the other (this likewise applies to different races, etc). thus my title: homogenous genesis- we're pretty much all the same.
one of my favorite, kind of sad parts of the first chapter is when it says the lord was walking through the garden looking for adam and eve, after they've eaten the fruit. this presents such a juxtaposition to that all knowing, all seeing, retributive god that seems to appear shortly thereafter. i remember growing up and thinking how cool that would be, like the supreme being wants to hang out and watch monday night football or something. but it turns out adam and eve already tucked into the buffalo wings. so the big man is betrayed. he's hurt. and retribution must follow.
i also like that this story seems to definitively answers the question of free will. following it we see that god gave adam and eve the choice to hang blissfully in the garden, or to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge. i mean, he asked them not to, but the choice was always there.
this is something i feel that i identify with strongly. maybe all of us do. i have some serious, serious vices. food and men are the chief ones. and i kind of always feel like i know what's best, indulging in those vices when i've been warned against them. the parameters are there. i just choose to ignore them. wah, wah.
the hardest part for me to accept, and i think i will always struggle with this, is this idea of satan. satan's there, tempting eve. if i'm being totally honest i have a really hard time believing in satan. that's right, i said it. evil, i can see, i mean you only have to turn on the news to see that there is pure, unaldulturated evil out there (poor jaycee lee duggard and elizabeth smart can provide firsthand accounts). but as for this chief evil being?
i think i grew paranoid because as a child my parents painted this picture of beealzabub (how can you take that name seriously?) tugging at my strings and causing me (and them) to do bad things. as i've grown i just find that harder and harder to believe. but maybe it should actually be easy for me to believe because then i could write off the depravity of man. after all, wouldn't it be nicer to blame satan for the things that happened to jaycee lee and elizabeth smart than beings that are the same species as i am?
homogenous. that's scary.
alright, more later. off to dinner.
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Interesting, that whole "tree of knowledge" thing. Someone I respect a good bit once expressed the opinion that it may have gone a little differently than related: that God knew all along that Eve and Adam wouldn't be able to resist, and that was fine. Yes, it changed the game, but still... It kept things interesting.
ReplyDeleteAnother friend, whom I respect tremendously, often said God doesn't have a "plan." That would be to assume that it's all set, and the notion of free will is a joke on us. She said what God actually has is a purpose, and no matter what we do to try to throw spanners in that hole, God will take those spanners and not just "work around" them, but USE them to make the purpose work out. We can monkey around with the plan all we like -- God IS working God's purpose out.
Just a thought...
And BTW, I once had a lovely cat named Beelzebub. He was a hand-me-down cat -- the name came with him -- but he was a dear.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean about reading the Genesis and feeling like you remember the stories from childhood. When I was about to get married, I had a talk with my Daddy (God) and shared with him my fear of marriage. All these years I woke up each morning talking to HIm and each night talking to Him. He gave me great insight and now two were going to become one and I wasn't too sure if I wanted to lose "my" time with him. He sent me to Genesis. Which I argued about reading because I have heard the story several times. But at 3 in the morning He wouldn't leave me alone so I got my Bible and read it and I noticed something, when He discovered they had sinned, He gave them their punishments individually. They were specific to each of them. And He said to me, You see, you will be one but I will still have individual relationships with each of you. You will still be mine. You will still be my beloved.
ReplyDeleteIs "retribution" the same as justice, or even consequences? If a parent has a child, and tells the child not do do something, is giving the child a time out (or whatever) after the child disobeys "retribution"?
ReplyDeleteWrangling with the concept of a specific being as the epitomy of evil, Satan, is hard. I don't claim to undertsand it, but Satan appears to be characterized as chief among those who rebelled against God, and that part of his game plan is to try to limit the number of people God who turn to God and to steal away those who are already aligned with God--seemingly out of spite.
The bigger conundrum for me is wondering why God allowed this fallen being to exist and roam free in the first place. Had he doled out justice on that being and the rebels, there would have been no temptation by the serpent...right?
I'm not sure. If "sin" is falling short of God's perfection, then perhaps man would have fallen sooner or later. Deep thoughts...
Rozette- I've been neglectful of updating, but thanks for your comment. It truly is amazing how a story you feel that you know by heart takes on new meaning as you reach a new stage in your life. My friend and I were discussing this recently in the context of children's movies. (confession: we were watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles). There are so many more jokes, details, etc. that we notice now that we're adults. (The muppet show is another great example). Point being that those stories are worth rereading, and in fact we owe it to ourselves to reread, so that we can glean new guidance from them.
ReplyDeletefatman: (love that name! are you a runner too? i just finished a marathon in april. took me 5.5 hours, so you can call me fatgirlrunning) you have touched on so many of the difficult questions that are related to what Cynthia touched on. we're taught that god is an all powerful being with a plan. why couldn't that plan be as simple as vanquishing evil? but i suppose that goes back to free will. the simplest way i can concieve of it is that god has choices, and being created in his image, we also have choices. in keeping with his creation he allows us to be exposed to the things that he at one point tried to protect us from, but that we chose to explore? i don't know. i'm no theologian (obviously) but the theory is evolving. :)
also. beelzebub is a great name for a cat.
thanks for reading guys!
fatman: just reread my post and started giving more thought to your question on retribution. good point! retribution is listed as a synonym for justice and punishment and here's the definition:
ReplyDelete1. the act of punishing or taking vengeance for wrongdoing, sin, or injury
2. punishment or vengeance
i think we definitely associate retribution more with the vengeance part. and vengeance and revenge is something we attribute to an enemy or a villain, or someone whose acts are motivated by hate, which is in direct contrast to what our creator is following the equation god=love. however, the term vengeful god is bandied about quite a bit.
on the one hand i'd chalk it up to me being a writer that loves to use words to colorful words. on the other hand this obviously corresponds to a way that my thinking is connected to the "old testament god." which i think many of us have trouble reconciling to the grace-giving new testament god, even though they are one and the same.
so many questions! so many things to consider.