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Now the serpent was craftier than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. (Genesis chapter 3: 1 Holy Bible English Standard Version) |
“Do you Adam-and-Eve it?” is Cockney Rhyming Slang for “Do you believe it?” I wonder whether I should believe the above extract – and those below? They’re from the oldest extant written record in the world. They set out certain occurrences from around 5,000 years ago. Let’s have a go…
First, the sentences in bold red above. A few problems arise. (a) “Serpent – craftier than all other beasts of the field”? This could describe the Neanderthal species – now extinct although its DNA traces remain in human beings. This beast of the field did not have any life-giving relationship with the LORD God but knew God only as the provider of everything for its needs.
(b) The serpent knew of the single prohibition placed on Aam and Eve. It wasn’t onerous. But, on the other hand, to breach the prohibition would break the relationship which Adam and Eve had with the LORD God. That would in effect be death with regard to their life with the LORD God. What could ever persuade them to do that?
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(c) How would I sum up what is disclosed about Adam and Eve’s reasoning? “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate…” “Self-interest”? “Needing to establish my own identity”? “Freedom from all constraints on liberty”? “Getting”? “Craving”?
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Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
This isn't guilt towards the LORD God. Instead, it is an awareness that the other person was prepared to disobey a simple prohibition of the LORD God. What might he or she then do to me if she or he saw my vulnerabilities. There’s overwhelming evidence that adults are never “transparent” even with their spouses. Shall I Adam-and-Eve this hiding? Evereyone's infected with it.
And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”
Well, if this couple chose to disobey one simple prohibition of the LORD God, I guess it had to be inevitable that relationships with the LORD God would break down. But “to hide”? People today are strongly atheistic. The God Delusion. The elimination of any mention of a LORD God in the EU constitutive documents. I too may “hide”. But, somehow, I seem to think that I am still called by the LORD God – if he is there. And I still want “to hide”. So, I suppose I should Adam-and-Eve this denying?
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The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
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Oh, dear. This is telling me that this self-interested breach of a single prohibition of the LORD God not only affected vertical relationships but also horizontal ones. Adam blamed Eve. He made Eve out to be the guilty one. And he didn’t directly admit his own self-interested desires. He lied.
Adam also blamed the LORD God for having given him his helpmate – Eve. She can’t have liked hearing that from Adam’s lips. In her turn she blamed one of the beasts of the field whom the LORD God had made. She lied too. In the world, ever since, lying has been and is in all human affairs. Is the LORD God to blame? Is he to blame that so many don’t Adam-and-Eve this book?
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