Divino Afflante Spiritu and all that

By Diogenes ( articles ) | Apr 19, 2004

A friar in dire need of a hard-drive reformat disses the story of Adam and Eve.

I'd like to say a few words about the story of Adam and Eve. I believe the story of Adam and Eve is one of the most theologically and psychologically destructive stories ever written. Many of us were given our first taste of religion with this story. I'm afraid, though, that such a first taste destroyed many of our religious taste buds. ...

The Adam and Eve story implies that God didn't intend for us to be the way we are, that he created us differently. Such a belief damages our souls at a profoundly deep level. We are not as God created us! Our proto-ancestors decided against perfection, choosing to risk disobedience. All the torments we suffer stem from that single act of disobedience. What a tremendous guilt trip we have undertaken! Rather than risk an imperfect Creator, we have fashioned ourselves as perpetually rebellious ingrates. Claiming God couldn't have made us this way, we have envisioned our conception as flawed. Rather than imagine a defective deity, we have swallowed the shame as our own.

Let me guess: Father has grown beyond the shame stage.