A Lucid Moment

In my railing against narrow thinking (lately, the literal seven days of creation train of thought), I stumbled upon a new idea that led me to question another traditional belief that death did not exist before the 'fall' of Adam and Eve.

I batted the idea around with my brother, who, in the midst of the conversation, warned that I might be bordering upon heresy. I don't remember exactly what it was that prompted the warning, but at the time it disturbed me a bit. Was I about to get myself thrown straight to hell for my thoughts? Anyway, now that I understand the definition of heresy, I don't mind playing the heretic once in a while. (Jesus was one, wasn't he?) I do greatly value those around me who are willing to tell me that I might be a little off, and challenge me to think things through a little better. I'd love to hear any thoughts you have on my ramblings.

Anyway, in the bath this morning [the great think tank of the the ages], I had a moment of lucidity. It went something like this:

If there was no birth, death, and decay cycle in Eden, what was the point of fruit? Seeds are meant to go into the ground to bring forth new life because the old will die out. How in the world would Adam and Eve understand the concept of 'perishing' if they ate the forbidden fruit if there was no example for them to see? Perhaps death did exist to show them what would happen in the event that they chose to follow their own idea of what was right.

I was also seeing another parallel that makes sense to me. This may seem crazy to everyone else reading, but... oh well. There are three levels of life. First there is plant life: life in body only. Next comes the animal kingdom with a whole new level of life... (dare I say a soul?) And when God created man, he added a spirit to the body and soul, completing the image of God.

And with that, it was time to get out of the shower and attend to my crying baby...