Posted by Dinah on July 12, 2002, at 10:16:09
In reply to Re: Lou responds to homewoods questionLou, posted by homewood on July 12, 2002, at 7:19:53
My point is that being expelled from the garden of Eden was hardly damnation. It was the beginning of human experience as we know it, with both rewards and joys and suffering. It was man's choice to be human, and perhaps that's what the story was really about.
Here is a brief excerpt from Etz Hayim Torah and Commentary:
"Moreover, we note that neither here not anwywhere else in the Hebrew Bible is their act characterized as a sin, let alone the Original Sin. There is no indication that this represents a permanent rupture of the divine-human relationship. God expels Adam and Eve from Eden, which can be seen as a punishment. But it can also be seen as a painful but necessary "graduation" from the innocence of childhood to the problem-laden world of living as morally responsible adults."
poster:Dinah
thread:424
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/faith/20020527/msgs/448.html