Thursday, June 20, 2013

The Knowledge of Good and Evil



The Knowledge of Good and Evil 
            Along with the universal human principle of moral failure as mentioned in Romans 1, is another universal principle that directly relates to the study of ethics and morality. This human universal pertains to the knowledge of Good and Evil.  According to the scriptures, humans were originally created in the image of God, yet not all of God’s knowledge or power was invested upon human beings.  A notable exception of being made in God’s image was the absence, in Adam and Eve, of the knowledge of Good and Evil.  It was this very lack of knowledge that the serpent used to entice Eve into eating fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the only fruit in the entire Garden of Eden that was forbidden to Adam and Eve.

Genesis 2:7-9, 15-17 KJV

And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.
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.
15 And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
17 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.
8 (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%202&version=KJV)

            It is hard to imagine what it would be like not having the knowledge of Good and Evil. In many ways it seems like pre-fall humans would have been very similar to animals at least in the area of ethics and morality.  Humans would have lived lives based on instincts seeking that which brought pleasure and avoiding what brought pain.  Humans would have had their senses and could distinguish between soft and hard, bitter and sweet, warm and cool, etc. Yet these sensations would have been taken as is without thought or introspection into their value or worth, let alone assigning some ethical groundwork for these impulses or feelings.  They would have slept when they were tired, had sex when they were aroused, ate when they were hungry and for all intents and purposes lived like the animals which were placed under their dominion. All of creation was given the command to be fruitful and multiply, but Adam was given the additional privilege of naming the animals that were brought before him, and to “dress and keep” the garden in which God had placed him. Man was the only creature made in the image God. “ … God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” (Gen.1:27) Man was placed as the head and steward of God’s creation, but was also given a prohibition not to eat of the tree of knowledge of Good and Evil.  If other aspects of God’s created order were given divine commands we are not told about them in the scriptures, other than perhaps the waters being given boundaries and the celestial bodies being for times and seasons, plants being designated as food, and for living beings to reproduce and fill the earth. For whatever purpose, God had placed a special prohibition on man, yet within the prohibition itself was implied man’s ability to chose to comply or to disobey. From the opening chapters of Genesis, man is only given two commands, to tend the garden and procreate, and one prohibition, to not eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.  God did not give reasons for these commands or prohibitions, but He did give the consequences for disobedience.  The penalty for non compliance, at least with His prohibition, would be death.
            Without our current knowledge of good and evil, cause and effect, and death, it’s hard to even imagine what this divine prohibition would have meant to Adam.  In many ways it seems like telling a dog that he can eat anything he finds on the floor, but not to eat off of the table.  The dog understands the difference between the floor and the table and the command to eat or not eat, but telling the dog it will die the day it eats off of the table seems like it would be beyond its comprehension.  I understand that Adam and Eve were not dogs, but as far as we know from scripture they had no understanding of death or even the notion of obedience or disobedience.  Animals can be trained to practice certain activities and avoid others through behavior modification training, but Adam and Even were basically just given the rules and left to their own inclinations. It is in this context that we have the deceiving and enticement of Eve, the compliance of Adam, the fall of man and the curse that would extend to all of creation.
Genesis 3 KJV
1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.
And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
13 And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
14 And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
20 And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.
21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
22 And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
23 Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
            Genesis chapter three is one of the most tragic passages in the entire Bible.  There are a few interesting things I want to point out in the serpent’s dialog with Eve.  The first observation is that the serpent found Eve alone in the garden and apparently near enough to the tree of knowledge of good and evil that she was able to see it.  The serpent begins by questioning Eve about what God had commanded and intentionally exaggerates God’s prohibition in his question to make it sound ridiculous and unreasonable.  “Hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?”  In Eve’s response she also exaggerates God’s prohibition, by saying, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.”  Now perhaps Adam told her not to touch it, but at least from what we know of God’s prohibition from scripture, the command was to not eat the fruit, not looking at it or touching it were probably good ideas, but were additions to God’s prohibition. When we add to or take away from God’s prohibitions or commands it can lead to all sorts of problems, which range from libertinism to legalism. The serpent’s response to Eve is the first recorded lie in scripture.  And the serpent said unto the woman, “Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” Due to this lie many biblical scholars have seen the serpent as being Satan himself, or as a beast of the field that has allowed Satan to posses and speak through it. 10 (http://creation.com/who-was-the-serpent)   The serpent also matches the description of Satan portrayed by Jesus, “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” (John 8:44)  This lie is one of the greatest ever told and makes a devilish template for all subsequent lies.  Part of why this lie works so well is that it contains a great deal of truth.  Satan begins with the lie, “thou shalt not surely die, which was even a partial truth, for the death that will occur on the day the fruit is eaten will not be physical but spiritual. Then the serpent implies that God is trying to withhold something from them, something that will make them gods themselves.  In a sense, the devil’s work was done, he had planted the seed of doubt concerning God’s intentions and Eve took it from there.   “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.” Eve sets the pattern that will distinguish the way of the world to come.” For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” (I John 2:16)                                         
            Satan’s lie led to the fall and death of the human race.  How true that he is a murderer and liar from the beginning. Yet, not all of what he told Eve was a lie, for with the eating of the forbidden fruit, she and Adam had acquired the knowledge of something that God had withheld from them. Humans now knew for the first time the meaning of good and evil, and its immediate existential affect on them was fear and shame.  Adam and Eve would also soon learn about cause and effect and the cost of disobedience.  When God confronted Adam and asked him if he had eaten of the tree that was prohibited to him, Adam responds by blaming Eve and in a subtle way even blaming God Himself.  The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.” Then Eve blames the serpent, and the serpent is left with no one to blame.  The first curse goes to the serpent, the second curse to Eve and the third curse to Adam and by default all of creation.  Disobedience to God has ushered sin into the world and with sin comes death.  Adam and Eve do not physically die that day, but the race of Adam died in the moment of disobedience and we were spiritually cut off from God, until the new Adam would come and bring reconciliation. 
Romans 5:12-21
“12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
13 (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.
14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.
15 But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.
16 And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification.
17 For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)
18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.
19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
21 That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.” 
11 (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%205&version=KJV)
I Corinthians 15:45-50
45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
47 The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is the Lord from heaven.
48 As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

            Adam and Eve were not just the biological progenitors of the human race, but Adam was also the ontological head.  What I mean by this is that Adam contained all of humanity within himself, including at one point Eve.  Between Adam and Eve, the human race was generated, but not just biologically, our non physical human natures were also contained within Adam and would be affected by the choices he made and in the case of good and evil, the knowledge he acquired.  All humans have an innate idea of good and evil and from a Biblical world view, the reason for this knowledge is because the head of the human race took, what had been prohibited to him. 
            The knowledge of Good and Evil has been one of the greatest curses humanity has ever had to endure.  Adam and Eve now had the categories of Good and Evil in their consciousness, but now everything was subject to evaluation and moral judgment.  No more lounging naked in the pools of Eden without shame, no more doing what was prompted by one’s instincts without looking for motive and consequence.  No more innocence and taking things at face value.  Humankind now had godlike knowledge of Good and Evil, but humanity did not have the knowledge of God to be able to use it properly.  Now every human would be a moral compass unto themselves and would have an internal template of good and evil. This template would be used to evaluate all other claims to truth, goodness and morality even those dictated by God Himself.
            From the day Adam and Eve took that which was not meant for them, humanity has been at conflict with God, each other, and our own selves.  We have the knowledge of good and evil, but we see it from our own point of view.  All our ethical theories and moral judgments are based on our own perspective of what we think is just; feel is fair and consider reasonable and livable.  The history of mankind is one of conflict from Cain and Able to the present day.  I’m right from my side and you're right from yours.  In past times certain people or groups have been able to impose their idea of ethics and morality on the bulk of humanity.  Religious systems have claimed divine revelation to impose certain rules and rituals on the populous.  Great Philosophers have used their intellect to look for universal truth or logical systems of reason to formulate ethical systems that don’t rely on divine intervention.  Parents have used guilt and shame to try and curb unwanted behavior. Dictators have used fear, intimidation and might to impose moral dictates; relativists have claimed everyone has their own truth and moral autonomy.  Without divine knowledge and wisdom, having the knowledge of good and evil becomes subjective and relative to time, culture and place.  Everyone in the end does that which is right in their own eyes and moral anarchy is the logical outcome of having the knowledge of good and evil, but only the limited data of your own existence by which to make correct judgments. 
            The reason God’s moral judgments are just and true are because not only does He have a perfect nature, but He also knows all things.  Because of God’s omniscience, He always has all the data necessary to make the correct moral evaluation.  Because of His power He has the authority to establish ethical standards and the ability to enforce them.  Because of God’s nature He always has proper intention and motivation.  The Good, the True and the Beautiful are all synonyms and aspects of the Divine Nature.  God actually sets the standard of Good and Evil and is beyond all distinction and division in His Holy Simplicity. 
            When humans try and make value judgments we always fail.  We are finite beings and have limited understanding on the cause and purpose of things.  We are biased by our personal perspective and self interest.  We have flawed characters and limited understanding.  We do not have the insight to know of others intentions or the power to enforce our judgments.  We do not have the knowledge or wisdom to determine ethical systems or the ability to live them out even if we did.  All our ethical systems and moral judgments will be tainted and skewed based on our own frailties and limited understanding.  “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6)
            The first mention of the Word “good” in the bible is in Genesis 1:4,“And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.  This was the beginning of the creation account, and God declares “was good” after each act of creation. “And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.” (Gen. 1:31)  God is the very author of the Good and the sole designator as to what Good actually means.  It is a standard of perfection that God has set and only God can accomplish.  All other types of “goodness” fall short of God’s standard, and are therefore by definition, not Good.  Good in English can have a wide array of meanings and it is the same for the Hebrew word for good which is towb. We talk about having a good day, or it was a good show, good times, or a good conversation.  These are all proper uses of the word good, but the usage being discussed here is absolute good, i.e. perfection.  This perfection belongs to One being alone as attested by Jesus in the gospel of Matthew.  “… one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good?  there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.” (Matthew 19:16+17) 
            At this point you may be thinking, “if God created all things, then isn’t He also responsible for creating evil?” And I’m not just talking about personal subjective evil, like I have a tooth ache, or that was an evil thing to say, I’m talking about absolute metaphysical evil.
James 1:13-17
13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:
14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
16 Do not err, my beloved brethren.
17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
Evil is not a thing, and neither is Good.  This is what is called the reification of good and evil, turning them into objects.  Good and Evil are adjectives or adverbs not nouns, they describe how things line up with divine judgment and evaluation.  All the works of God’s hands are good.  Yet, as soon as God labels something as Good, He also now allows for the potentiality of Evil.  By creating a standard of perfection, there is now the possibility of that which does not measure up to God’s Holy standard.  Saint Augustine saw evil as that which was a negation or that which was lacking, like a hole or a shadow. [Cite this] He was not denying that evil didn’t exist, but that it was not a thing.  You may be thinking, “but don’t the scriptures themselves teach that God brings forth evil?”  “Out of the mouth of the most High proceedeth not evil and good?” (Lamentations 3:38)  “I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things.” (Isaiah 45:7)  Both of these passages do talk about God bringing evil to pass, but this is not a moral evil, or the creation of something evil.  Rather these passages talk about God bringing evil, i.e. calamity and destruction on those who have strayed from His path. 

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