This modern era of sophisticated forensics, especially, the development of DNA science, has successfully seen the exoneration and release from imprisonment of numerous innocent individuals, erroneously convicted of crimes. Sadly, society has not found an adequate way to atone for the disastrous consequences to the wrongfully convicted person or his family. There would seem to be no satisfactory solution to the problem, except a sincere resolution to apply the legal system and the law of evidence fairly, correctly and without bigotry.
The coldest (and inarguably, the oldest) case and example of injustice, one in which the consequences have been the most horrendously dire, is the well- known biblical myth of Adam (meaning “earth” or “man”) and Eve, the primal human couple. This “Creation Myth,” still incredibly perpetuated by the Abrahamic religions, relates that Adam, eats an apple, from the forbidden “Tree of Knowledge” offered to him by Eve, with the connivance of a tree snake. For this horrendous offense, the pair “discover their nakedness and are banned from the Garden of Eden, forever. As if the punishment were not severe enough, religion invests each newborn child, from the “begats” on, for eternity, with that “original sin” by reason of which life becomes, necessarily, a mono- focused mission of expiation; rather than one dedicated to growth in knowledge and capability and the pursuit of life enhancement.
Let us (forgive the expression) dig down and apply a modicum of rationality to the conventional myth and see where it takes us (without the need or relevancy of DNA testing).
In ancient lore and existing traditional liturgy, the image of “the tree” has always been a positive, if not a revered, symbol, evincing terms like “tree of life” and other culturally affirming similes.
Adam and Eve, the biblical representation of the newly emerged and highest level sentient animal, were exalted by the Deity above “all the beasts of the field” specifically, by reason of man’s nascent intelligence.
The subject varietal in the story is a most singular apple tree, the “Tree of Knowledge” from which, the storyline goes, Adam commits the astoundingly evil act of eating of one of its apples, offered to him by Eve (with the connivance of the snake) despite the clear admonition of the Deity not to do so. As a direct and proximate result of this, no less than shameless, act the primal couple “discovered their nakedness,” (read, became aware of themselves) and were permanently banned from the Garden of Eden (read, state of ignorance). {Actually, this sounds like a good thing}. However, instead of the joyious discovery of being, the miracle and the affirmation of identity, the Good Book speaks harshly of the eternal disgrace of “original sin.”
It should properly be to the unmitigated, delight of all feminists and their supporters, that the fruit of the tree of knowledge was delivered to man(kind) by his female consort; far from the disgrace of eternal sin, mankind, mythically, was thereby gifted with the ability to discover the world and pursue his natural potential, self- realization.
Equally puzzling and disturbing is the Greek myth of Prometheus who was sentenced by Zeus to an eternity of excruciating torture for the “offense” of bringing fire and civilization to mankind. Why does ancient myth, and more modern religion, construe the gift to humanity of enlightenment and reason as a horrendous sin when it is the natural and predictable goal of the newly evolved or created, sentient being? Do reason and enlightenment possibly pose an existential threat for religion?
To us, there clearly seems to be an enormous debt of gratitude due to Prometheus and, of course, to Eve.
-p.
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