tree of good and evil

[sweetjoi]

in the book of gensis, it's speak on the tree of good and evil

were this a real tree? or an battle of the mind? somehow, i can't see this being a real tree.

thanks for your response.

[witabix]

in the book of gensis, it's speak on the tree of good and evil

were this a real tree? or an battle of the mind? somehow, i can't see this being a real tree.

thanks for your response.

 

It is the tree of Knowledge, that allowed Adam and Eve to recognise and be ashamed of their nakedness.

 

Satan goaded Eve to try the fruit and she gave it to Adam, against the express orders of God.

 

So the story goes, I don't think anyone except the most fundamental of fundamentalists will claim that the Garden of Eden and Adam and Eve actually existed.

 

In Catholicism this story is used to show that all humans are born with sin, hence the guilt that is endemic in that form of Judeo-Christian religion. I think it is also mentioned in the Kor'an and Talmud but probably without the guilt message.

 

I consider this story as the basis for the treatment of women in the Christian world. (I can't speak for Islam or Judaism as I was brought up as a Catholic)

 

I can recall when women entering church on Sunday had to cover their heads.

 

Any way to answer your question.

 

IMO, no it was not a real tree. It was a device to make us feel guilty and to show why women should be treated with less respect than men. Eve made from a spare rib taken from Adam etc etc.

[Toki]

As far as stories go, it's a really old one. The story might allude to Semitic Tribes breaking up and going their separate ways from their original "lost" homeland, which is probably somewhere along the Persian Gulf, and was lush at one point, The allusion makes sense especially if you read the story in the Apocryphal Texts which includes the Story of Adam's first wife Lilith, and also ties into the later 'Epic of Gilgamesh'

[pureinheart]

Hi SJ,

 

The Bible communicates a real tree, Adam, Eve, snake and apple (well can't remember exactly which fruit). There is "literal" and "allegory" interpretation...this is literal interpretation.