No Bellybuttons

This is out of order for Easter, but Paul Morrison, wanted to see Adam and Eve with no bellybuttons, and since the story of mankind in the Bible starts with them, here they are.

Whether you are an evolutionist or a creationist, the message of this story is the same.  I personally don’t think one belief necessarily excludes the other. They both start with creation, whether a single cell organism that evolves into man (which you have to admit is amazing) or a full blown man created from dust (which is equally amazing).  It is the message conveyed by the story that is important.

For general information, there are five styles of writing (narrative, poetry, parable, epistle or letter style, and prophesy) used throughout the 66 books of the Bible, written by 40 different authors over the course of 1,600 years. While I personally believe everything in the Bible to be the inspired Word of God, a fair amount of it is allegorical, metaphorical, figurative, and NOT meant to be taken literally. If it were, for example, there would be a whole bunch of self-blinded and maimed people in the world (Mark 9:43-47: If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off …. And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off … And if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out;”). It takes much study, common sense and discernment to comprehend this amazing book, which reveals more with each reading. It is not War and Peace, Alice in Wonderland, or Harry Potter; it is a living, multilayered book that never stops opening up new levels of awareness in those who take the time to plunge its depths.

Long before Moses was given the law by God on Mount Sinai, God had set down rules for the ultimate safety, wellbeing and happiness of man, just as any loving parent does. In the Garden of Eden, it was simple: “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.” Simple. Everything Adam and Eve could need or want was provided them. By going against the word of God and eating of the forbidden fruit, they sinned (which in Hebrew means “to miss”, unconsciousness, or forgetfulness), separated themselves from their state of unity and oneness with God, and death became a part of the human experience.  Pandora’s box was opened by Eve, and the rest of the book up through Revelation, is God’s attempt to encourage us back into the state of right relationship with Him that we were created to be in; back to the remembrance and desire for that glorious, perfect state of being.

Scriptural Reference: Genesis 3:1-13

“Now the serpent was more cunning than any other wild creature that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree of the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden; but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, and he ate.” “Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons.

And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” And he said, “I heard the sound of thee in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.” He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” The man said, “The woman whom thou gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent beguiled me, and I ate.

So begins “the devil made me do it”, selfishness, pride, deception, blaming others, not taking responsibility for our own actions, not doing what is in our own best interest, and thinking we know best.

E.J. Lefavour

http://www.hobbithousestudio.com