2009-01-01

Knowledge Tree of Good and Evil

The two famous trees in the Garden of Eden (Gen 2:9) are tree of Life and tree of Knowledge of good and evil.

There are people who shorten the description and call it the Tree of Knowledge. The result of eating from the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge was sin and death. Hence, they claimed Knowledge is bad and should not be pursued. They also cited 1 Co 8:1 knowledge puffs up to support their case.

Let take a closer look at the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. What is the key word here ? Knowledge or Good and Evil? Knowledge is the higher qualifier and Good and Evil is the finer descriptor. Knowledge covers much greater scope than "Good" & "Evil". Or to put it another way, "Good & Evil", Moral, is only a small part albeit a very important part, of knowledge. We cannot drop the finer descriptor of "Good and Evil" and just talk about knowledge. Just talking about Knowledge would be wrong - it is too generalized. The key descriptor is about a specific kind of knowledge of "good and evil".

A better descriptor for the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, given by others, include "Tree of Laws ", "Tree of Knowledge of Sin" or "Tree of Moral". Tree of Life is compared against Tree of Laws as "Grace" vs "Laws" for salvation.

Some preacher remarked that man, after eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, got to know that there are good and evil things, but they lack the discernment to tell the good from the evil. God gave the Laws later to reveal the sins. But in Romans 2, we know the sense of right and wrong is built into our conscience and man can't argue that they don't know.

For me, I prefer to name the tree, the "Tree of Knowing Good and Evil", to prevent it from being just shortened to knowledge. The Chinese version of the Bible has, I think, a better translation, as the "Tree of Discernment of Good and Evil"(分别善恶的树). Eating the fruit of this Tree shows that man want to be the judge of good and evil. Man want to be his own judge of what is good and what is evil. God is kept out of the picture. This, to me, is the greatest rebellion against God. The true judge of all, should be God and not man. The created being, man, cannot be the judge. Only the Creator, God, can be the judge.

Is Knowledge Good or Evil?
Knowledge should be judged good or evil by the content. Any knowledge that excludes God or exalts against God is bad, worldly and even demonic. Knowledge that originated from God (e.g. Bible ) and Truth are good and Godly. Jesus tells us that we must know the truth and the truth will set us free. Knowledge from the Devil is bad and evil. Knowledge from man cannot be judged that way but must be by content.

Back to 1 Co 8:1 "knowledge puffs up". If you read accurately, and from the context, you will realize that not all knowledge puffs up but only a particular kind of knowledge. Which kind ? It is explained in the next verse 1 Cor 8:2, the kind that thinks he knows everything. The ESV translation qualifies with "This 'knowledge' puffs up". ALT also qualified with 'such knowledge'. Knowledge does not puffs up. It is the person who think he knows all gets puffed up.

The foundation of knowledge, or true knowledge, begins with acknowledgment of God.
  • Pro 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
  • Isa 33:6 And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the LORD is his treasure.
Knowledge should be Judged by Context not just the Source
Knowledge that comes from God - Bible is good. There is not much argument against it. But if the knowledge comes from man, can we, conclude from its origin, that it is therefore no good and worldly? I don't think so. The existence and nature of God can be seen from His creation. Man in pursuing the truth, will be able to discover portion of the truths of God. The golden rule of love, taught by Jesus, can be found in many cultures. We can find many teachings of Lao Tze and Confucianism that agrees with the Bible. Putting in another way, Biblical Knowledge extends the teachings of Lao Tze and Confucianism. The Lao Tze' and Confucianism discover the laws or way of the universe and human behavior but did not discover the giver of the order and the personification of the dao (The Way) in Jesus Christ. They will be thrilled to have know Jesus. Pursue Knowledge and learn to discern the good and evil. This is maturity.

See also Knowledge Tree of Good and Evil - Looking from Tree of Life

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Before we can discuss the tree of knowledge of good and evil we must first know exactly what this tree and its fruit were. Do a search: The First Scandal. Then click twice.

C. Clowes said...

Grace versus Laws - This is a very helpful way of explaining this. My mind was very confused about this but now I am thinking the following and feel a glimmer of understanding! Thanks! I may yet be off but it is a mite clearer now.

Here's my subsequent line of thinking: that the fall from grace is and was man attempting to judge and justify himself through works under laws and usurping the authority and grace of God in such matters. But this (justification through works)is impossible for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. So we all die and perish and do not have eternal life (exile from God) under the law we created through our judgements. Grace given only through dieing to self and giving God all jurisdiction and power of justification over the self brings oneness with the spirit ( reunification with God) and produces good works (fruits of the spirit)

Brasil said...

I simply can't say enough how amazing this book was! A faced paced thriller through and through, the action continues at an alarming clip until the big pay-off at the end. Sounds like a lot of the best books I've ever read, but this one had something different. It was not just stimulating as a fast read, but intellectually gripping. The Author doesn't preach, but calls into question a number of philosophical and theological questions cleverly meshed into the plot.

becoming conscious said...

This was purposely done to make us know good and evil. Then only we know how to love. There were no seperate trees, one for good or sinless and one for evil or sin. Can you imagine A and E sitting in the garden not knowing how to love. Genesis is about Rise no Fall !!!!!

Anonymous said...

The tree of good and bad. Man only knew good. There was only good. There were no thorns, no poisons. When man decided to know bad he got to know it quite well. From then on thorns and toil were the order. You cannot un know it now.

Anonymous said...

The tree of Knowlege of Good and Evil that bears the fruit to make one wise, in Good and Evil. For the word of God is quick and powerful, sharper than any two edged sword piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, joints and marrow, discerning even the thoughts and intents of the heart, wear ye the Armor of God each and every day until Lord Jesus Christ comes in the clouds to take us all to the New Heaven New Earth and New Jerusalem, Adam and Eve were sent out of the Garden because they ate of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and if they were to eat of the Tree of Life at that time, that would have defeated the purpose of why the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil was present and the only Tree that man was to not partake of Until God knew that Human flesh could contain the fullness of life with in. The human being needed first to know how to be a spirit in a body first and then the human being would know the difference between Good and Evil, so those that prefer Good will be good forever and those that prefer to be Evil will live in eternal damnation forever. To know the difference between good and evil is the key to eternal life or eternal death. As Our Father says choose ye this day whom ye will serve as for me and my house I will serve the Lord God of all Creation.

Anonymous said...

Stimulation of the parasympathetic nervous system spreads up through the colinergic neurons of the parasympathetic nervous to the colinergic neurons of the brain thereby awakening the brain beyond the "normal" ten percent brain use. The largest nerve of the parasympathetic nervous system is the vagal trunk, which splits into the left and right vagus nerves from which the plexuses of the parasympathetic nervous system branch off like a tree. In fact, this is what was called the "Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil".

In the yogas of the East, these plexuses are known as the "chakras", the left vagus nerve is known as "pingala" and the right vagus nerve as "ida". The parasympathetic nerves in the spine are known as the "sushumna". Mystical secret societies believe that Adam and Eve stimulated one another's chakras.

Dr. Stanislav Grof used the "pranayama" of "Holotropic Breathing" to stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system and thereby replaced LSD. LSD awakens the brain by blocking the brain's inhibitory neurotransmitter, seratonin. Vagal stimulation overrides the inhibitory system so that vagal stimulation is as effective as LSD.

There are three extents of brain awakening called perinatal matrices. From ten to twenty percent brain use is heavenly, and is known as perinatal matrix one. From twenty to fifty percent brain use is "the knowledge of good and evil". It is very educational, and the mind gets more and more powerful to "materialize" its thoughts. From twenty to thirty percent brain use, drawing symbols of what one wants will get it. From thirty to forty percent brain use, writing what you want will get it, From forty to fifty percent brain use, saying what you want will get it.

But, from fifty to one hundred percent brain use, every thought become your reality. All this happens by the strong thoughts drawing you to the probability timeline where your thought is reality. But, who can handle every thought. Things go wrong; and, finally the person wishes he were someone else; and, he body switches into that someone else, but most probably in a body with less that eleven percent brain use. But, it not being his body, when that body sleeps or dies it's off to another body, and on and on and on for about a hundred years duration, until he finally body switches into his own body back in time.

Due to this phenomena victims were given large doses of LSD and then forced to watch horrible films so that they body switched into each and every person they saw, backward and forward in time, living their torments. This has been called the "clockwork orange treatment". But, LSD has permanent effects such that such victims remember living that part of their lives over after the dose, different ways, many times.

To avoid such permanent effects the vagal stimulation of "waterboarding" has been used. Crucifixion does the same thing. That's how Jesus Christ is in all of us. Jesus Christ, being God the Son, body switched into everybody who ever was or will be, and on all the probability timelines thereof.

Anonymous said...

I really enjoyed the post a lot, especially the part that you highlighted in green. I discovered your website late in the evening but I'm looking forward to returning again and again.

I noted that humanism had its roots with Eve and her encounter with the serpent. Another example is the Tower of Babel and Nimrod, a foreshadower of the antichrist.. The Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. I believe this was the root of humanism. However, I always wondered whether it goes back even further to the serpent's false promise, "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” The part I'm still trying to understand is that God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil.”

Stories and movies that contain irony appeal to me a lot. God has a way of using irony. For example, when Nimrod and his followers built the Tower of Babel, they said, “let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves.” Their motives were wrong because they wanted to glorify themselves. (That's a good definition of humanism). Fast forward to the future, "the angel said to me, “The waters that you saw, where the prostitute is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages. And the ten horns that you saw, they and the beast will hate the prostitute. They will make her desolate and naked and devour her flesh and burn her up with fire, for God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and handing over their royal power to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled.” God has allowed Satan to promote every kind of false religion throughout history as well as all the various isms and false ideologies (humanism) for the ultimate purpose of consolidating power. However, Satan's purpose is to use bait and switch--once he establishes the antichrist as the world dictator, he turns on the false religions that have all merged into one; and he forces everyone to bow down to him:

And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain. Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name.

As John said about his vision, "And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army. And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image.

The book of Genesis shows the origin of two women, the Bride of Christ and the Great Prostitute, who symbolizes false religion and false ideologies.

I'm sorry if this seems a bit unorganized. I had to delete a lot here and there to get below 4096 characters.