One of the things that people often wrestle with in Christian theology is the question of where, exactly, evil came from. Why was there anyone around to tempt Eve? What purpose had this evil thing in being?
Although it’s not part of the Biblical account, I have seen many claim that Satan fell because of pride; because he couldn’t stand being told that humans, small, smelly, imperfect in knowledge, and ephemeral, were somehow more important than he was. And yet, they were. Humans were, in some inexplicable way, the pinnacle of creation; the point behind the whole exercise. And why?
It all comes down to the question of what it means to be made in God’s image. Humans were like God in a way that nothing else was. In Genesis, God does two things; He creates things, and He judges things. These two things, humans do - but demons and angels don’t. Those are what make us interesting; the potential to say “I conceive of a world which is not this one, and I will it to be so”.
So… Bundled with all that free will is a terrifying option. We may choose poorly. Angels, flawless and complete in their knowledge, know the outcomes of their choices. We don’t. We make mistakes. But, for every mistake, there is an improvement; our failure to apprehend the world as it is causes us to change it, and those changes are beautiful.
What if, frustrated with God’s strict orders, the first people conceived of a world in which there was someone who didn’t follow them? What if they demanded someone to appeal to them, to offer them a way out, an excuse? Perhaps the real reason the demons hate us so is because we require them, and they know what they have become, but lack the ability to deny us the dichotomy we are so dependent upon.
What if Eve tempted the Serpent? “Tell me another story,” she says. “I want you to make it so I can eat the apple.”
Comments [archived]
From: Sam Saab
Date: 2006-11-19 12:12:22 -0600
Genesis 3:6-7 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it.
She also gave some to her husband , who was with her, and he ate it.