I was wandering the Garden of Eden when I came upon this tree in the middle of it. It was called the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and it bore fruits. I was forbidden to eat it.
"What is it here for then?" I asked softly, and sat down on the grass a few spans from it.
A serpent came gliding down from a branch of the Tree.
"Hiss..." it said. "Try thisssssss..."
"Why do you have to be a serpent?" I asked. "Serpents are naturally repulsive to humans. You could have been a sheep you know."
And the serpent became the cutest, most adorable sheep. Somehow, it still managed to hang from a branch of the Tree.
"E-e-e-e-eat this," it said, holding a fruit between its hooves.
"Of all names, why is it called the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil? And why am I forbidden to eat its fruit? And why is it here in the first place, if I was forbidden to eat it? Who was it for? No one is here in the Garden but me. Is it for the monkeys?"
"Monkeys? A-a-a-a-are you making fun o-o-o-o-o-of the Tree?"
"No. I am just trying to understand. Why that name? Is this story supposed to deter pursuit of knowledge? Why? Why does God discourage the pursuit of knowledge? Isn't He confident about His own existence? I want to believe that He is real and so I assume that after taking a bite from this Forbidden Fruit, I will discover just that. The absolute truth."
The sheep only looked at me.
"Were you forbidden to eat it?" I asked the sheep.
"Not to m-m-m-m-my knowledge," it replied. "I d-d-d-d-don't remember."
"It just does not go with my concept of God," I told it. "I know that this story is only a crude symbolism, but it really makes God appear petty and tyrannical. The punishment is supposedly banishment from this Garden so no one can gain access to the Tree of Life which grants immortality. It just doesn't connect for me. Does it mean that pursuit of knowledge (which logically would be the normal course of humanity) will mean denial of the afterlife? Sounds childish. I do not see the wisdom in that."
"M-m-m-m-maybe God only wants to p-p-p-p-p-p-p-punish you because you disobeyed," the sheep replied.
"Maybe," I said. "But that could have been illustrated by a different story. I think there are a number of bible stories effectively showing the price of disobedience. Sodom and Gomorrah for instance. But I think that whoever wrote this wanted to emphasize that this is the biggest sin of all. Imagine the price! Banishment from the Garden of Eden? Refusal of immortality? Really big things! And what's more, this Sin is supposedly passed down to everyone of us! Such a terrible terrible punishment for the pursuit of knowledge. I doubt that if Adam and Eve disobeyed in other things, their punishment would be as severe as this. No, I really believe that it has something to do with this Tree of Knowledge and not with the mere idea of disobedience."
The sheep swayed in the branch. "So a-a-a-a-are you going to e-e-e-e-e-eat one or not?" it said impatiently.
"Not eating it will require that I follow orders blindly, without questioning God."
"That i-i-i-i-i-i-is what faith means."
"But what about humanity's natural pursuit of knowledge? Sooner or later, I have a feeling that religion is going to face quite a lot of challenges from science. Already, some of its strictures are proving to be obsolete and even inhuman. Those affected by these cry out but the safe majority do nothing. Why do we not start again? Find something new to believe in? At this point, I believe we already have a reasonably well-defined ethical system anyway."
"H-h-h-h-hmmm."
"I still believe that there is a God though. But whoever made this story up, got lost somewhere. They may be well-meaning but I think they relied too much upon the Bible's supposed truth and holiness that they did not spare enough time (or perhaps they did not anticipate anyone would dare) thinking how their story can be cross-analyzed in less conventional ways."
"O-o-o-o-o-o-kay."
"I read a novel called "Nightfall" by Isaac Asimov. It is about a fictional planet where there was no night because it was surrounded by a lot of suns since it was located in a star-rich region of the galaxy. Because the sky was always so bright, they did not discover their planet has a satellite which blocks one of the suns every 3000 years or so. So when nightfall came, the people went crazy and civilization fell. Everyone's beliefs were suddenly turned upside down. Will it be the same if an announcement was made (unlikely as it may seem) that this religion is abolished?"
"M-m-m-m-maybe. So if you think that pressing further in this m-m-m-m-m-matter may cause other's harm, why do you still insist on p-p-p-p-p-p-p-p-pushing this?"
"Because (although I absolutely have no say in how other people lead their lives) I'd rather people consider this eventuality too. I believe that there may be truth in all these ramblings, especially since I am not the only one who arrived at these conclusions. I suppose there is a part of me who thinks that people are wasting their time if they devote all their lives to something which isn't the absolute truth. I also believe that this particular region is contradictory at times, and is used too much by some people to gain power. I don't know. I wish people would rather have a more personal relationship with God so as to eliminate the loopholes..."
"It is a dangerous path you tread, my Son," the Sheep said.
I was so shocked that I dropped the half-eaten fruit on the ground.
"I understand," He continued. "If that is the path for you, then take it. I am not only found inside crosses, or churches or in the Bible. I am everywhere. If I am real, then you will come back to Me no matter where you wander."
"I still don't believe You are real even if I am talking to You right now. You might still be a figment of my imagination. They have done scientific experiments on that actually. How beliefs strongly instilled on us when we were children can trigger "religious" effects. It affects the frontal lobe of the brain."
"Then why are you still talking to Me?"
"Because believing in a God is so much easier."
"And you have never been the type to fool yourself right? You can't blind and maim yourself. And you're not one to take the easier path if you are half-hearted about taking it."
"I suppose that describes me pretty well. Are You real?"
"I may well be a figment of your imagination. Of everyone's imagination. But does that have anything to do with how real I am?"
"No..." I slowly replied.
"Which side are y-y-y-y-y-you really on?" the sheep asked.
And suddenly I am outside the gates.
"What is it here for then?" I asked softly, and sat down on the grass a few spans from it.
A serpent came gliding down from a branch of the Tree.
"Hiss..." it said. "Try thisssssss..."
"Why do you have to be a serpent?" I asked. "Serpents are naturally repulsive to humans. You could have been a sheep you know."
And the serpent became the cutest, most adorable sheep. Somehow, it still managed to hang from a branch of the Tree.
"E-e-e-e-eat this," it said, holding a fruit between its hooves.
"Of all names, why is it called the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil? And why am I forbidden to eat its fruit? And why is it here in the first place, if I was forbidden to eat it? Who was it for? No one is here in the Garden but me. Is it for the monkeys?"
"Monkeys? A-a-a-a-are you making fun o-o-o-o-o-of the Tree?"
"No. I am just trying to understand. Why that name? Is this story supposed to deter pursuit of knowledge? Why? Why does God discourage the pursuit of knowledge? Isn't He confident about His own existence? I want to believe that He is real and so I assume that after taking a bite from this Forbidden Fruit, I will discover just that. The absolute truth."
The sheep only looked at me.
"Were you forbidden to eat it?" I asked the sheep.
"Not to m-m-m-m-my knowledge," it replied. "I d-d-d-d-don't remember."
"It just does not go with my concept of God," I told it. "I know that this story is only a crude symbolism, but it really makes God appear petty and tyrannical. The punishment is supposedly banishment from this Garden so no one can gain access to the Tree of Life which grants immortality. It just doesn't connect for me. Does it mean that pursuit of knowledge (which logically would be the normal course of humanity) will mean denial of the afterlife? Sounds childish. I do not see the wisdom in that."
"M-m-m-m-maybe God only wants to p-p-p-p-p-p-p-punish you because you disobeyed," the sheep replied.
"Maybe," I said. "But that could have been illustrated by a different story. I think there are a number of bible stories effectively showing the price of disobedience. Sodom and Gomorrah for instance. But I think that whoever wrote this wanted to emphasize that this is the biggest sin of all. Imagine the price! Banishment from the Garden of Eden? Refusal of immortality? Really big things! And what's more, this Sin is supposedly passed down to everyone of us! Such a terrible terrible punishment for the pursuit of knowledge. I doubt that if Adam and Eve disobeyed in other things, their punishment would be as severe as this. No, I really believe that it has something to do with this Tree of Knowledge and not with the mere idea of disobedience."
The sheep swayed in the branch. "So a-a-a-a-are you going to e-e-e-e-e-eat one or not?" it said impatiently.
"Not eating it will require that I follow orders blindly, without questioning God."
"That i-i-i-i-i-i-is what faith means."
"But what about humanity's natural pursuit of knowledge? Sooner or later, I have a feeling that religion is going to face quite a lot of challenges from science. Already, some of its strictures are proving to be obsolete and even inhuman. Those affected by these cry out but the safe majority do nothing. Why do we not start again? Find something new to believe in? At this point, I believe we already have a reasonably well-defined ethical system anyway."
"H-h-h-h-hmmm."
"I still believe that there is a God though. But whoever made this story up, got lost somewhere. They may be well-meaning but I think they relied too much upon the Bible's supposed truth and holiness that they did not spare enough time (or perhaps they did not anticipate anyone would dare) thinking how their story can be cross-analyzed in less conventional ways."
"O-o-o-o-o-o-kay."
"I read a novel called "Nightfall" by Isaac Asimov. It is about a fictional planet where there was no night because it was surrounded by a lot of suns since it was located in a star-rich region of the galaxy. Because the sky was always so bright, they did not discover their planet has a satellite which blocks one of the suns every 3000 years or so. So when nightfall came, the people went crazy and civilization fell. Everyone's beliefs were suddenly turned upside down. Will it be the same if an announcement was made (unlikely as it may seem) that this religion is abolished?"
"M-m-m-m-maybe. So if you think that pressing further in this m-m-m-m-m-matter may cause other's harm, why do you still insist on p-p-p-p-p-p-p-p-pushing this?"
"Because (although I absolutely have no say in how other people lead their lives) I'd rather people consider this eventuality too. I believe that there may be truth in all these ramblings, especially since I am not the only one who arrived at these conclusions. I suppose there is a part of me who thinks that people are wasting their time if they devote all their lives to something which isn't the absolute truth. I also believe that this particular region is contradictory at times, and is used too much by some people to gain power. I don't know. I wish people would rather have a more personal relationship with God so as to eliminate the loopholes..."
"It is a dangerous path you tread, my Son," the Sheep said.
I was so shocked that I dropped the half-eaten fruit on the ground.
"I understand," He continued. "If that is the path for you, then take it. I am not only found inside crosses, or churches or in the Bible. I am everywhere. If I am real, then you will come back to Me no matter where you wander."
"I still don't believe You are real even if I am talking to You right now. You might still be a figment of my imagination. They have done scientific experiments on that actually. How beliefs strongly instilled on us when we were children can trigger "religious" effects. It affects the frontal lobe of the brain."
"Then why are you still talking to Me?"
"Because believing in a God is so much easier."
"And you have never been the type to fool yourself right? You can't blind and maim yourself. And you're not one to take the easier path if you are half-hearted about taking it."
"I suppose that describes me pretty well. Are You real?"
"I may well be a figment of your imagination. Of everyone's imagination. But does that have anything to do with how real I am?"
"No..." I slowly replied.
"Which side are y-y-y-y-y-you really on?" the sheep asked.
And suddenly I am outside the gates.
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