I like the phrase "moving the goalposts" but I don't like seeing it happen.
Knowledge of Good and Evil
by cameo-d 23 Replies latest watchtower bible
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cameo-d
Actually, all of this is baseless.
Other scriptures tell us that god is no respecter of persons. So why would he appear like a genie to Solomon to "grant him a wish"?
Also, we are not informed until later in the chapter that all of this was totally fabricated. It was something that Solomon supposedly "dreamed". Now, the real clincher is that the JWs as well as many other religions STAKE SOLOMON'S ENTIRE REPUTATION ON THIS 'DREAM'.
That's right. Ask any JW "what do you know about Solomon?" and the first thing they will tell you is "he was the wisest man on earth". And it is all predicated on some fairy tale dream. Fairy tale? Yes. We don't even have any proof that Solomon even wrote these accounts. It could have been entirely fabricated in the 1500's as far as we really know.
The Books of Kings are believed by some scholars to be a compilation of works by various writers who edited the books during and after the Babylonian captivity. I imagine many of these things have been edited toward an agenda before "The Church" ever released them to the common man.
So what really happened in this make believe dream...god appeared and offered to grant Solomon a wish. Solomon asked for smarts. The genie god said well, that is wise. Hey fella, because I really like your good sense, I think I will just make you rich, too.
Hey. Sounds as good as any other justification. No one can fault you for gluttonous, deceitful riches if you say that god himself bestowed them on you. Nobody is going to rise up against a king that claims to be god's favorite son. And by the way, in his day, many people did believe that Solomon WAS the promised Messiah.
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WTWizard
Another observation. Satan got our first parents to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and bad--all symbolic. Satan actually wanted us to think for ourselves, not allow some Almighty Lowlife Scumbag to keep us in subjection to some rules that are in His best interests yet worked against mankind. So, Jehovah Baghead punished mankind (of which Adam and Eve are mere symbols) by stepping in and preventing us from making our own paradise.
Now, what is it that Jesus said about knowledge of good and bad? Didn't Jesus also want us to use our powers of discernment, just as Satan did? Didn't Jesus try to set us free from religious ideas that were bad for humans but good for God (or the established religion), just like Satan? The difference is that Satan was trying to prevent Jehovah from establishing a tyranny, and Jesus had to bust up the tyranny He already set up.
Also, Satan was debased for trying to bust up the tyranny from God. Jesus died trying, and Jehovah was able to use Paul to twist Jesus' words to reinforce the tyranny that he was trying to bust up. Satan didn't have that advantage.
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cameo-d
WTWizard, it almost sounds like you are going to the dark side there. Cheers for the devil and all that. I am going to stray off topic to respond to this.
First, it seems odd that religions teach that god is a single entity and that satan is a single entity. It's as though they are actual persons rather than "powers and principalities".
In Genesis, when Adam and Eve partook of the fruit of knowledge, it was a group of 'people' referenced as 'god' (and friends) who remarked "They have become like us knowing good and evil."
How can we relate to this story in our day? It is very important that we understand the concept at this time.
God and friends were those who exercised power over the humans. We have a cabal even today who call the shots on wars and treaties. Let's refer to god and his co-horts as TPTB (The Powers That Be).
So in this story, Adam and Eve have decided to question the authority of TPTB. They have sought knowledge of what is really going on with this garden and why they are here. They want to know what's behind the curtain. They have a lot of unanswered questions. They are told to just obey and do as they are told and enjoy the animals and the garden. But this garden is walled off. It is isolated. They want to know what lies beyond. Why are they being kept in this place. Why must they do everything TPTB tells them to do.
When the couple do seek knowledge, they become "like their masters" in that they now know 'good and evil'. Why would this be a "bad thing"? When you know what the masters are up to then they have no power over you. No power; no control. In seeking knowledge, Adam and Eve were no longer submissive and obedient to the authorities that governed them. They became independent agents. As god and his cronies said, "they have become like us" meaning they know what we know; they know what we are doing. As such, the couple were now a threat to TPTB. When the controllers no longer had anyone to control and their experiments had gone awry, the couple had to be banished from that existence so as not to contaminate others. (Yes, there were probably others in the "garden")
Adam and Eve were disfellowshipped from the hall because they asked too many questions. They began to see the lies and the motives. They were being used for the personal gain of TPTB. And once they began to open their eyes, they were both a threat to TPTB and a threat of contamination to the others who were isolated in the womb of the cult.