Genesis and Matthew VIII

Here, the human has become like one of us, in knowing good and evil.


Seeing the crowds, he went up the mountain, and as he sat there his students came to him, and he opened his mouth and taught them, saying . . .

The God of the early Old Testament is in many ways different than the God of the early New Testament. He is still the same God, still consistent in every way. But as a parent changes his approach as the child grows and matures, so does God change his towards us.

The great crisis of the Garden of Eden story is that humanity went against God's will. We insisted upon our independence. We were created to be be curious, and to want to grow. We want answers, and we want to investigate. So it is that the serpent used reason to get our first parents to disobey God.

Adam and Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil. Their eyes were opened. This is equivalent to so many things that we still do today, in every phase of our lives. A new idea, or book, opens our eyes. We can have our eyes opened by some new form of music. Charismatic leaders can open our eyes to injustices, as Martin Luther King, Jr., did.

The big gateway to eye opening experiences is the same as ever: sexuality. You can almost tell when a child has crossed that bridge (if done before marriage). Often, a break is formed between child and parent. A mystery once only known by adults, by our parents, is now known by us. We know it all, now, we think. A sense of equality or even superiority over our parents emerges. We have done the one thing they told us not to do, and not only did nothing bad happen to us, it was actually a great experience!

It is only later that we understand why it is better to wait. We would not listen to our parents, and we do not listen to God!

So harsh penalties were required. A noble race does not go off and disobey God! So death entered in. Death (not sin) became the thing from which we needed to be saved!

The approach changes now, in the New Testament. Humanity has been battered around for eons, with the consequences of sin. Death reined since the dawn of time, but not just Death: violence and cruelty became Death's chief attendant! Along comes Christ.

We have a scene more like a college professor teaching a group of young adults. This was God's relationship to us at the time of Christ. The world was ready now, to listen to God. And the time had come for God to teach us, mentor and coach us.