The Fall From Grace

Have you ever heard the same song repeatedly and then gone on without hearing it for a long time?  Then one day it is randomly aired on tv or radio and you suddenly hear the words or understand the meaning behind them in a different way?  That's how I felt about Adam and Eve after reading the story for the first time in years.  My first conclusion after having read it this past week was that the story was much more tragic than I remembered.  The second was how much richly layered symbolism occurs in this portion of scripture.  As a child, the two trees were just two trees.  The snake was just a snake.  And the story was just a story.  As an adult, I've realized that isn't the case.

I'd like to insert a short reminder here to the reader that we may all identify with Scripture in different ways. What I have listed below are simply the revelations I drew from the text.

After God creates man from the dust of the Earth, and breathes the breath of Life into Adam's nostrils, he plants a garden called Eden which is pleasing to the eye and good for food.  He puts Adam in the garden and creates a partner for him named Eve. The garden lies between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers which is in fact a region easily located on a world map. It known as Mesopotamia or "The Cradle of Civilization" because of the agricultural revolution which first boomed in this region in 10,000 B.C.  In the center of this garden, God placed the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.  And God commanded Adam "But you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die." ~Genesis 2:17

In this garden, Adam and Eve had everything they could ever want or need.  They had immortality, an abundant food supply, a loving God, a beautiful place to live, peace, and love for one another.  The serpent who tempts Eve is described as more crafty than any of the animals the Lord God had made. Once Eve saw that the fruit looked good enough to eat she was tempted by the fact that she could earn wisdom from eating it.  It is then that she takes her first bite before sharing it with Adam.  Once they gain this knowledge of good and evil they are instantly ashamed and cover themselves with fig leaves.

I found this to be very true to the human condition.  How many times do we choose to let go of a perfect situation so we can experience something new, even when we know it may hurt us in the long run?  We are so curious and tempted by the knowledge a certain experience may bring that we would sacrifice our own happiness.  We see this over and over again in history and today's society. It is also interesting to note that once they understand both good and evil, they experience a new emotion.  Shame or guilt, which is the only wisdom they receive from the forbidden fruit.  It is because of this shame that neither Adam nor Eve take responsibility for the mistake they have just made.  Adam blames it on Eve, and Eve blames it on the snake.  Therefore the knowledge of good and evil and the guilt which comes from knowing the difference causes them to make yet another mistake.

God understands that all of them are equally responsible and puts a curse on each of them.  The snake must crawl forever on his belly. Woman must experience the pains of childbirth, and Man has to work the ground for  food.  At this point the story takes a different direction.  Instead of just being about the nature of human error, it becomes an explanation.  If we knew nothing of science or how we came to be, one can only imagine what we would think when we saw women giving birth or men working hard all their lives just to survive.  It probably begged the question What did we do to deserve this?

The second two chapters of Genesis hold our answer. Humanity, in general, is never satisfied. God gave Adam and Eve all that was good but they had to have the one thing that was forbidden to them, simply because it wasn't already in their grasp, even though they knew it had the potential of causing great harm.  I also found it fascinating that Eve was tempted by the wisdom she could attain from the fruit.  Humanity is never content to just experience the world moment by moment.  We are curious.  We want to know why, how, where, who? It is what separates us from the rest of the creatures on Earth. We have an insatiable desire to to learn.  To know what we know not already.

Once Adam and Eve understood the meaning of good and evil they were banished from the garden and forbidden to eat of the Tree of Life which would grant them immortality.  So perhaps the harsh moral of this sad story is that our constant dissatisfaction with Life, or our increasing wants and desires are what separate us from God.  I remember reading a book by the Dalai Lama in which he explained that true happiness is achieved when we no longer desire anything. Perhaps the ancient Hebrews would agree with him.

My husband has a very hard time stomaching this story.  The past three days that I have been researching the symbolism of the two trees, the fruit, etc., he has been comparing the Garden of Eden to a totalitarian government.  "Everything is provided and you aren't supposed to ask questions.  It sounds like 1984 or North Korea."  To be completely honest, I could see his point.  It's hard to agree with a story in which our quest for knowledge is seen as forbidden or negative. I believe that more of God is found in everything we learn and discover.  He created our curious minds and so he must have a purpose for them.  However, I do agree that human greed, our want for things we cannot have, can at many times be our undoing.  

My sister has another interesting opinion. She holds the belief that our souls choose to come down to Earth and experience life and to learn more about the different ways to experience love.  Perhaps that is similar to the ancient Hebrews' answer to why we are here.  It is because humanity would rather learn through struggle than stay in blissful ignorance for eternity.