Is God particularly fierce?

Originally Posted by sky123

Very insightful Post, I enjoyed reading it and you have expressed Yin/Yang perfectly.

Thx, glad you enjoyed it.

Originally Posted by ketzer

The knowledge of good and evil may be forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, but here in life, in the society of humans, it is an essential nutrient in chronically and critically short supply. If one is going to eat from the "Tree of Life" and incarnate as a human being, then I suggest it is a good idea to bring along a bag of apples from the "Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil", otherwise their hunger for justice may drive them a bit mad with righteousness.

Don't forget a satchel of fig leaves.

[sky]

Originally Posted by ImthatIm

Don't forget a satchel of fig leaves.

It's another biblical miracle that Adam could still use his bits and pieces after covering himself with fig leaves, what an uncomfortable wardrobe choice

Originally Posted by ImthatIm

Don't forget a satchel of fig leaves.

Just don't peek and I should be fine.

Originally Posted by sky123

It's another biblical miracle that Adam could still use his bits and pieces after covering himself with fig leaves, what an uncomfortable wardrobe choice

Oh, IDK, maybe it is uncomfortable in some ways. But on the other hand, it is nothing short of miraculous just how much underlying fierce evil can be covered over with a fig leave as long as it is made of gold leaf (or perhaps even fools gold). A naked emperor doesn't necessarily need a suit of new clothes as long as enough subjects are willing to look at the fig leaf and see it as a magnificent robe covered in shimmering gold. All too often, it takes all too little fools gold to make evil look like good, but that is how life can go when we are deficient in the knowledge of good and evil.

[sky]

Originally Posted by ketzer

Oh, IDK, maybe it is uncomfortable in some ways. But on the other hand, it is nothing short of miraculous just how much underlying fierce evil can be covered over with a fig leave as long as it is made of gold leaf (or perhaps even fools gold). A naked emperor doesn't necessarily need a suit of new clothes as long as enough subjects are willing to look at the fig leaf and see it as a magnificent robe covered in shimmering gold. All too often, it takes all too little fools gold to make evil look like good, but that is how life can go when we are deficient in the knowledge of good and evil.

Uncomfortable...... have you seen a rash from Fig leaves, they are lovely to eat but nasty ( more opposites ) they cause an itchy irritating rash.

St Augustine once said " these itchy coverings signify the “irritations of lust "


Yes we do need to know through wisdom what is good and evil.

[עץ הדעת טוב ורע] the tree of the knowledge of good (tob) and evil (Ra)
Daath [דעת] = (knowledge).
This is a kind of special knowledge that is unique to the Consciousness. It is not related to the intellect.
It is not related to belief. It is not in the form of thoughts, words, ideas, concepts, theories, dogmas, books, etc.
Rather, it is a kind of conscious knowledge related to the soul, that has to be put into practice so that this special,
internal knowledge can grow and build upon itself, and develop the creation of the soul or creation of the EGO.
Daleth [ד] = (a door) The first letter of Daath tells us it is a door that has 2 ways once you pass through.
1 Good or טוב Tob which leads to the Tree of life.Or after stepping through the door we can choose
the fruit of the serpent and sexual immorality bad or 'רע (Ra)
רע ra has two letters: ר Resh and ע Ayin. Resh symbolizes our head, where we have the brain (Adam). Ayin represents our eyes,
or how we see and experience. With only our eyes and head we build the EGO self.
In the Hebrew word Daath, we see this character ע Ayin in the middle, it has two Iods at the top of the shape, and those two Iods look like
a pair of eyes. That symbolizes the duality of the potential outcome of Daath: two kinds of vision, two kinds of perception that result
from the knowledge.(Door)

So this basic version here is saying the Trees of Life and the Knowledge of good and evil are within ourselves.
It is referring directly to our sexual desire and our choices.
We can go into the Hebrew letter study more in-depth if anyone cares to but I really don't want to.
You have to take each letter and find it's picture meaning (ie. Door for Daleth) and study the number of the letter and it's meaning.
The good and evil (Tob and Ra in Hebrew) of Daath: You can say it is the way of life and the way of death.
Eve falls into temptation and eats that fruit, and gives it to Adam, which means the sexual organs take something that was forbidden
and passes it to the brain, which likes it. The result is that Adam and Eve are cast out of Eden.
Eden:Hebrew עדן = (bliss, pleasure.)
You can see the sexual wording in the English all the way through this Genesis story.
You can see that Adam hid and covered himself with a fig leaf.
Cain and able are a direct result and represent life or death.
Death was the path chosen( Cain ) and He was banished and marked.
I am stopping now since I am bored.
This is part of my understanding of the story of the Trees.

Originally Posted by sky123

Uncomfortable...... have you seen a rash from Fig leaves, they are lovely to eat but nasty ( more opposites ) they cause an itchy irritating rash.

St Augustine once said " these itchy coverings signify the “irritations of lust "


Yes we do need to know through wisdom what is good and evil.

As I recall, I once bought some fresh figs on vacation and ended up with swollen lips. I assumed it was some sort of pesticide, but maybe it was just the figs. Anyway, all the more reason to make your fig leaves out of gold leaf.

BTW, (this question is for you or anyone who cares to chime in) this wisdom of what is good and evil, how do you suppose one can come by it and know it as such?

Originally Posted by ImthatIm

[עץ הדעת טוב ורע] the tree of the knowledge of good (tob) and evil (Ra)
Daath [דעת] = (knowledge).
This is a kind of special knowledge that is unique to the Consciousness. It is not related to the intellect.
It is not related to belief. It is not in the form of thoughts, words, ideas, concepts, theories, dogmas, books, etc.
Rather, it is a kind of conscious knowledge related to the soul, that has to be put into practice so that this special,
internal knowledge can grow and build upon itself, and develop the creation of the soul or creation of the EGO.
Daleth [ד] = (a door) The first letter of Daath tells us it is a door that has 2 ways once you pass through.
1 Good or טוב Tob which leads to the Tree of life.Or after stepping through the door we can choose
the fruit of the serpent and sexual immorality bad or 'רע (Ra)
רע ra has two letters: ר Resh and ע Ayin. Resh symbolizes our head, where we have the brain (Adam). Ayin represents our eyes,
or how we see and experience. With only our eyes and head we build the EGO self.
In the Hebrew word Daath, we see this character ע Ayin in the middle, it has two Iods at the top of the shape, and those two Iods look like
a pair of eyes. That symbolizes the duality of the potential outcome of Daath: two kinds of vision, two kinds of perception that result
from the knowledge.(Door)

So this basic version here is saying the Trees of Life and the Knowledge of good and evil are within ourselves.
It is referring directly to our sexual desire and our choices.
We can go into the Hebrew letter study more in-depth if anyone cares to but I really don't want to.
You have to take each letter and find it's picture meaning (ie. Door for Daleth) and study the number of the letter and it's meaning.
The good and evil (Tob and Ra in Hebrew) of Daath: You can say it is the way of life and the way of death.
Eve falls into temptation and eats that fruit, and gives it to Adam, which means the sexual organs take something that was forbidden
and passes it to the brain, which likes it. The result is that Adam and Eve are cast out of Eden.
Eden:Hebrew עדן = (bliss, pleasure.)
You can see the sexual wording in the English all the way through this Genesis story.
You can see that Adam hid and covered himself with a fig leaf.
Cain and able are a direct result and represent life or death.
Death was the path chosen( Cain ) and He was banished and marked.
I am stopping now since I am bored.
This is part of my understanding of the story of the Trees.

Thanks, this is rather interesting to read. It seems to start out on the road to something profound and then gets hung up on sex.... (which is pretty much how so many religions figures seem to go, but that is a whole other tangent).

I can't help but wonder why the obsession on sex. However, if sex is just a metaphor (or later substitution) for the pull of the flesh, then it seems to make more sense again. The experience of life offers the chance through choice for profound growth of the spirit, yet the flesh is always pulling on us as our stomachs and other organs demand their due. How much easier it would be to consistently choose good if our hunger for bread and sex did not so persistently gnaw at our human bodies. On the other hand, if one wishes to understand one's own knowledge of good and evil, then I suppose choosing good when one is being tempted by one's hunger may help one to understand the depth of one's own daath. It seems to me that Samsara comes to an end when life is no longer necessary for spiritual growth. Once we perfect our daath, our hunger loses its power, and we no longer end up tasting death.

These are the secret sayings which the living Jesus spoke and which Didymos Judas Thomas wrote down.
(1) And he said, "Whoever finds the interpretation of these sayings will not experience death."
(18) The disciples said to Jesus, "Tell us how our end will be."
Jesus said, "Have you discovered, then, the beginning, that you look for the end? For where the beginning is, there will the end be. Blessed is he who will take his place in the beginning; he will know the end and will not experience death."
(19) Jesus said, "Blessed is he who came into being before he came into being. If you become my disciples and listen to my words, these stones will minister to you. For there are five trees for you in Paradise which remain undisturbed summer and winter and whose leaves do not fall. Whoever becomes acquainted with them will not experience death."
(85) Jesus said, "Adam came into being from a great power and a great wealth, but he did not become worthy of you. For had he been worthy, he would not have experienced death."
(111) Jesus said, "The heavens and the earth will be rolled up in your presence. And the one who lives from the living one will not see death." Does not Jesus say, "Whoever finds himself is superior to the world?"
(112) Jesus said, "Woe to the flesh that depends on the soul; woe to the soul that depends on the flesh."
Gospel of Thomas
(Translated by Thomas O. Lambdin)

Five evergreens? What else do you know about trees?

[sky]

Originally Posted by ketzer

As I recall, I once bought some fresh figs on vacation once and ended up with swollen lips. Assumed it was some sort of pesticide, but maybe it was just the figs. Anyway, all the more reason to make your fig leaves out of gold leaf.

BTW, (this question is for you or anyone who cares to chime in) this wisdom of what is good and evil, how do you suppose one can come by it and know it as such?

I personally find wisdom through experience, not in knowledge. I think it's being able to make good judgement based on what I've learned from past experiences.

I don't think there's a better Teacher than previous mistakes, you look at them and learn from them and become wiser.

I prefer to use good/bad rather than good/evil, I've never experienced what others call evil so I understand bad easier as I have experienced things I would label bad.

Actions that produce a good outcome for myself and others I call good and obviously actions that hurt myself and others I see as bad... It's only through self realization that I can achieve wisdom.

Just my little opinion though