Saturday, November 29, 2003

The Bible as a source of political power. Posted here Saturday, November 29, 2003 at 3:55:55 PM     Thought   A recent conversation about sexual repression in 20th century China led me to rethink the impact of the Garden of Eden story and came to the realization that eating of the tree of knowledge but not of the tree of life is a move to enhance control by political authority. Vitality is denied to humans but they are allowed to have knowledge and guilt. The authority system needs people to be knowledgeable but vitality has a life of its own. Recall that the old testament says   22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: 23 Therefore the LORD God Sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. 24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way; to keep the way of the tree of life. GENESIS 3. King James   Seems to me to be a pure story about power and the denial to humans of their own vitality lest they think they also have authority. ********