I accept that I do not have traditional Christian views on some things. The following view of the "Fall" may be one of those areas. Please help me understand.
Before the Fall, we walked around naked and did not know we were naked. I see this as similar to modern animals: dogs are naked and are unaware of their nakedness. Before the Fall, we did not have the Knowledge of good and evil; dogs/animals commit murder and rape as a normal practice, but we do not accuse them of murder or rape, because animals do not have the knowledge of good and evil. So, I view this as telling us that we were more similar to the lower animals prior to the Fall. I have read of some Christians stating that we covered because of lust; I believe it is clearly shame that drove the covering up behavior. Before the Fall, we lusted in the same manner as dog's lust. (dogs do enter "heat"). But, it was not sinful for a lower animal to have lust.
Eating from the Tree of Knowledge makes us more like God, as stated in Genesis, but it was forbidden to eat of that tree. In my opinion, we would have been granted access to the Tree of Knowledge, eventually, but the Fall was not God's timeline for us to partake of that Tree. Anyways; we eat of the Tree of Knowledge and "our eyes are opened" and the first thing we notice is our nakedness; we are ashamed of our nakedness, so we cover up with fig leaves. So, what does it mean to say "our eyes were opened"? I believe it is about 'becoming conscious', becoming aware of something that we were previously unaware of - that we were naked. So, if we had not eaten of the Tree of Knowledge, would we still be walking around naked and unaware of our nakedness, like the lower animals?
This is all to say that the 'creation story' does reveal a sort of 'evolution' of the human race. Of course, Christians would not call it evolution. But, there seems to be a clear evolution from a less conscious being into a more conscious being. If we had no knowledge of good and evil, there would have never been a need for the Ten Commandments. We would be raping and murdering if we had not partook of the Tree of Knowledge, but we would not be responsible for our sins (like animals are not responsible). Furthermore, like animals, we had no conception of death. Animals do not consider their own deaths (they do instinctively avoid death - survival of the fittest, and all), but after the Fall, we become aware that we will die. We did not "surely die" immediately, as the serpent promised (the apple was not poisonous) and we did not have eternal life before the Fall (we had not yet eaten of the Tree of Life). So, nothing really changed regarding death after the Fall, except that we were now aware of our deaths. This harkens back to the evolution of culture: the earliest human endeavors were hunting implements, but even the lower animals use tools. The earliest and truest distinction of modern humans was the burial of the dead with implements for the afterlife. At one point in time (200,000 years ago) hominids did not have awareness of their deaths, just like all the other lower animals. Then, at a later point in time (circa 70,000 years ago), we gained awareness of our limited lifespan. This seems to point clearly to an evolutionary process being symbolically described in the Bible. Bottom line: the 6 days of creation are more sublime than modern Christians comprehend.
Before the Fall, we walked around naked and did not know we were naked. I see this as similar to modern animals: dogs are naked and are unaware of their nakedness. Before the Fall, we did not have the Knowledge of good and evil; dogs/animals commit murder and rape as a normal practice, but we do not accuse them of murder or rape, because animals do not have the knowledge of good and evil. So, I view this as telling us that we were more similar to the lower animals prior to the Fall. I have read of some Christians stating that we covered because of lust; I believe it is clearly shame that drove the covering up behavior. Before the Fall, we lusted in the same manner as dog's lust. (dogs do enter "heat"). But, it was not sinful for a lower animal to have lust.
Eating from the Tree of Knowledge makes us more like God, as stated in Genesis, but it was forbidden to eat of that tree. In my opinion, we would have been granted access to the Tree of Knowledge, eventually, but the Fall was not God's timeline for us to partake of that Tree. Anyways; we eat of the Tree of Knowledge and "our eyes are opened" and the first thing we notice is our nakedness; we are ashamed of our nakedness, so we cover up with fig leaves. So, what does it mean to say "our eyes were opened"? I believe it is about 'becoming conscious', becoming aware of something that we were previously unaware of - that we were naked. So, if we had not eaten of the Tree of Knowledge, would we still be walking around naked and unaware of our nakedness, like the lower animals?
This is all to say that the 'creation story' does reveal a sort of 'evolution' of the human race. Of course, Christians would not call it evolution. But, there seems to be a clear evolution from a less conscious being into a more conscious being. If we had no knowledge of good and evil, there would have never been a need for the Ten Commandments. We would be raping and murdering if we had not partook of the Tree of Knowledge, but we would not be responsible for our sins (like animals are not responsible). Furthermore, like animals, we had no conception of death. Animals do not consider their own deaths (they do instinctively avoid death - survival of the fittest, and all), but after the Fall, we become aware that we will die. We did not "surely die" immediately, as the serpent promised (the apple was not poisonous) and we did not have eternal life before the Fall (we had not yet eaten of the Tree of Life). So, nothing really changed regarding death after the Fall, except that we were now aware of our deaths. This harkens back to the evolution of culture: the earliest human endeavors were hunting implements, but even the lower animals use tools. The earliest and truest distinction of modern humans was the burial of the dead with implements for the afterlife. At one point in time (200,000 years ago) hominids did not have awareness of their deaths, just like all the other lower animals. Then, at a later point in time (circa 70,000 years ago), we gained awareness of our limited lifespan. This seems to point clearly to an evolutionary process being symbolically described in the Bible. Bottom line: the 6 days of creation are more sublime than modern Christians comprehend.
