One of the great prehistory stories of the bible talks about the life and times of Adam and Eve, the original humans on this earth. It is a story born of many similar stories floating around the middle east about the same time the old testament was first written. Though the names have been changed there is an almost identical story in the Koran. The first people are created, they live, are subjected to temptation and are eventually kicked out of what the bible calls Eden, by a disappointed God.
In thinking about the many novels/stories I have read over the years it strikes me that it is usually only in children's literature that metaphors come to life. In children's literature, monsters take on the role of fears, fairies become wishes and dreams, heroes become our own potential.Adult novels seek more realistic depictions of life with characters that are less symbolic than representational.
There is some hope, however, as more and more colleges are offering courses in storytelling. One friend told me his chagrin at learning that a person who majored in storytelling had been chosen to give his colleges' farewell address. He said that what he ended up with was the best commencement speech he had ever heard. Storytelling is a real art. The best storytelling doesn't make just one point, it makes many. The stories are rich and complex and contain truths that speak to us all. The very best stories keep us enthralled, and involve our emotions and well as our mind.
According to biblical scholar Frank Wade, a myth is a story about something that never happened but is true, none-the-less. A myth can speak to the important things that lie at the heart of a religion. It can also speak to the important things that lie at the heart of life. According to the Education for Ministry course given by the Theological Seminary of the University of the South, "myths are the deepest expressions of truth that a culture or a people can speak".
So, let us take a look at the creation myth and examine some of the many truths contained therein that delve deeper than the simple surface story of a man and a woman and their God.
The name Adam is not specifically a man's name. In the ancient Aramaic the word comes from "adamah" which means something closer to "earth". So in the beginning there was only one being, made out of dust, ("and to dust we shall return"). The story of the creation of Adam is the story of the creation of human.
In the same light, the name Eve was not a woman's name but rather a word that meant "regeneration". The story of Eve could then be seen as the story of the creation of families and the regeneration that happens within the context of family life. It could also be seen as a blessing on human sexuality, seen as a gift of creation.
What does it mean to say that we were made in God's image? The first human was probably a man/woman; male and female together. "In the image of God he created them male and female he created them" (God created a single entity called a "them together"). Remember that the name Adam is not specifically a male name. It would be if Adam had been named Adamish. But no, Adam was simply Adam, a boy/girl combo. Weren't the first creatures on earth single cells? If God's image is a man/woman combo kind of thing then it also begs the question of why we keep referring to God as a Father. Maybe Father/Mother would be more symbolically correct.
But Adam is lonely. So what does God do? God splits Adam into separate male and female entities; an Adam and an Eve. Contrary to popular belief, the earliest bible did not say that Eve was taken from Adam's rib but rather it used a word that has no translation. The closest phrase one can come up with to describe that word is "side of beef". A side of beef is actually one half of a beef. Therefore Eve was made of a whole half of Adam.
How often have you heard a man say, "my better half", when referring to his wife? We feel complete in relationship in a way we do not when we are alone. God made us to be together and thus we become Adam and Eve, separate, equal in God's eyes, and made for each other.
What else might it mean to say that we were made in God's image? Should we act like God? God makes it very clear that we are not him. In fact, later in the story God gets very upset when we try to be. God makes it clear, after all, that we are from the earth. But God has given man dominion over Eden where God also walks. And so we could see ourselves are being given the responsibility to act as God might and take care of God's creation. There is no blood shed in Eden. The humans eat only vegetables and fruit. Even the animals do not kill each other.
Let's talk about that tree. A fairly recent scientific study showed that men can get stupid when in the presence of an attractive woman. They make poorer life choices and poorer business decisions. (Gasp) Cave woman Ugg knew this, so I'm not sure why a study had to be conducted about it. Could the story about the apple from the Tree of Knowledge be partly about this? Could it be, in part, an explanation of how stupid a man can get when a pretty, naked women is nearby?
How about that snake? You know what a snake looks like, don't you, and how Eve was tempted by it?
Could this part of the creation story also be about the almost universal human behavior of making bad decisions based on our more animal instincts?
After Adam and Eve ate the apple they felt the need to cloth themselves. Animals don't cloth themselves. They don't think of themselves as naked. Our more modern understanding of some animals shows that some animals can feel shame. But if they feel shame it is an emotion that people seem to have taught them. They do not know that they are naked. They do all sorts of things that people would not do and right in front of everyone else.
In this way, the eating of the apple took humanity one step closer to humanity. We became self aware. We could look at ourselves and each other with a suddenly disserting eye. We suddenly had a knowledge of good and evil, perhaps not in absolute terms, but rather, that we could make judgments. We could look at ourselves and each other the way God looks at us, in the third person. Robert Burns once said, "Oh, that God a gift would give us to see ourselves as other's see us". Well, God did give us that gift as bad as we are at receiving it. That gift was in the form of a little red apple.
The reason why such knowledge could be conceived of as a potentially bad thing is that such judgments are man made and therefore often flawed...or not. We have no real way of knowing. Customs and prohibitions for one group of people can run counter to God's admonition to love one another. They can destroy peace rather than create it. They can run counter to other sets of customs and morays which, on their own, seem perfectly O.K. in cultural isolation. As wonderful as it is to be human, we do create a lot of chaos for ourselves.
What else might that apple represent? The story could also represent our first separation from God, as an illustration of great intellectual strivings, our curiosity and the need to fulfill our own creative force. We are no longer satisfied with God and what God provides. We want more. God is first introduced to us through the creation story. In it God creates everything. God is the only creator. Now we, through our feelings that God isn't enough, threaten to become creators too. And, creators we have become, in music, art, science, trying to fill the gap left when God was left behind.
Probably not last and certainly not least, God calls to Adam and Eve in the garden when they had clothed and hidden themselves. "Where are you?", God asks. But only Adam and Eve can answer that question for themselves. We cannot answer that question for him or for them. Indeed, this part of the story is about God calling to each of us, both individually and as a people. Where are we in relationship with God? Where are you? Where am I? Where do we stand?
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