April 11, 2018 - Day 3 - Genesis 3
Genesis 3:
(During this Bible journey, I'll mostly be using the NIV, though sometimes I'll reference the ESV or the Message)
Our poem continues. Interestingly, the serpent is said to be more crafty than any of the other wild animals that God had made. I wonder why God decided to make the serpent so crafty, and to place said serpent in the garden. Hmm. Also, this serpent is speaking human language, strongly suggesting this story is allegorical.
The woman explains to the serpent which tree not to eat from and why, and the serpent convinces her that she will not die and will be like God if she eats it. What does "knowing good and evil" even mean? Important to note that we are not told what death or "being like God" means. This is left up to interpretation.
Some folks think this story is literal. If so, it says that their eyes were opened when they ate of this fruit. Were the man and woman blind before? They also first realized they were naked and covered themselves up.
Then they heard God walking through the garden. Again, odd if literal; interesting if allegorical. God asks "where are you" to the man. God likely already knows where the man is, so the question must mean something else. The man then throws the woman under the bus and blames the eating of the fruit on her. He's not a victim. He didn't have to eat it.
The woman also refuses to take responsibility and blames the serpent. Again, not a victim. She didn't have to eat it. I think this part of the story is very telling about how we as humans are so quick to blame anyone but ourselves. This is a reminder to take responsibility for your actions.
God then gets all pissed off and says a bunch of nonsense to the serpent and curses all wild animals. God even mentions the serpent eating dust (which serpents don't do) and enmity between the serpent and the woman, and their offspring (which is weird).
God decides to further the anger and senselessness by ensuring the woman will feel pain during childbirth and that her husband will rule over her. God sure is merciful in this story! Next, God tells the man that he will painfully eat food from the ground for the rest of his life. NOTE: Where in this story does it say the rest of humanity will endure these things? It doesn't! When did we make that up??
It says the woman would become the mother of all the living, and we are not told what that means.
The chapter ends by God banning the man from the garden and then placing a flaming sword in the way to guard the tree of life. Why didn't God put the flaming sword there from the start?
So that's Genesis 3. Many atheists will say that God is a jerk and not worth following. If this story is taken literally, they are absolutely right. If we take it literally, there's nothing to learn and its easy to dismiss. I see much more wisdom here though.
Ironically, I see a primitive people trying to make sense of natural things (wild animals being aggressive to humans, childbirth, hard work to cultivate food - not to mention a patriarchal society flexing its muscle over women) by blaming them on God.
Imagine that.
We have to blame something don't we? This story tells us a hell of a lot more about humanity than it tells us about God; and so far, I think thats one of the most interesting things about the Bible.
(During this Bible journey, I'll mostly be using the NIV, though sometimes I'll reference the ESV or the Message)
Our poem continues. Interestingly, the serpent is said to be more crafty than any of the other wild animals that God had made. I wonder why God decided to make the serpent so crafty, and to place said serpent in the garden. Hmm. Also, this serpent is speaking human language, strongly suggesting this story is allegorical.
The woman explains to the serpent which tree not to eat from and why, and the serpent convinces her that she will not die and will be like God if she eats it. What does "knowing good and evil" even mean? Important to note that we are not told what death or "being like God" means. This is left up to interpretation.
Some folks think this story is literal. If so, it says that their eyes were opened when they ate of this fruit. Were the man and woman blind before? They also first realized they were naked and covered themselves up.
Then they heard God walking through the garden. Again, odd if literal; interesting if allegorical. God asks "where are you" to the man. God likely already knows where the man is, so the question must mean something else. The man then throws the woman under the bus and blames the eating of the fruit on her. He's not a victim. He didn't have to eat it.
The woman also refuses to take responsibility and blames the serpent. Again, not a victim. She didn't have to eat it. I think this part of the story is very telling about how we as humans are so quick to blame anyone but ourselves. This is a reminder to take responsibility for your actions.
God then gets all pissed off and says a bunch of nonsense to the serpent and curses all wild animals. God even mentions the serpent eating dust (which serpents don't do) and enmity between the serpent and the woman, and their offspring (which is weird).
God decides to further the anger and senselessness by ensuring the woman will feel pain during childbirth and that her husband will rule over her. God sure is merciful in this story! Next, God tells the man that he will painfully eat food from the ground for the rest of his life. NOTE: Where in this story does it say the rest of humanity will endure these things? It doesn't! When did we make that up??
It says the woman would become the mother of all the living, and we are not told what that means.
The chapter ends by God banning the man from the garden and then placing a flaming sword in the way to guard the tree of life. Why didn't God put the flaming sword there from the start?
So that's Genesis 3. Many atheists will say that God is a jerk and not worth following. If this story is taken literally, they are absolutely right. If we take it literally, there's nothing to learn and its easy to dismiss. I see much more wisdom here though.
Ironically, I see a primitive people trying to make sense of natural things (wild animals being aggressive to humans, childbirth, hard work to cultivate food - not to mention a patriarchal society flexing its muscle over women) by blaming them on God.
Imagine that.
We have to blame something don't we? This story tells us a hell of a lot more about humanity than it tells us about God; and so far, I think thats one of the most interesting things about the Bible.
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