As a progressive Christian, I believe there are many names for God and many ways to a loving God; this article reflects one of those ways. Take from here what works for you. Celebrate life with joy and peace!
When Jesus was led to the wilderness for 40 days, we see him wresting with his demons – his demons of doubts, his fear of his calling perhaps. Jesus had just been baptized, confirmed as God’s Holy child, and then felt compelled to go to the desert, the wilderness, where he faced his fears anxieties and doubts. And then Mark lets us in on how Jesus allowed his higher thoughts – his higher angels to minister to him words of encouragement to combat the negative thoughts and temptations he was facing. And at the end, we see Jesus coming out of the wilderness experience empowered and encouraged and ready to begin his important work.
Scripture not only shows Jesus summoning his better angels to help him overcome his doubts and fears, but it also shows that victory over any devastating self-doubt is possible for us too. When we are tempted to give up or give in, we can go to that quiet place within and come out ready to embrace all of our potential and live into our calling.
So, where do these demons of self-doubt come from? How did we get so accustomed to hearing and saying, “The devil made me do it!”
For many of us, they come from the Genesis 2 passage. I grew up being taught that only two people were ever created good enough, but they chose to disobey God (and the way it was told was that the woman chose to disobey and then persuaded her man to join her in disobedience, so really, their “fall from perfection” was her fault). And so they gave up their goodness and passed on their wickedness to all of their descendents all the way down to us; and so we were told that we were born bad; now that’s not to confuse you with born to be bad!
This morning I’d like to relook at this Creation story in Genesis 2 by pointing out eight points from Rev. Dr. Durrell Watkins that have been too often overlooked by traditional interpretations.
First, God needs us. God created a garden and then needed a gardener to tend it. God needs us. We are the gardeners, the helpers, the co-workers. Our hands are God’s hands. We are the way that God touches the world. We are that important.
Second, snakes don’t talk. Have you ever seen or heard a talking snake? Why do people think that one did at one time? Let’s examine this a bit further; not only do snakes not talk, but people probably wouldn’t talk to snakes even if they were feeling chatty. I don’t know about you, if I see a snake, I go the other direction. And if I were to hear a snake talking, I’d probably pee my pants and go to the nearest psychiatric hospital!
Now, animals talk in fables. So do plants. I mean who doesn’t love Nemo and all of the talking fish? In fiction, plants and animals are given human qualities, and many times it’s to teach us a lesson. Why didn’t I believe as a kid that when I was hearing about a talking snake that I was hearing a fable? Once I know this, I can learn the lessons that this animal-given-human-qualities is trying to teach me.
Third, the snake is just a snake. It’s not a monster; it’s not the devil. Not even an evil snake. In many cultures, serpents represent sexuality or wisdom or power. The serpent in the Garden of Eden isn’t even being dishonest. In fact, it was God in the story who says that if you eat the fruit you’ll die. And nobody died. The snake is just a snake.
Fourth, there is no fall. The word “fall” is never used here. The lesson of the story is not that people fell from perfection, never to return to it again. Do we make mistakes? Yes. Do we sometimes behave in ways that have dire consequences? Yes. But I don’t believe it’s because we are born bad, or it’s a result of the sins of Adam and Eve so we have someone to blame. We are still growing; we are still learning. We do what we can to embrace and express more goodness and to become more like Christ (our example). That is our goal.
Fifth, there is no body shame. The couple is naked – outside – and there is no shame. Maybe it’s because they didn’t have mirrors or scales or magazines with air brushed models on the cover; they’re simply naked and not ashamed. They had to learn shame. Shame isn’t their natural state. Their bodies are good. They are good. They learn shame; they learn modesty and integrate into cultural norms where in some cultures the bodies are naughty. There is no body shame.
Sixth, no one in the story is bad, and, no one in the story is perfect (except God). The fruit will make them know good from evil, but no one in the story is evil nor is anyone the cause of evil. The only mention of evil is the knowledge of it; and that knowledge comes from a tree that God made.
Seventh, there is no marriage. I don’t believe this is a story showing that only opposite gender attraction is acceptable. Adam represents men and Eve represents women, but I don’t think they represent the only way to be in relationship. Yes, it’s a very common way, but it’s not the only way. I don’t see anywhere here where there is a marriage certificate or even a mention of a marriage ceremony.
And finally, sin is never mentioned in the story. Could taking a bite out of a piece of fruit really be the downfall of all humanity for all time? I like what Rev. Watkins says, “The implied sexism of the traditional interpretation suggests that the original sin was that a woman didn’t do as she was told. I wonder who benefited most from that interpretation. Do you think that interpretation first came from a woman, or from a man who truly respected women? When considering traditional interpretations, we should always ask, ‘Who has benefited and who has been excluded or oppressed by this interpretation? Whose voice has been left out?’”
I think the phrase, “The devil made me do it” is just an excuse; it’s finding someone to blame so that we don’t have to take responsibility for our own actions.
Like children, we are born in innocence, and as we grow, we learn and we become curious and we eat bugs and dirt and touch hot stoves and fall off our bikes and test limits and suffer the consequences and lose our innocence. We learn modesty and caution and good from evil.
In looking at the creation story, I believe that when God created everything God said, “It is good!” Now, you can choose to believe whatever you want to believe about this creation story. I’m not trying to change your mind, but I certainly want to offer this viewpoint for you to consider.
God looks at women and calls them very good.
God looks at people of all religions and calls them very good.
God looks at transgender people and calls them very good.
God looks at straight people and calls them very good.
God looks at gays and lesbians and calls them very good.
God looks at you and calls you very good!
Just like our theme from Pride says, “You are Fabulous, Unique, Strong, Amazing, Wonderful … ‘cause God makes no mistakes!”
We are made in God’s image. We are part of God’s good creation. Demonic self-doubt and fear has no place in our lives; so let’s give it up for Lent and replace it with God’s amazing grace and love! Amen
