Creation mixed with Knowledge
In Genesis, God created good and evil but how did he know what he was doing was the right thing? I question how God knew all the answers, especially the needs and wants in life. The themes I noticed are creation and knowledge. We only read that God and only he were making decisions that didn’t require anyone’s help. As I read on what God can do, I can’t help to think how he receives knowledge of what the world needs and what people want. How does he know from right vs. wrong? Having power isn’t nearly important as choosing what to do with it. God chose to create and part of creating something, there is something to be learned.
A particular creation I want to discuss is the tree of knowledge which I believe that was God’s way of testing Adam and Eve if they would listen to what he instructed not to do. The tree was God’s way of teaching without revealing the answer. In this situation, Adam and Eve learned to make a choice; it was up to them if it was going to be a good or bad choice. The theme knowledge just merges itself in the story. When I think of knowledge I view it as a learning experience, one is being taught from another and knowing what is true and false. The only information Adam and Eve received about the tree was from God so why wouldn’t they believe him? However, knowing what they know they chose to pick a different route, but they pick a choice that they liked better. Knowledge is based on facts which Eve trusted the snake more than God, her creator. By disobeying God, knowledge would be Adam and Eve’s experience. God wanted people including Adam and Eve to know about evil but not experience it to know it.
What if we all had one leader/one voice, would we listen to everything they said just because they sound like they know what they are talking about?
I liked the way you described how you perceive knowledge to be because I too feel the same way when confronting that idea. People acquire knowledge and thus remove the sense of ignorance we retain in our minds of the subject matter. Now in regards to your question, I feel that we wouldn’t listen to everything they say unless we are put into a position where that person says the things we want to hear. A historical example of this would be Hitler at the time of the Great Depression where he re influenced German Patriotism in his country and used his influence to pursue his vision of retaining a perfect race. Now although this is an extreme this does demonstrate that without the consideration of other people’s thoughts we would be lead astray like sheep to a shepherd and not progress in life.
This reminds me of a totalitarian government. Often times, the people under the rule of a government have only known to follow and not question their ruler. I feel that if we only had one leader telling us what to do, we wouldn’t know that there is another way of living/thinking, therefore we would listen to everything they said.
Hi Elaine,
I would have to argue that G-d definitely did know what He was doing, after He was the One that existed before anything else was an idea. Just as the gods and goddesses in the epics we have studied had specific roles and powers, G-d did too, He just had/has all of the powers. I believe the Tree of Knowledge example you brought up has to do with temptation, and how far one can go to get what they want. In answering your question, I believe that if there were one leader/voice telling us what to do, we as human would listen because we wouldn’t know any other way, or know from anything else. This is neither a good nor bad thing.