THE FIRST SCANDAL

2012-02-02T16:04:00.000-08:00

Can you explain what kind of fruit Adam and Eve ate in the story? After thousands of years the mystery will now be solved using only the facts in the story. What you will read in the next few minutes will have nothing to do with guesses, opinions, or beliefs. We've already had way too many of these.

The blog you are now visiting is actually a pamphlet consisting of 15 very short chapter posts following a very short introduction. All 15 posts are brief and easy to read. To get the solution to the mystery it will be necessary for you to go into the Blog Archive, click on 2010, and then scroll down to SAINT AUGUSTINE'S EXEGESIS at the beginning. Then read the succeeding 15 posts in chronological order as you scroll back up the page. Don't forget to read NO OPINION, NEOLOGISMS, and A PROFESSOR'S EVALUATION posted in 2011--you can read all three of them right now by scrolling down to them.

A PROFESSOR'S EVALUATION

2011-12-20T11:54:00.000-08:00

On December 10, 2011 the following remarks regarding the exegesis of the second and third chapters of Genesis as presented in this pamphlet were e-mailed to the author:

"This is disgusting, embarrassing satanic, terrible ridiculous interpretation. Please spread this smut elsewhere.

John Oakes

John Oakes, PhD
Professor of Chemistry, Honors Coordinator, Grossmont College
President, Apologetics Research Society"

*****
P.S. Pamphlet author's note: The author has not one shred of doubt that most would at least partially endorse the viewpoint of Professor Oakes if only they were as open and honest as he. For this reason the reader, if interested, is encouraged to print hard copy of the pamphlet before a hacker brings down the website.

NEOLOGISMS

2011-06-21T17:02:00.000-07:00

Is the exegesis for the second and third chapters of Genesis a neologism? Probably not. If the exegesis is a neologism, then the individual(s) who first heard the story had absolutely no idea what the story meant and neither did the storyteller(s). It is difficult to believe this happened. ("Sometimes I just say things--I don't know what they mean.") If it did happen, then we have to try to imagine the original storyteller(s) telling the story while having no understanding of what they were saying, unless these original storytellers deliberately disguised the story to hide its true meaning. But this would have required extremely complex ability to mystify at the very dawn of human consciousness. So the mystification probably happened later. And, of course, when it did, everyone would have known exactly what the entire story meant. For a while.

NO OPINION

2011-02-28T14:09:00.001-08:00

Opinion is worthless in the opinion of some. Throughout this pamphlet I have made every effort to avoid infecting the material with my opinion. I have probably failed. Some readers apparently believe I am a religious fanatic trying to convert them to my beliefs. Other readers apparently believe I am an atheist trying to pervert Scripture. Still other readers apparently believe I am deliberately attacking not only their religious and/or political beliefs, but their core selves that make these readers who and what they are: their very existence. What I have tried to do at least from a historical, literary, and analytic perspective is focus on one thing: evidence. I have always been convinced the oldest well-known story in Western Civilization has meaning beyond disobedience. It is impossible to disobey without actually doing something, even if this means doing nothing. Adam and Eve did something in the story. But what did they do? Parroting "They ate the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil," mystifies while creating fear among believers and ridicule among nonbelievers.

1600 years ago Saint Augustine took the first step based on his interpretation of the material in the Septuagint and Hebrew/Aramaic text that would be translated into the Latin Vulgate by Saint Jerome during Augustine's lifetime and, finally, into the 2nd and 3rd chapters of Genesis in 1611 when the first English translation of the Latin Vulgate was published as the Bible. I took the second step based on a second and more thoughtful look at the same evidence. It's that simple.

*****
A most grateful "thank you" must be extended to Brother Thomas Taylor of the Augustinians of the Midwest for his invaluable corrective assistance without which this pamphlet would contain serious misinformation, even though the exegesis of the second and third chapters of Genesis would remain correct. Please note: Brother Taylor does not endorse the exegesis of the second and third chapters of Genesis as presented in the pamphlet you are now reading.

THE FIFTH AND SIXTH STANZAS

2010-03-01T13:04:00.000-08:00

BAD DAY IN THE GARDEN

This poor unhappy poem
turns enlightenment into a chore.
You'll find no beautiful lyrics here,
but look beyond beauty and see something more.

No no no, this just can't be!
The mystery should not be explained.
Some things better left unsaid--
Adam and Eve, they both complained.

These two stanzas represent the typical reaction to the exegesis of the second and third chapters of Genesis. It has taken thousands of years for the repressed exegesis to surface and reenter our consciousness. And the resistance to the exegesis is phenomenal, as would be expected. Ad hominem attacks against the messenger have been generated in place of intelligent criticism of the interpretive process. Although these attacks have been helpful in illustrating the reality of the situation, public comments have finally been closed to prevent distraction.

Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the story--literally. Therefore, even though the exegesis may require emotional modifications from us to relieve some of our discomfort, most of theology can remain unchanged because most of the foundation for Jewish and Christian theology is the disobedience of Adam and Eve. So why is it better to have their disobedient deed remain hidden in mystery? Why is it better to fruitlessly attempt ignoring undeniable evidence for the existence of nonbehaviouristic forces motivating us? (Want proof? Explain "acting out.") Why is it better for us to wander forever, like repressed wild animals if such were possible, in a circular maze of undefined reinforcement? You know the answer to all three questions: it's not better.

THE THIRD AND FOURTH STANZAS

2010-02-26T12:02:00.000-08:00

BAD DAY IN THE GARDEN

Because the two trees are right next to each other
care must be taken to avoid the one bad.
For the fruit of both trees is pleasure,
so the pleasure is there to be had.

To be fruitful and multiply eat from the first.
But eat from the second and no one conceives.
So here we go now: one two three--
pleasure, shame, fig tree leaves.

God's first commandment to Adam and Eve was to be fruitful and multiply. To be fruitful and multiply eat from the first. But eat from the second and no one conceives. Adam and Eve ate from the forbidden second tree and, as a result, produced no children while in the garden of Eden. Instead of engaging in the procreative process as commanded, they used as a sex organ the delivery system designed not for the delivery of children but for the delivery of excrement.

Please note: some parts of the story are totally acceptable as both symbolic and literal narrative, at least up to a point. For example, the symbolic garden can be juxtaposed with a literal garden complete with fruit trees. Other sections can be taken entirely as literal accounts, extra material such as Genesis 3:20-21 in which Adam gives Eve her name and God shows compassion for the pair by clothing them in animal skins for warmth before evicting them from the garden symbolic and literal into the graceless and cold outside world.

THE SECOND STANZA

2010-02-25T17:35:00.000-08:00

BAD DAY IN THE GARDEN

This BODY is the garden in whose center grow
the two famous trees but never a weevil.
Here is the tree of life and the one
of knowledge of good and knowledge of evil.

Here is the key that unlocks the door: both trees are in the center of the garden. End of story. This fact is so important that it is mentioned not once, but twice: Genesis 2:9 and Genesis 3:3. (In Genesis 3:3 the tree of life is not specifically mentioned, but we know it is there because we were told it is there in Genesis 2:9.) Technically, both trees could not occupy the center of the garden at the same time unless their trunks were entwined. But this is not the case. What these two verses tell us is that both trees are VERY close to each other.

THE FIRST STANZA

2010-02-23T13:01:00.000-08:00

Remember the poem that didn't make any sense? It's back.

BAD DAY IN THE GARDEN

They ate the fruit, but what does it mean?
We lift the veil for a wary peek.
Through a forest of mystery hiding it all,
we see a body, naked and weak.

THE RANDOM HOUSE DICTIONARY of the ENGLISH LANGUAGE defines allegory as "a representation of an abstract or spiritual meaning through concrete or material forms; figurative treatment of one subject under the guise of another." It's difficult to imagine any definition hitting the nail on the head harder than this. But it's even more difficult to imagine anyone trying to make any sense of the 2nd and 3rd chapters of Genesis by taking everything in the two chapters literally. When was the last time someone went into a grocery store and bought some knowledge of good and evil fruit?

Although most elements in Genesis 2 and 3 represent something else, there are numerous facts that really can be taken at face value:

1. Adam and Eve are real people and have real human bodies.
2. Adam and Eve are not wearing any clothes.
3. God has forbidden them to do something.
4. They have disobeyed God.
5. God has punished them both for their disobedience, and their descendants too, by extension.

The above 5 facts form the basis for the religious beliefs of many people who are not interested in allegories. But there is an all important 6th fact, the knowledge of which would do no harm to anyone's religious beliefs.

THE FIRST TIME

2010-02-14T15:33:00.000-08:00

Genesis 4:1 And Adam knew Eve his wife...

Adam and Eve have normal intimate relations for the first time. They produce children. They are fruitful and multiply. But it's all too late. They can't get back into the garden. They are no longer living in the state of grace.

GENESIS 3 (CONCLUDED)

2010-02-11T13:02:00.000-08:00

16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

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:

Adam and Eve had not yet consummated their marital relationship in a normal manner by eating from the tree of life. If they had only had normal intimate relations with each other they would never have gotten old. They would have lived forever. Adam's short term punishment was hard work and unhappiness, while God punished Eve by making her unhappy and subservient to Adam; pregnancy and childbirth painful experiences for Eve. The long term punishment for Adam and Eve was death.

23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.

THE GARDEN OF EDEN IS NOT THE HUMAN BODY. The garden of Eden is the human body in the state of grace. The story is about spirituality.

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.

Normal intimate relations between a man and a woman are life affirming.

GENESIS 3 (CONTINUED)

2010-02-01T17:24:00.000-08:00

8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the cool of the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.

Adam and Eve try to hide from their consciences.

9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?

10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.

11 And God said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?

God speaks to Adam through his conscience.

12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.

13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

The temptation was too great for Eve.

14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou are cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shall thou eat all the days of thy life:

15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

Almighty God, Creator of the Universe, speaks to a talking snake who listens politely to its curse. Taken literally, this entire episode with the talking snake is difficult even for some believers to believe. But from a different perspective the incident takes on a profound meaning: God curses temptation, as people of good will have cursed it ever since. (Have you ever felt as if you were crawling on your belly after yielding to temptation and committing behavior you considered humiliating?)

Then God speaks to Adam. He tells Adam there will now be hostility between him and Eve, and hostility between their descendants. This enmity will hurt Adam and Adam will return the hurt. (If verse 15 above is taken literally and God is still speaking to the talking snake who doesn't talk back, then how do we explain people who like snakes and keep them as pets?)

GENESIS 3

2010-01-25T13:02:00.000-08:00

1 NOW the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yes, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

Temptation is as subtle as a snake.

2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:

3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

Eve says "NO" to temptation. Or maybe it's just "no."

4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

The temptation grows stronger. The only way to know good is to know evil.

6. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

Why would normal fruit trees be assigned the mystical names "tree of knowledge of good and evil" and "tree of life?" Because "food" here is code for pleasure, and pleasure, among other things, is one source of wisdom. Eve touches the forbidden tree and gives herself pleasure first, then tempts Adam. Adam makes no attempt to resist.

7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

Aprons cover only one thing: the genitals. Adam and Eve experience sexual shame for the first time. If Saint Augustine's exegesis is correct, then how can we explain Adam and Eve, or anyone else, experiencing sexual shame as a result of eating a piece of fruit? It's puzzling.

GENESIS 2 (CONCLUDED)

2010-01-21T13:05:00.000-08:00

16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:

17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

Adam is free to eat from the tree of life if he wishes.

18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help meet for him.

21. And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;

22. And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.

23. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.

God uses part of the first man's body as raw material for the creation of the first woman.

24. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

When a man and a woman have normal intimate relations together they combine male and female for a chance to become one person for one brief shining moment.

25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

Why should they be ashamed?

GENESIS 2

2010-01-20T13:02:00.000-08:00

7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

The existence of a body is implied by the phrase "breathed into his nostrils the breath of life." But the phrase is a figure of speech here. There is no mention of Adam having a body at this time. Adam is very clearly described only as being "a living soul."

8. And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.

The living soul is placed into a body.

9. And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

All parts of our bodies provide us with pleasure when we are young and healthy; two very special trees planted in the center of Adam's garden.

10. And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.

Rivers are sources of life--we speak of the "blood stream" of someone's body. In addition to being alive, Adam, like most of us, is fortunate to have two arms complete with hands, and two legs complete with feet. The four river heads are given names of real rivers to help hide the mystery.

15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and keep it.

This is a repeat of verse 8 above, with the further command to Adam that he take care of his body and use it appropriately.

GENESIS 1

2010-01-19T13:10:00.000-08:00

27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

Male and female are important qualities.

28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, [...].

God commands Adam and Eve to procreate. This was the first commandment.

THE POEM

2010-01-14T13:03:00.000-08:00

BAD DAY IN THE GARDEN

They ate the fruit, but what does it mean?
We lift the veil for a wary peek.
Through a forest of mystery hiding it all,
we see a body, naked and weak.

This BODY is the garden in whose center grow
the two famous trees but never a weevil.
Here is the tree of life and the one
of knowledge of good and knowledge of evil.

Because the two trees are right next to each other
care must be taken to avoid the one bad.
For the fruit of both trees is pleasure,
so the pleasure is there to be had.

To be fruitful and multiply eat from the first.
But eat from the second and no one conceives.
So here we go now: one two three--
pleasure, shame, fig tree leaves.

This poor unhappy poem
turns enlightenment into a chore.
You'll find no beautiful lyrics here,
but look beyond beauty and see something more.

No no no, this just can't be!
The mystery should not be explained.
Some things better left unsaid--
Adam and Eve, they both complained.

SAINT AUGUSTINE'S EXEGESIS

2010-01-13T13:19:00.000-08:00

Why should we care about Adam and Eve? Because regardless of our religious beliefs the Adam and Eve story is the oldest well-known story in Western Civilization. The story of Adam and Eve is the story so many people have been trying to understand for thousands of years. Failure has been guaranteed for one simple reason: evidence has been ignored.

1600 years ago Saint Augustine came to the conclusion from his personal experiences and his studies of the Septuagint and the ancient Hebrew/Aramaic text written sometime between approximately 900 B.C. and 700 B.C. based on the prehistoric oral tradition, that the forbidden "fruit" Adam and Eve ate in the garden of Eden really was actual fruit in spite of its mysterious name. He presented his conclusion in Chapter 8 of The Literal Interpretation of Genesis. The fruit portion of Saint Augustine's exegesis of the second and third chapters of Genesis was not correct, as we will soon see.

The correct exegesis of the second and third chapters of Genesis will next be presented in a 24 line poem. If the poem doesn't make any sense, don't worry, because the poem will be explained later.