Adam and Eve: Who is to blame?

           The Old Testament tells us of the beginning of mankind, and it's downfall into sin. The story goes that the original humans were created in God's image. Adam the first man and Eve the first woman lived in a paradise created by God. This utopia was called "Eden" and they had no worries, for all their needs were provided for, and they knew no difference between good and evil. God tells them that they may eat from any tree in the garden - with the exception of a tree named "The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil" warning that if they eat from the tree they will die. They obey God's wishes until one day a snake (Often interpreted to be Satan in disguise), tells them that the fruit will not kill them and that God does not wish them to be like him, and know the difference between good and evil. Eve is tempted first - disobeying and eating from the tree. She offers the fruit to Adam who accepts, and so they were thrown out of the garden, causing the beginning of mankind's turmoil. 

        So who is to blame for mankind's spiral into supposed self-destruction? While many would blame Adam or Eve or the sly serpent, why not address the source of the problem? And the source is God himself.

Why was God so apprehensive to have Adam and Eve eat from the tree? By eating the fruit, it is said that they could see the difference between good and evil. Why would God not want man to know this? Perhaps he wished to keep his creations innocent. They say ignorance is bliss after all - but is this the right decision? To keep man oblivious, stuck in the garden of Eden forever? Maybe eating the fruit was not the cause of man's downfall but the key to their escape. While there are many awful struggles occurring in the world today, would you really want to live in a world with no challenge at all? Where EVERYTHING is provided for you? The idea might seem comforting at first, but I don't believe that having everything done for you is paradise. If the snake  hadn't tempted them into eating the fruit, I believe the thought would have eventually occurred to them. Maybe God didn't want us to gain the knowledge of the tree because he was afraid he would lose our disobedience. God , who is said to be perfect, lies to Adam and Eve about the tree, saying they will die if they eat it. He doesn't want to tell them the truth. It is written that God is a jealous God (Exodus 34:14) , so maybe he had a desire to keep his creations under his thumb - safe, but under control. 

It seems at times, that God has questionable motives. God created the tree and conveniently put it in arm's reach when he did not want man to eat from it. Why did an all-powerful God not keep it safe? Why not keep it where no one can find it, perhaps in the heavens? It is doubtful that God would have just placed the tree thinking it would be safe. So that leads to a likely theory: that God planted the tree to assess man's character. To see if they were truly creatures of good. However, the bible says that Adam and Eve did not know the difference between good and evil. If they were unable distinguish the bad from the good, how could God form the conclusion that man was inclined to evil?  If that was his plan, than it was completely irrational because as beings who had just come into existence, and one where they had lived in utopia how could they have good judgement over what was morally right or wrong? 

            Humans are said to be created God's image. Despite being described as perfect God seems to be flawed- he makes irrational decisions, and seems to be selfish at times. Maybe God is more like man than we think. The earliest civilizations afterall,  had very human-like Gods. They did things for petty reasons, fought amongst each other, and demanded praise from their followers. Some were benevolent and some wicked, or so viewed by humans. So is it unlikely that this God might have flaws of his own? God was the cause of man leaving the garden of Eden - for creating the tree and expecting Adam and Eve, with their free will granted by God himself, to live blissfully ignorant forever. 

Ancient Flood stories: Comparing Gilgamesh vs Baucis and Philemon

Throughout the world, one story has been ubiquitous throughout the ages - the story of a great flood that wiped out humanity and destroyed villages in it's wake. To some, it is the story of "Noah" in the bible. The story has many variations - over 600, so you would assume that when my English teacher asked us to choose one of these many variations and compare it to the most ancient story (The Legend of Gilgamesh,) that I would be overwhelmed by the amount of stories to choose from, but being a lover of Greek and roman history, I instantly gravitated to the Roman version of the infamous story, "Baucus and Philemon.". 

        The Greek and Roman pantheons are virtually the same - the Romans, after coming into contact with the Greeks syncretized with their religion, changing their gods to imitate the Greek pantheon until their gods became their counterparts. The names of these gods have  been changed - Zeus became Jupiter, Poseidon became Neptune Hades became Pluto and so on. In this story I will be using the Greek versions, as they are their original names.

              In the story, the god Zeus, and the titan Prometheus, were at war. Prometheus, who was the creator of mankind had evoked Zeus’s wrath when the thunder god saw that human beings were leading sinful lives, and so sent a great flood to wipe humanity out. Prometheus, knowing of Zeus’s plans warned his son, Deucalion of Zeus’s intent and ordered him to construct an arc. He took shelter within it with his wife Pyrrha. Heavy rain flooded the world for nine days and nine nights, and when Deucalion and his wife emerged, they saw the world covered with water, and knew that everyone had drowned. Feeling desolate and lonely without human company, they prayed to the titan Themis for a way to restore the human race. Taking pity, Themis ordered them to cast the bones of their mothers behind them. Interpreting this, they threw stones over their heads and the stones thrown by Deucalion became men and the stones thrown by Pyrrha became women.
               Seeing how this myth originally stemmed from the story of Utnapishtim in the legend of Gilgamesh, there are many similarities between the two stories. Both have previous knowledge of the flood, and both build boats to survive. However, there are far more differences than similarities. The cause of the flood, in the legend of Gilgamesh is because the Gods complained humans were growing far too noisy, instead of sin like in the Greek version. During the flood, In the epic of Gilgamesh it rains for 6 days and 6 nights while it rains for 9 in the Greek version. Both have different symbolism as well – in Utnapishtim he releases a raven, while in the Greek tale they throw "stones over their heads, meant to represent "the bones of their mothers." Utnapishtim is also granted immortality while Deucalion and Pyyrha are not. 

Welcome to my Blog

My name is Brooke Corcoran and you're probably wondering why I've made this blog. I'm writing this because my  English teacher believes that it's important to have a "good voice" on the Internet, as I document our projects throughout the ninth grade. Anyway, since I have limited time (As I'm writing this in class) I'll quickly tell you a couple of things about myself. I am a girl, a ninth grader who is  a big fan of history specifically Rome, Greece, and the 1920s. I'm also a member of my school's debate and model government clubs. I enjoy reading - and I tend to vary the genre I'm reading quite often. I'll be uploading English projects and reflections quite soon, so you'll learn more about me and the projects i'm doing throughout the ninth grade.

Enjoy your stay on my blog,

-Brooke