Coming Back To Our Common Home And Original Innocence Christmas Crib Part - I

Towards an Ecological Conversion

Introduction.

Every Christmas season is so normal to enjoy the shinning and colorful nights, even the moon and stars seems to give their place to endless creativity of human being. Into the Christian realm is quite amusing creativity in building the cribs, the Christmas tree and variety of gifts. These initiatives are not promoted just by the church or faithful but also by civil authorities and economic companies, because all become economic business, touristic business, and so on, conscious or unconsciously we become consumer objects, that stuffing constantly our human darkness. Behind of this brightening reality, as always, is continue remain the most lacerate injustice that systematically is condemning starving to the poor and the our mother earth (cf. LS 2), because we human easily forgot or deny our very identity, that we are naked and integral part of cosmos and we exist and move in God (cf. Acts 17:28). Our anthropocentrism, which is human’s domination over other creatures and androcentrism (patriarchalism), that is man’s domination over women, not just excluded nature and women but God as well. This is the most self-turning far away from human identity or erroneous anthropology of the modernity according Pope Francis (LS 116).

If we consciously and critically meditate on our reality and concretely in the Christmas crib, we realize that there are human or social injustice and also ecological injustice because some animals like snake and other wild animals will never appear in those cribs.

All long human history the prophets (in the Bible and out of it) all of them in their own way show us the correct way to live our authentic identity as human beings. Jesus himself was the “son of man”, that means “full human being” or integral human (cf. Panikkar 2006), who calls us to come back to our common home (cf. Lk 15:11-32), to our original innocence integrated to our very self, to other human beings, to the nature and to God. In the same way Saint Francis in the middle age, and lastly Pope Francis has placed out officially the voices of many social, indigenous and ecological movements on the agora of discussion of the world about ecological conversion (LS 216) which means cultural revolution (LS 114) as well. These Ecological Conversion and Cultural Revolution have to begin reintegrating all excluded creatures symbolically in our cribs and avoid our compulsive consumerism, in the structural level challenging the technocratic and economic power based on inadequate anthropology, which are the main roots of our ecological crisis.

To encourage our ecological conversion in this attempt we are going to analyze three wonderful biblical narrations: Gn 2: 4-3:1-24 on the paradise or garden of Eden and naked humanity and fall; then Is 11:1-9 which the deep prophetic dream of the new human in harmony with whole creatures; and finally, the Jesus’ birth narration in Lk 2:1-20. Although, our approach will try to be interdisciplinary, but it is mostly ecological reading and analysis of the texts. Our main dream is that, one day our beautiful Christmas cribs become our real life and the Christmas trees become the trees of life and wisdom.

Note: This article has three parts, which are being published separately in this webpage.

PART ONE

1. The dawning of life in the Paradise.

Humans always tried to explain the fundamental questions of their existence. Every ancient culture has the myths of origin and our post-modern culture as well. The myths of origin usually tried to explain metaphorically the purpose and how the things came into being and they exist. They are not rationalistic explanations rather they are polysemic and deep dynamic explanations that shape a kind of paradigm of life.

Into the Hebrew Bible there are two outstanding myths of origin[1] placed in Gn 1 & 2. It does not reflect the historical chronology order of cosmic evolutionary process. They not belong to the same tradition as well. The first, Gn 1 belongs time after Babylonian exile or at least close to (538 BC) VI century before Christ and to Priestly tradition. The second, Gn 2 is much older than the Gn 1, we are talking around X century BC and belongs to Yahwist tradition. For our purpose we are going to analyze this last one.

The humus of humanity. The last redactional author of this chapter of Gn 2, colorfully portraits the scene of paradisiacal Garden of Eden, which means in Hebrew Bible עֵדֶן (‘eden) delight, finery or luxury (2Sam 1:24, Ps 36:8). The feminine variant of this noun is עדנה (edna), denoting delight or pleasure in Gn 18:12, where Sarah overhears Abraham’s visitors state that she will have a son, and wonders if she will experience pleasure in her old age. After created the garden[2], the anthromorphic God[3], Yahweh God shaped man Adam from the soil of the ground אֲדָמָה ('adamah) “earth” (humus in Latin)[4] and blew the breath of life into his nostrils, and man became a living being, who was placed in the garden of Eden “to cultivate and care of it” (vv 7-8.15). The agri-culture[5] people was already established but its mission was to care the earth not to dominate as in Gn 1:28. However, the Yahwist author describes God as a potter man, it means that the original culture was pottery culture.

After, Yahweh caused grew up all kind of plants and flowing water, four rivers (vv 9-10). Among the plants in the middle of the garden were two trees, the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of the good and evil, the man could eat from any tree but not from the tree of knowledge it was strictly forbidden (v 9.17). The life of all creatures and knowledge were integral part of human lifestyle. Human yet reduced its mindset just neither to pure reason nor to doctrinal moralism as later would happen.

At the same way the narration continue showing God’s community building, not just among humans but also with whole creation. “It is not right that the man should be alone. I shall make him a helper” (v 18) said Yahweh. “So from the soil Yahweh God fashioned all the wild animals and all the birds of heaven” (v 19). If the human being is called to care the creation (v 15), the animals are his companions and helpers. This is very clear if we observe the marvelous and helpful playing of the ecosystem. Every creature has some role into the web of the creational community. The question is: What does human being for the nature?

Then, Yahweh continues building community and created the woman Eve חַוָּה (Ḥawwāh, in Hebrew meaning “living one” or “source of life”) from the very rib[6] of Adam (vv 21-22), this somehow expresses the androcentric anthropology and faith of the Mesopotamian culture[7]; instead the patriarchal mindset of the official church which profit it for its own anti-evangelical[8] social reaffirmation of the hierarchy, today the biblical specialists[9] and feminist liberation theology interpret this coming out of rib as being partnership and responsibility sharers[10]. Adam’s affirmation about this partnership with the woman “this is bone of my bones, flesh of my fleshes” (v 23) is a kind of sign of deep unity of the humanity, which goes beyond the sex discrimination, psychological margination and spiritual privileges. It is a historical “deep dream” (v 21) of the humanity.

Nakedness of humanity. Up to this part, the author attempts to explain the wider open or integral understanding of human spice to the nature, feeling and enjoying as part of its own very nature[11]: “Now, both of them man and woman were naked, the man and his wife, but they felt no shame before each other” (v 25). This stand of comprehension on human reality is nicely portrayed in Job faith “naked I departed from mother’s womb, and naked I shall return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away, …blessed be the Lord” (Job 1:21). Being naked is pure or innocence original identity of human being, human is harmonious relationship with himself, with society, with the nature or creation and with God (cf. Panikkar 2010, p.116). That is total and integral freedom where there is no room for shame: “where there is the Spirit there is freedom” (2Cor 3:17), to live our true identity “the truth shall make you free” (Jn 8:32). Before God’s presence and its consciousness nobody can keep his/her real situation, any mask, scapegoats, falsities, etc. smelter.

The dooming and fragmented lifestyle. The narration on Eden paradise has been an entrance ticked[12] to understand the coming breaking down of human reality, theologically and morally called original sin[13], which presided by original innocence or grace[14]. From the existential perspective understanding human reality is a process of growing up, in that sense the future of the life become as a mysterious unfolding, where human being all long his life take consciousness of his very identity, meaning of his existence.

To pictured the scene, the Yahwist author pick out the serpent, wisdom three and human being. “Now, the snake was the most subtle of all the wild animals that Yahweh God had made” (Gn 3:1). The snake נחש‎‎ (nāḥāš in Hebrew) The symbol of a serpent or snake played important roles in religious and cultural life of ancient Egypt[15], Canaan, Mesopotamia, Greece and many other cultures like Chinese, Incan culture and so on. The serpent was a symbol of evil power and chaos from the underworld as well as a symbol of fertility, life and healing deity (J. Day 2015, pp.35-37). In many cases it is attached to spinal or nervous system and energy power of human body. The deity connotation of the serpent aroused in the Jewish and Christian mindset, some kind of cultural and religious prejudice against the snake, which till today is very strong.

The dialogue between serpent and Eve about eating or no the fruits from the wisdom three brought out to awful end (v 6). The sequence seems to fallow from the snake (nature) – woman – man; however, the accountability to Yahweh’s questions: “Where are you? (v 9)… Who told you that you were naked? Have you been eating from the tree I forbade you to eat?” (v 11) has a reversal sequence from man – woman – snake. At any rate no one has taken the responsibility of the fact. Nonetheless, the snake has not taken any excuse unlike human being. The invention of the devil or Satan as a being apart of human being is a very common way of escaping from the real responsibility and looking for scapegoats. It a clear sign of human’s immaturity. At this point, the patriarchal and anthropocentric[16] long length culture seems to take more strong power, thus the woman is accused and then the snake as well[17]. So we are dare to say that the patriarchalism attains paternalism as well, that maintains others in a very childish state. Then the anthropocentrism melt with androcentrism look down the earth and woman. In other words all this stepping outs are a negation of the original identity, the truth that makes us free. This is the turning point towards fragmentation of the integral way of lifestyle. Where the relationship between human beings and wild animals like serpents are seeing as enemies, the relation between man and woman as hierarchical, the painful birth given of the motherhood and the work as punishments. All these consequences were attributed to the anthropomorphic Yahweh because human’s decision: “So Yahweh God expelled him from the garden of Eden, to till the soil from which he had been taken” (v 23). Human being excluded himself from the paradise and from God’s love, the man excluded woman from his partnership, then human being exclude the nature or creation from his life and becoming as dominator and exploiter at all rights. Thus today, there is a regnant and widespread disavowal mindset and psychological repulsion against some wild animals like snakes and human’s among themselves. Withal of god’s unconditional love “Yes, you love everything that exists, and nothing that you have made disgusts you, since, if you had hated something, you would not have made it. And how could a thing subsist, had you not willed it? Or how be preserved, if not called forth by you? No, you spare all, since all is yours, Lord, lover of life!” (Ws 11:24-26). Here there is no room for continue excluding God’s creation, because it is enough known that when somebody expels other is a sign of hating oneself[18]. And this is the main challenge of fragmented human culture today: to come back home again. So human being, firstable needs to realize about its self-spelling far away from its very natural origin.

According the traditional theology of the Greek Fathers there are three principles, which function as psychological organism: Eve represents the feminine-passive principle anima, but henceforth to be governed by automatism and passion (Dionysian); Adam represents the masculine-active principle animus, governed by thought and moral (Apollonian)[19]. Beyond of these two principles there is a higher principle, the pneuma or spiritus, in which both anima and animus joined and transcend themselves in union with God, a Sophianic love (cf. Merton 1961, p.139). This new reintegration, we are dare to call “coming back home”, where human being (part of the nature) unifies again anima-animus-pneuma, it is full man with spirit; image of the Trinity.

Coming up the second part in the next publication…

         

By - Efrain Vasquez Mamani, cmf

zhengyuanyu66@yahoo.com

                                                                                      

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[1] Based in extra-biblical sources, in the mythologies of neighboring countries of Palestine.

[2] Much like records of the great flood, creation story and confusion of languages, the story of Eden echoes the Mesopotamian myth of a king, as a primordial man, who is placed in a divine garden to guard the tree of life.

[3] When we talk about anthropomosphic God means a God understood by human being in the form of human, attributing to God human behaviors. This is very common in many religions.

[4] These root-words are hum & human which come from the Latin humus, meaning earth & ground and the Latin humanus which means man. It is interesting to follow the changes of idea here. It begins with humus, earth, then becomes humble, lowly; finally to human, man. But we must never forget the origin of man; “dust thou art and to dust thou must return.”

[5] The sedentary lifestyle and agriculture of surviving was settled 10.000 year before.

[6] A note can be added here on the word “rib.” Sarah Roth Lieberman (1975) points out that the Sumerian word “ti” means both “rib” and “to make alive.” In ancient Mesopotamia, Ninti, whose name means both “lady of the rib” and “lady who makes alive,” is the goddess created by Nimhursag to heal Enki's sick rib. The double meaning may explain why Eve, who is called “mother of all living” (Genesis 3:20), was created from Adam's rib (an otherwise very odd piece of male anatomy to chose). Admiel Kosman (1998, pp. 1-6) has written on ancient Rabbies and Greek Midrash related to rib and androgynous creation. Azila Talit Reisenberger (1993, pp.7-11)

[7] To see in: The Jerome Bible Commentary (1968, p.12).

[8] Why we can say anti-evangelical social reaffirmation of the hierarchy? Because it is clear that the Gospels four of them tell us about the new and prophetic community (ecclesia) building of Jesus as a alternative to the strongly androcentric Jewish culture and religion. The new community was a community of equals; men and women could lead the community and not just the exclusive masculine power.

[9] We suggest a wonderful exegetical studies on this topic made by Paul Heger (2014) Women in the Bible, Qumran and Early Rabbinic Literature: Their Status and Roles. Boston: Brill Open.

[10] Phylis Trible (1973, pp 30-48) on depatriarchalizing in biblical interpretation. Other Emanuela Prinzivalli (2014, p.88-98). Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza (English edition 1992, p.207; Spanish edition 1989, p.190). John Spong (1992, p.11).

[11] There is a beautiful reflection in T. Merton (1962, pp.275-297).

[12] See in: The Jerome Biblical Commentary (1968, p.12).

[13] This happens especially for western world and culture.

[14] About this Mathew Fox (2000) has written a wonderful spiritual book: Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality Presented in Four Paths, Twenty-Six Themes, and Two Questions Paperback.

[15] In one of the oldest stories ever written, the Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh loses the power of immortality, stolen by a snake. W. Sjöberg, “Eve and the Chameleon”, in W.B. Barrick and J.R. Spencer (eds.), In the Shelter of Elyon: Essays on Ancient Palestinian Life and Literature in Honor of G.W. Ahlström (JSOTSup 31; Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1984), 217-25, at 221-23.

[16] The early Christian theologian Tertullian (c. 155/160-220 CE) reminded women that they all share Eve's “ignominy...of original sin and the odium of being the cause of the fall of the human race”. During the Middle Ages, St. Bernard of Clairvaux could claim in his sermons, without contradiction, that Eve was “the original cause of all evil, whose disgrace has come down to all other women.” This perception of Eve has endured with remarkable tenacity, and persists today as a major stumbling-block in attempts by women to correct gender-based inequalities between the sexes. Consciously or unconsciously, it continues to serve as the ultimate weapon against women who wish to challenge male hegemony.

[17] It is striking to see the artistic murals and paintings on human falling in the Eden garden portraying the snake in the form of woman.

[18] See in Thomas Merton (1961, p.112).

[19] The Apollonian and Dionysian is a philosophical and literary concept, or dichotomy, based on certain features of ancient Greek mythology.