The story of the creation and fall has been recited so many times, we could all probably declaim some rough version of it. Humanity is created, tempted by Satan, and falls. But what are they tempted with? What was so promising that they turned their back on their Creator? Knowledge.
Last week, we discovered what true enlightenment was: thinking and learning for oneself, rather than for The Powers That Be. Or, in other words... knowledge.
In Book V of Paradise Lost, Eve has a foreshadowing dream of The Temptation. She relays this information to Adam, but he tells her that she should always choose obedience. God has, after all, given Humanity free will. Raphael later comes down and warns Adam to choose obedience to God. Adam asks to know more about disobedience, wondering what could be so enticing that one would turn from The Creator.
Adam begins seeking more knowledge. He asks Raphael about the war in Heaven. He wants to learn. He wants enlightenment. Even at its most innocent form, Humanity wanted simply to know. Enlightenment is a double edged sword; we may think for ourselves, but too much freedom lands us in hot water, or in a more literal sense, hot eternity.
PS I commented on Zane and Breanna's blogs!
Comments