“You will not surely die. For God [ Elohim ] knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God [ Them ], knowing good and evil.”
“Behold, the man has become like one of Us [ Elohim ], to know good and evil.
Knowledge is a GOOD thing, right?! Without knowledge, what hope would we have of surviving this Existence? In fact, the same "God" ( Elohim ) mentioned ( then quoted ) above, laments later ( Hosea 4:6 ), "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." Seems a bit counter-productive, does it not? Either that, or this god of the Hebrews only wanted his people to know certain things, mostly about him & ONLY what he wanted them to know ( "Sound familiar?" )! Seems rather petty, if you ask me! But, I digress. Wise men, from Socrates to Epictetus have had some very enlightening things to say about Knowledge. To name a few, Socrates himself said, "The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing." "Confucius say", "Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance." Copernicus said much the same; "To know that we know what we know, and to know that we do not know what we do not know, that is true knowledge." Finally, Epictetus said, "It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows." Most famously maybe, concerning Knowledge, is the ancient Delphic maxim, "Know thyself", inscribed on the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. Simple maybe, but it is in knowing ourselves that we can freely admit that we do not know certain things!
The "Serpent" ( Cunning One ) told A & E, “You will not surely die. For God [ Elohim ] knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God [ Them ], knowing good and evil.” Although he was correct & they did NOT die as they were warned by this jealous god ( Elohim, who told them, "in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die"; this enigmatic phrased has been discussed to DEATH! ), the popular opinion, I believe, is that this "Serpent" ( Satan? ) was/is "the father of lies". The fact that this god ( Elohim ) later acknowledged that A & E had indeed become like him ( them ) is also very telling. As "the Father of Lies", did this 'Serpent' ACTUALLY lie to the ones often called "our first parents", or was he revealing a VERY important Truth to them, one which the god of that world did not want them to know? So, who was the REAL adversary ( Satan/satan ) in the Garden?!
Snakes, thanks in large part, to religion, have played an 'evil' role in civilized society for centuries. I remember, on this note, growing up in a Christian home & hearing about the natural enmity between snakes & women, because of "the Fall". The Irish hero, St. Patrick, ostensibly "drove the Snakes out of Ireland". We know that this is a phrase descriptive of the Christian missionary impact on Ireland, which up to that point, was filled with nothing but a bunch of ( "godless" ) Pagans. "Well, I've got news for YOU, St. Patrick; they never left; they just went underground for awhile!" And, for THAT matter; who are the ones causing all the death & bloodshed over there - especially Northern Ireland; CHRISTIANS, NOT Pagans! The Point here is that snakes are definitely dangerous wild animals - hell, ask any snake-breeder or handler alive today; even the 'tame' ones can very dangerous - they're really no more dangerous than any other wild animal can be - well............................ But, why Snakes?! Read on.................
"Trusssssssssssst in me............."! Both the "Serpent" in the Garden & Kaa from The Jungle Book repeated this phrase to their captive listeners. Both have been vilified for it as well, although it might be said that Kaa was actually trying to do what the Serpent in the Garden is most often accused of ( "Thanks, Walt!" ). "As above, so below"; was the "serpent" trying to HELP A & E, telling them simply that "Knowledge is Power"? For whatever reason, it seems the god of that world ( Elohim ) wished to keep his subordinates as powerless as he ( they ) could! Maybe that's the reason so many so-called 'Christians' today seem to follow the same model their god did; "Do what I say, not what I do!"
The question was, "Why Snakes?" There is a lot of information - false or otherwise - available ( thanks to Al Gore's creation ) that almost delves into the realm of conspiracy theory, concerning 'Reptilians' a race of aliens that is behind the 'evils' of government, most notably maybe, those who push for the ( *shudder* ) One World Government. This belief is no doubt based on the whole notion of the "Serpent" being the 'evil' entity known as 'Satan', but, returning to the Bible itself, one might recall the words of Jesus, when he told his followers that, "as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up". Jesus was referring, of course, to the incident recounted in Numbers 21 where Elohim instructed Moses to "Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live." Read in context, this command follows an instance of what might be called 'the pettiness of the Hebrew god, or Elohim'. Simply because the children of Israel complained about their circumstances, Elohim sent "fiery [ serpents ] among them". According to the Story, many of the children of Israel died from being bitten by these "serpents"! After they repented of their sin - too late for those who had already died - Elohim then commanded Moses to erect the staff with a fiery serpent on top, that "everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live." So, the same 'serpent' that seduced A & E into the rebellion of sin, then later was used by Elohim to punish his errant children, has now become a symbol of salvation for them! Interestingly enough, this symbol - the Caduceus - is, to this day, used to denote the healing arts, in particular medicine. Whether this Story is actual, literal history, or just that, a Story, the mythology of the Hebrews, it would seem that it holds a universal truth for all ages, that what can harm you can also heal you; the principle of yin & yang!
Balance is necessary in all of Life! Personally, this blogger can fully attest to this important fact. In a merely physical sense; I have a balance problem - as in, my equilibrium is not what it should be ( ? ), or even what it used to be. I mean, seriously, although my balance has been off for the overwhelming majority of my life, up until about 30 years ago, I was a hodcarrier! Back though, to the issue of 'Balance', though still in the physical realm; if one is carrying loads in both hands but the load in one hand is even a little bit heavier than that in the other hand, it can really throw your balance off. Carry this principle into the mental and spiritual realms, and you end up with the same problem! Whether you believe in 'Chakras' and all that metaphysical stuff or not; if you are in the least bit out of alignment with yourself ( your true nature, intentions, wants/likes ), you will not only feel 'off', it may even - most likely WILL - affect you physically!
The principle of yin & yang is ALL about 'balance'! As above, so below; "if you are in the least bit out of alignment", whatever you manifest ( do/accomplish ) will end up being at least a bit 'off'! The basic principle, as seen in the famous symbol itself, is that both our "dark" & "light" selves must work together in order to present our most delightful & balanced self. On the other hand, religion, in particular, Christianity, seems instead to teach that we should HIDE ( "from"? ) even stifle/quench our dark side, so that we can be all light & good to please our 'god'! Having been brought up Christian, I'm more than familiar with the concept - being made aware from early on that this "dark" side of us is sinful, even though we were created GOOD. ( A bit of a rabbit trail here - "Okay, so A & E, who were created GOOD, committed the sin of disobedience ( "BAD"?? ), leaving their legacy of sin & death to ALL their progeny, only to be remedied/redeemed by believing that 'God" sacrificed/killed his only son! "But", most Christians would say ( going back to the infamous "Fall" we read about in the Bible ), the snake/Devil made them do it!" Um; wouldn't that make 'the Devil" ( Satan ) more powerful than 'God'?!
However; I digress................
"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge": REALLY??!! Knowledge of oneself, or rather the lack thereof, has been the problem since the beginning of Time. Because the overwhelming majority of human beings, over countless centuries, even millenia, are not aware of who they are, this planet has been raped, has seen endless war, and has been under attack for time immemorial! Humans have been killing other humans because we believe they ARE 'other' than us. We believe we are better than they, because 'they' believe differently, live differently, LOOK differently! I say "WE", but really, it is only those who have forgotten who - and WHAT - they really are. Most, or much of the blame for this belief falls squarely on the shoulders, or should I say, "at the feet of" religion, in particular Christianity!
My readers may well perceive this post as the diatribe against Christianity it was never meant to be, but that is certainly not how it started out ( I will admit freely that I'm still a bit off-kilter )! It started merely as a thought provoker for those who are not afraid to question their 'beliefs', who have begun to remember who the hell they are. If YOU are one of the above; I hope that you will think on these things: "Why DO I believe what I believe concerning 'God' & Humanity?" "Why DOES the god of the Bible act like a human being?" "Who are we, REALLY?!" These are just a few of the questions every honest person out there needs to be asking themselves: "Blessings on your Journey of Self-Discovery!"
Namaste' & Blessed Be!!
Sage Charles
