Original Sin

ORIGINAL SIN

It is said that we are all born into original sin because of the Fall of Adam and Eve. It is because of this incident that we are all sinners and subsequently require a Savior. Not just any Savior, but Jesus
Christ. No other will do. No substitutions, exchanges or refunds. Void where prohibited, not available in all areas, all sales are final and some restrictions apply (well not some, but endless restrictions).

Even as a child I thought how utterly and completely hopeless this was. How stupid and sad. That is, if the story of Genesis is to be taken literally.

Eden is described as a place where all needs are met. Not even the lion needs to hunt for food. This suggests to me that Eden is in fact the realm of the spirit or the soul. A soul does not need food or shelter. The soul can’t possibly require any physical needs. One might say that this heaven is perfection. A world without lack or desire.

Adam and Eve are banished from Eden by eating the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. The Tree of Free Will might be more accurate a title. Being banished is no more than the soul taking bodily form. With a body, we now have needs and desires. Having a body suddenly requires self-preservation (which is the purpose of pain). And what better way is this represented then by our own Ego? Being born into original sin is completely natural. It is being born into physical form. A physical form that requires an ego to survive. It is not a punishment, nor a banishment, merely a separation of pure soul (energy) into physical form.

One must realize that the ego is not evil, but necessary. The trick is to not be a slave to the ego, nor a slave to the spirit. The two must be balanced in order to achieve Eden (or perfection, without desire, balance). Is it not said that the first rule of Heaven is Order? It has also been said that “a house divided cannot stand.”

Living a completely ego-centered life would be one of excess and complete self-gratification. On the other side, living a completely spiritual life would be relatively short as you would starve to death. A balance or union is required of both. The body is the tool, the physical expression of the soul. After all what is inspiration without a pen? And what is a pen, without inspiration?

Kahlil Gibran says it this way:

“Though I travel with the light, I am not the light
and though I am a lute fastened with strings, I am not the lute player.”

Once Adam and Eve were banished (born?) Eden was closed and protected by a flaming sword. I find it very interesting that Jesus is supposed to return brandishing a flaming sword. In mythology, the sword is used to vanquish the dragon which symbolizes the ego. That is to say, the dragon desires the very things that it has no use for. The very things that don’t bring happiness. For example, dragons are depicted as stealing away virgins, and hoarding mountains of gold. It has no use for either of these things, yet its desires always get the better of it. This is what keeps us from “heaven” or from bliss, being a slave to our body. The only way to enter back in, is to cut our ego down, by shedding the very things that keep us trapped.

And what caused the original separation? Who knows for certain. But I can say this. The memory of eating steak simply does not compare to the actual experience of eating steak So perhaps, the snake is the true hero of the Genesis story, the one who showed us this great gift of free will and the ability to experience that steak again.