Tuesday, March 31, 2009

adam & eve

so i've been thinking about the difference between prefall adam and eve and postfall adam and eve. whether there was a literal "tree" or if it was something else is not in my capacity to know but i'm thinking of a few theories of what the difference was after the bite of the "apple".

my first thought is that prefall adam and eve had no concept of time as we know it, like God. that is probably the most prominent difference between us and God, beside everything else. the one thing that keeps us so far from God a lot of the time has to do with things that we can measure in our reality but if we were to step outside of time and space we would see it in a way that would make sense, in which we would feel a sense of well-being and nearness to infinity(God). for example, if i complain and complain and worry and worry about when i will ever get a job (if i didn't have one), it would make me feel alone and lost to think that God doesn't care enough to give me a job. but, if i could step outside of time and see that a new job would arrive on my doorstep eventually because outside of time i am a fulfilled person that works hard, then i would feel a sense of patience and calm knowing that all is well that ends well. another example is money; if we could always remember that God will not run out of blessings and that the world will not run out of money and that we will be okay even if we have nothing, half of our worries are eliminated right there. our ability to measure and compare, which has to do with our concept of time, can inhibit our God-consciousness. just like the creation poem tells us, that they noticed their nakedness. they could then see their bodies not as whole beings created perfectly in the image of God for a purpose, but they saw something to be compared and measured, and decided that it wasn't good enough. they were stripped of their sense of wholeness and fullness. besides, aren't the times you feel closest to God the moments where Earth fades away and its just you and infinity(God)?

however, would that make adam and eve immortal, or everlasting, in their prefall state? this raises an issue i am not sure i can comprehend fully. perhaps they weren't immortal but didn't have a concept of impending death and felt a sense that everything needs to happen in a specific way because that's how the universe operates. like animals. surely lizards and birds cannot comprehend their own death or contemplate their own existence.. they just are. even if they could realize their own self they wouldn't want or need to because it really doesn't matter in the long run.

i am not suggesting, though, that adam and eve were just animals like all the rest and had no higher thinking ability. (if there really was an adam and eve)

perhaps adam and eve were a product of the egocentrism that infiltrated jewish culture back in ancient times. the jews believed that they were "God's chosen people" and maybe they decided that their origins were actually perfect.

who knows. but the reason the difference matters is also the reason our existence matters.

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