Theos-Talk Archives (December 1996 Message tl00714)

Einar Adalsteinsson & ASB writes:
>My model: Individual karma is purely psychological.
>
>In the Bible it says, (as far as I remember): The sin came into being =
>when Man ate the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of right and =
>wrong.
> My version: THE Individual soul came into being as a separate karmic =
>entity when in his evolution it understood the thin line between Right =
>and Wrong. At that time it also encountered the "Conscience", the guilt, =
>the (mostly unconscious) knowledge of having hurt another being, and =
>thereby committed Sin. It has left a scar in our Psyche all the time =
>since.=20

The allegory of the tree has always been one of my favorite mysteries of the
bible.  It is, obviously, the Tree of Knowledge of Right and Wrong, but the
biggest mystery comes with the defining of "Right" and "Wrong".  Before Eve,
and later Adam, took the plunge, they were satisfied with their existence with
Elohim and thought nothing of empowering themselves.  This is the only
conclusion I have been able to make with regards to other "evils" represented
in other religious allegories:  When Eve bit into the fruit, she was basically
saying to herself, "*I* want to know.  If *I* don't find out for *myself* what
this is, I don't think I will ever be complete."  This was her first selfish
act.  Selfishness was wrong.  And after experiencing what selfishness could do
to her, she knew that selfishness was a very evil thing. Unconsciously, as you
say later, she passed her guilt onto Adam by getting him to bite the fruit as
well.  Perhaps because she wanted to make sure that she was not the only evil
person.  Perhaps because she knew that she had done something wrong and did
not want to be alone with her guilt.

---
The Triaist