One of the most significant contributions Christian Science makes to accurate theology is its explanation that Genesis chapter one spells out a spiritual account of creation, and Genesis two, starting with verse 6, is a myth written to explain the dire effects of accepting a material view of creation in place of the spiritual.
The “Lord God” in the Adam account is not the same loving intelligent Deity recorded as “God” in the first account.
I chuckled when I thought about the implications of God creating a tree that bore good and evil fruit and telling His children to not touch it. That’s like a parent spreading out carrots, celery sticks, apple pieces and chocolate chip cookies laced with arsenic on the dining room table and telling her five year old to not touch the cookies because they’re not good to eat. Then the parent leaves the room to let the child decide what items to eat…
Hmmm…I don’t think so! This is not what any wise and loving parent would do.
As Jesus taught, God is a Father/Mother of Love. Divine Love does not tempt Her children with poisonous cookies that prove irresistible to consume.
God set creation up to be safe all of the time, with no danger to fear. We live in a universe of Love, not in a cosmos of chaos. Spiritual sense reveals it so.
“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. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 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.” Genesis 2:9,16,17
“The first mention of evil is in the legendary Scriptural text in the second chapter of Genesis….Was evil instituted through God, Love? Did He create this fruit-bearer of sin in contradiction of the first creation? This second biblical account is a picture of error throughout.” Science and Health, p. 526
“In the Science of Genesis we read that He saw everything which He had made, ‘and, behold, it was very good.’…Sin, sickness, and death must be deemed as devoid of reality as they are of good, God.” Science and Health, p. 525
This is why I LOVE this blog….
So often you say something simple (like the title today) and a light bulb pops on in my thinking. Sheepishly I admit “huh….I probably should have already known that” (and maybe I did) but not always in the same clear useful way.
Thanks for sharing and sharing and sharing….
This made my day.
One thing I noticed this week: LEST ye die.
Not that they WOULD die.
How could Life, God, be less than Life, or cause death?
And also, at this point in the narrative, they had no concept of what death was. None! So it could hardly be a deterrent.
It would be like being told, if I ate the chocolate I would be sent to Mars, if I didn’t even know what or where Mars was, having no knowledge of astronomy.
Thank you so much for this posting. When I read the title, I thought, “Yes! And, God did not create a person of good and evil or an experience of good and evil either.” The rock-solid purity and Truth of 1st Genesis, which establishes the GOODNESS of God’s creation, is where I can anchor my expectations of life and everyone I know and love.
Evan,
The danger here is that when we start calling sections of the Bible “myth” because they don’t agree with our theology… what argument do we have left to someone who calls the whole Bible “Myth”? Who are we to pick and choose what parts are “myth” and what is real? Sorry, this is where I disagree with MBE.
If there is a part of the Bible that I don’t understand, I consider that “Now I see through a glass darkly”, and wait for clarification from God. If the Bible is the Word of God, and God cannot lie, then he cannot tell “myths”.
I prefer to adjust my theology to the Bible, rather than adjust the Bible to my theology.
To above,
You make many interesting and good points! However, a myth is not a bad thing. Myths are used to teach valuable moral and spiritual lessons. By saying the Adam and Eve story is a myth, is not to discredit the value of the story or points made, it is to put it into context of the rest of the teachings of the Bible. Paul wrote, “As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” Isn’t Paul saying Adam is a myth? Yes. He’s repeating the teachings of Christ that life is not in matter, not in dust, but in Spirit, in God. And when you find your life in Christ you discover this to be true. And once you make that discovery, it becomes obvious that the whole narrative of life in matter, characterized by the Adam story, is a myth. It never was the real man of God’s creating. Man was made in God’s image, not out of the dust.
This is what Mary Baker Eddy figured out and saw clearly. She didn’t change the Bible to her theology. She saw what the Bible was teaching.
Variations of the story of Adam and Eve are used in many different religious scriptures throughout history. It is not unique to the Bible. It’s a story written to prove a point. And the point is a good one–don’t get pulled into the dream of life in matter, because the effect is suffering and death.
God’s image doesn’t fall into a state of imperfection. It remains forever perfect! As recorded in Genesis 1.
Just some more thoughts…
My take on Paul’s statement is different than yours. I do not see it as a myth. I see it as a fundimental principle of Christianity… that those who’s focus is life in the physical will see their life come to an end (Paul’s statement explains that Adam was the first man to do so). Only by putting our trust in Christ can we live in the spirit, and live a life that is eternal. This is the fundimental doctrine of salvation… why Christ came into “matter”.
I John 1:8-10 says, “If we say that we have no sin, we decieve ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”
Although matter is temporary and a sort of hologram, withing that hologram we have the gift of free will, and therefore the ability to think and act contrary to the will of God, and therefore sin. Is a hologram of sin real? Yes, if our life is in the hologram. No, if we put our trust in the saving power of Christ (I John 2:15-17). He cleanses us from that sin and gives us the free gift of eternal life. That is my understanding of the Bible. I John 5:12, “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.” Christ is the giver of eternal life to those who would receive it.
It is also interesting to note that 75% of theologians believe that the story of Adam and Eve is an allegory or myth(dictionary def. – a story with symbolic meaning to explain ideas and moral principles). The first chapter of Genesis is the only true creation -man created after God’s own likeness; never in matter. Paul reaffirms this with his
statement, “As in Adam all die,even so in Christ shall all be made alive.”