Throughout all of the Old Testament if there is one recurring theme it is man's rejection of God's wisdom and guidance time and again.
Adam and Eve was just the beginning.
Bowser said:What is The Tree of Knowledge? I'm not certain. Is it the knowledge of Good and Evil and the Desire to be God?
Genesis 2:9
And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Genesis 2:17
but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."
Genesis 3:5
the serpent said to the woman. 5 "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
Genesis 3:6
When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
Bowser said:Granted, the serpent planted the seed of desire...
one_raven said:Light,
NIV Genesis2:4 "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. 5 "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
NIV Genesis2:22 And the LORD God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever." 23 So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side [e] of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.
one_raven said:That, combined with the immortality offered to them by eating of the Tree of Life is what would have made them Gods (which is why there were barred from the Garden).
With Knowledge of Good and Evil, mankind gained self-determination, so no longer needed God's constant guidance. If you look at the various covenants made by God to the patriarchs, you will see that in each covenant God's control gets a little more loose and he gives a little more power of judgement to mankind.
With self-determination AND imoortality, man would no longer have a need for God and would be, in effects, Gods in their own domian.
one_raven said:Ah, but don't discount domain.
"God" is omniscient, omnipotent and "all the rest" in his domain or realm.
In the strictly physical realm of earth, makind has the capacity to be Gods.
With the Knowldege of Good and Evil, we have self-determination.
With science...
We can control the physical world around us.
We can create or destroy life.
We have limitless knowedge at our fingertips.
We have the ability to do anything that is possible.
With immortality, we would be Gods on earth.
There would still be a more powerful being than us, but that is because his domain is above ours.
The lest powerful being in heaven is about on par with the most powerful on Earth.
What power, I wonder, does God's God have.
Yes, now I am just being silly, but it's fun to think about, isn't it?
"what if god ain't looking down what if he's looking up instead"
what if no one's watching -ani difranco
not again.duendy said:The Tree of Knowledge is referring to psychedelic mushroom.....!
one_raven.........you can roll yer eyes till they roll outta yer heaed.....if you knew how many times i have to pick MY eyes up everytime i hear the same old same tired old cobwebby dead literalist mumbo jumbo dialogue agoin on about 'religion.....jeeez! but i dont particularly tell the people off for talking from their comfort zone. though i WIL challenge it by speaking my truthone_raven said:not again.