Thursday, March 23, 2006

Just because it’s in the Bible doesn’t make it gospel.

Recently there has been a lot of fiction published purporting to be the truth. Parts of the Bible are historical fact that can be proven, but much of it is a work of fiction written by both known and unknown authors; take the story of Adam and Eve for example. If you take it as fact, it is so full of holes even a six year old child can see through it.

As I see it the author of this particular story whoever he or she might be, was not recording fact but creating a story that is full of symbolism. Take when Adam and Eve ate the fruit from the tree of knowledge for example. Now there’s a clue right there.

It was not a Granny Smith apple tree it was a ‘Tree of Knowledge.’ Symbolic of how when human kind’s brain developed he gained knowledge that could be used for both good and evil. In other words human kind learned to sin. As a symbolic story I find its message far more powerful than taking it as fact or history.

4 comments:

VintageSpin said...

Yes, the story that so much of religion holds its members captive to, original sin, ignores logic and reason. Eve didn't have a knowledge of right and wrong before eating from the tree? How then could she have done wrong? How could she know?
They both were given free will but would be put to death if they used it?
Reminds me of Star Wars, where you have absolute right and wrong, black and white, and good always trumps evil.
Truth is much more ambiguous.
Maybe that is why Jesus didn't answer Pilate when asked "What is truth?"

hermitonthehillcarolinewong said...

accidentally came across your post on your dad, couldn't agree more. same with the bible. i have a particular aversion against religion esp. the bible. never believed in it ever

Car
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Ron said...

Why should Christians believe you?

Dave said...

I'm about 99% atheist, and have no belief in the Christian god or the bible. There is, for example, no evidence there was ever anyone named Jesus, as purported in the bible, and plenty of evidence and common sense that says there was no such person, except in the imagination of the human mind.

As for the story of Adam and Eve, I think that, while it's about sin on one level, on a deeper level it's about what it took for the primal couple to become human. For, until they could be self-aware, they were not fully human.

It is both our triumph and our tragedy that, as humans, we can foretell our own deaths. This is what makes us humans, this self-awareness.

Adam and Eve were destined by God to eat of the apple - God, after all, planned it all in advance, knew in advance what would happen.