Protestantism

» pink101 - Back To The Future Again

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The Downfall is getting to be an all too familiar and repetitious action of those who continually search for what is Good and Proper and Evil and Improper.
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The first recorded instance of human endeavor shows us the nature of what it means to be human when Eve gives in to temptation in an effort to improve her lot in life and when Adam shows us his propinquity.
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Evangelicals have taken up the mantra of obedience in a legalistic approach to life by claiming that the sin committed by the original pair was disobedience and nothing else.
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But, they fail to explore what it was that is at the core of that disobedience; so, they repeat the origianl sin over and over and over again and again.
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It presents us with the Downfall of Evangelicalism in our post-modern society.
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Back To The Future Again.
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The mark of post-modern society is decontexualization or deconstruction. Simply put, it is our propensity--in these times--to take anything and everything apart so that we can decide if it is worthy of our acceptance or not. We throw out the meanings of words and reinvent them so that they serve our purposes. Thus, to be cool doesn't necessarily mean the physical temperature of something.
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It is cool to search for understanding--according to the Bible.
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The story teller in the Book of Beginnings has God telling Adam and Even that they can enjoy all that has been provided; but, [He] warns them to stay away from the tree that bears the fruit of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. For crying out loud--stop and consider what it means for something to be considered Knowledge of Good and Evil. How intellectually gifted must one be in order to grasp that?
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What IS the Knowledge of Good and Evil--who POSSESSES it--for WHAT purpose? Can we answer the question?
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The answer to that last question is, not if we are an Evangelical. We must completely bypass the question and go directly to the sin of disobedience--period. No further insights are required. It is enough to know that persons must obey.
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Obey what? Anything--just obey. Very convenient, I must say. If we can make disobedience out to be the Original Sin, then we can use that to keep people in line.
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In other words, the first letter of the Knowledge of Good and Evil is that it is Good and Proper to Obey and that it is Evil and Improper to Disobey.
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The Evangelical Downfall.
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Jesus came against the guilt of disobedience to the law that will NEVER go away.
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There is no end to the Knowledge of Good and Evil--none!
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-- posted by pink101

» pink101 - Erata

In response to Back To The Future Again posted by pink101:

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This sentence, "The story teller in the Book of Beginnings has God telling Adam and Even that they can...", should have read, with the correction in bold, "The story teller in the Book of Beginnings has God telling Adam and Eve that they can...".
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Sorry about that.
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-- posted by pink101

» Migisi - Back To The Future Again

In response to Back To The Future Again posted by pink101:
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Picture it...
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The moon is overhead and the campfire's burning. The camels have been fed, watered, and are bedded down. The women and little girls are chatting in another tent. The little boys have had their dinner and are now eagerly awaiting a story from Grampa. A little one asks, "Where did we come from?" Another chimes in, "Who made the moon, and fire, and the sand?" Grampa clears his throat, strokes his beard, and begins telling the story told to him by his grandfather, who heard it from his great great grandfather. And he starts... "In the beginning..." Now, every story must have a moral teaching, or what's the purpose of repeating it through the ages?
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What moral teachings can we take from Grampa's Adam/Eve story?
Seeking knowledge = misery and death.
Ignorance and blind obedience = bliss and eternal life.
Women are the cause of every man's sin and damnation.
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Nice. And we wonder why the world is so messed up?

-- posted by Migisi

» pink101 - Back To The Future Again

In response to Back To The Future Again posted by Migisi:
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It's is a peculiarity of the "faithful" that they seem incapable of understanding the meaning of the forbidden fruit from that particular tree. To them, the tree could have been an apple tree. And, TO THEM, it is all about the DISOBEDIENCE to God's authority on which they focus and it is far beyond their most distant imaginations that the tree stands for something that gives the knowledge of what is good and proper and of that which is evil and improper. I wonder why. Could it possibly have anything at all to do with their predilection to teach the rest of us about their great knowledge of what is good and proper and what is evil and improper?
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THEY JUST CANNOT SWALLOW THE IDEA THAT THE TREE STANDS FOR THE LAW OF GOOD AND EVIL. Instead, they turn that tree into the thing upon which they base their salvation. The truth of it goes right on over their heads. And they scoff at any inkling that there might be some small truth in my claims. And, they ridicule me for thinking the thoughts I think.
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LOL.

-- posted by pink101

» Migisi - Back To The Future Again

In response to Back To The Future Again posted by pink101:
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... their predilection to teach the rest of us about their great knowledge of what is good and proper and what is evil and improper?
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Thus making themselves out to be the priestly authorities on the subject? Yep!

-- posted by Migisi

» Brian Tubbs - What are you talking about?

In response to Back To The Future Again posted by pink101:

Pink, I don't follow your line of reasoning here.

For one thing, how do YOU know what the Tree in Genesis stands for? What's the basis of your knowledge?

For another, even if I buy into your interpretation or "inside knowledge" of the Tree in the Genesis story, do you not think that the concept of God's authority figures prominently in the account?

» pink101 - How I Get My Ideas

In response to What are you talking about? posted by BrianTubbs:
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"... of the Tree in the Genesis story, do you not think that the concept of God's authority figures prominently in the account?"
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But, you asked me, #1., how do YOU know what the Tree in Genesis stands for? What's the basis of your knowledge? and #2. even if I buy into your interpretation or "inside knowledge" of the Tree in the Genesis story, do you not think that the concept of God's authority figures prominently in the account?
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To #1. I only what the scenario as it is given in the Bible. The Bible states clearly that the tree is in the center of the garden and its fruit gives the knowledge of the teachings of good and evil--proper and improper, to those persons who partake of its fruit. I guess we all have to decide what it means for someone to be able to partake of that fruit. But, that's where I get the idea. Where do you get yours?
And to #2., Obviously, God's authority figures prominently in all accounts according to the definition of whatever one thinks of as being god. It goes with the territory.
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-- posted by pink101

» Migisi - Interesting Tree symbolism

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What does Judaism say about trees?
http://www.askmoses.com/article.html?h=6...
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"Forbidden Fruit"
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"Negative Mitzvah #192 instructs us to not eat of a tree's fruits during its first three years of existence. Fruits on a tree less than three years old are referred to as Orlah (pronounced OAR-law). This is how we relate to the part of us within that is like a tree--just like a young tree needs a minimum of time and space to spread its branches, sink its roots and become productive, so too do our youth require a protected zone in which they can flourish before interacting with the world about them. Plucking fruits off a young sapling not only drains it of its creative powers, but also permanently stunts its recovery. Same with our kids."
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Interesting comparisons between humans and trees. Since the Knowlege Tree was just a sapling (it had just been planted by God, right?), how much knowledge did Adam/Eve obtain from immature fruit? Did plucking Orlah drain the Tree's power and permanently stunt it? I wonder if God was trying to protect the Tree when he issued his command not to eat its Orlah.
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"Grafting Trees"
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"Negative Mitzvah #216 expands our relationship with trees. This one prohibits grafting trees by planting the seeds of two different species together, or by laying their roots upon each other so that they merge to produce a third, hybrid tree. One may benefit from the fruits of someone else's grafting labors, though--hence there is no prohibition to eat fruits of mixed pedigree."
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Again, comparing humans to trees, this IMO is symbolic of the prohibition in Judaism against mixing races - no planting two different human seeds together or intermingling human roots.

-- posted by Migisi

» pink101 - Interesting Tree symbolism

In response to Interesting Tree symbolism posted by Migisi:
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Since the Knowlege Tree was just a sapling (it had just been planted by God, right?), how much knowledge did Adam/Eve obtain from immature fruit?
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But, don't forget that in this particular case, there was every type of tree in the Garden and it was only this one tree's fruit which was forbidden by God. We get the sense that all the trees in the Garden were fully matured. God spoke all things into being except the man and woman both of whom [He] created with [His] hands.
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-- posted by pink101