--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb <no_reply@...> wrote: > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "John" <jr_esq@> wrote: > > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "feste37" <feste37@> wrote: > > > > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "John" <jr_esq@> wrote: > > > > > > > > Barry, > > > > > > > > You appear to be committing the same mistake Adam made > > > > in the Garden of Eden. That is, he thought that he was > > > > a god. And the rest is history. > > > > > > Adam thought no such thing. It was Eve who fancied the > > > idea of becoming like a god. Adam just ate the apple > > > because Eve gave it to him. He should maybe have asked > > > her a question or two about it, but he didn't. He was > > > just a simple guy. His mistake was to trust a woman, > > > and we have all been paying the price ever since. > > > > Feste, > > > > There are probably many guys who would agree with you on > > this one. > > And every single one of them would be misogynist male > chauvinist pigs with a warped, near-psychopathic fear of > and distrust for half the human race. Just sayin'... :-)
Except for those who understand that Feste wasn't serious, of course. > > But Thomas Merton stated in one of his books that the pride > > of Adam and Eve was the first mistake that they committed > > in the Garden of Eden. Pride means that they believed they > > were gods and knew something that Yahweh did not know. > > I'm replying just to see if you actually understand the > world view you are proposing. *Ignoring* the fact that > the story you are talking about is fiction, you are > suggesting that if someone appears to you and in a big, > booming, Charleton Heston-like voice claims to be an > authority figure or a god, you should believe them and > do whatever the authority figure tells you to do, > unquestioningly. To do otherwise, as if you had a mind > and discrimination and a will of your own, is a sin, > the sin of pride, of *not* believing that this authority > figure knows more than you do, and always will. Did I > get this right? No, actually, you did not. You've never actually read the Bible story, have you? God had just created the two of them, fully formed, Adam from the dust and Eve from Adam's rib. They knew that. It wasn't a matter of them deciding to believe God's claims. It wasn't that they had been born somewhere else, grew up, eventually wandered into the Garden, and were suddenly confronted by this big guy they'd never seen before. Rather, God created them, then created the Garden for them and put them into it. It was his garden, and he got to make the rules. But he had created them with free will, so they had a choice: If they wanted to stay in the Garden, they'd have to follow God's rules. Just like if you want to keep posting to FFL, you have to follow Rick's rules, or you get thrown out. It's your choice. Rick has only a few rules, and they aren't very onerous. God had only one rule, that among all the many trees in the Garden whose fruits Adam and Eve could eat, there was one single tree that they couldn't eat from. That wasn't so onerous either. But the consequence of choosing to disobey it was the permanent revocation of the privilege of staying in the Garden. Adam and Eve, thinking for themselves, decided the Serpent was more authoritative than God and followed his suggestion to take fruit from the one tree God had forbidden them. And the rest, as John said, is history. The above isn't history; it's myth. The rest--what *is* history--is that we don't live in an exclusive Garden with all the rights and privileges thereunto appertaining. Thus endeth the Sunday School lesson for today (a little late for Sunday, but what the heck). <snip> > I know you didn't say it, but I'd be willing > to bet that both BillyG and Feste believe it...sex is > a sin. The *only* things that aren't sins are doing > the things that the authority figure tells you to do. Poor Barry. His memory is really deteriorating. He really shouldn't risk making bets. Feste to Barry, only a little over two months ago, in response to Barry's insinuation that Feste had missed the sexual revolution: "I've been fornicating since I was about 16 years old, and have loved every minute of it." http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/message/305514
