What I think is interesting is how the depiction of the apple is now associated with revolutions and change. Apple records, Apple IPhones. Snow White’s Apple (which put her to sleep). And even an apple fell on Newton’s head.
Great piece; appreciate this! I'm with Michelangelo that it was a fig. In Luke 19, while the Greek for "tree" that Zacchaeus climbs is rendered a "sycamore," some translations render it a "sycamore fig" - that same scene..."the son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost." Definitely a harkening back to Genesis...
A diminutive man, according to the text, he climbs the tree in order to see over the heads blocking his view. Jesus plucks his ripe heart, saying he has to go to his house.
Where they eat.
This provokes the sensibilities of the crowd: He's a tax-collector, epitome of a "sinner," as a tool of colonial Rome!
But he immediately ALSO bears "the fruit of repentance" in his own life, giving half of what he has to the poor, and restoring fourfold to anyone he has overcharged.
If eve did eat the apple, why do men have an ‘Adam’s apple?’ And couldn’t it be that since after they ate the apple it would shift their morality. So he probably lied on behalf of himself and said eve ate it.
It's my understanding that Eve was decieved, but Adam knew he was doing wrong and ate of the fruit knowing God said not to. God spoke to Adam with this instruction.
My understanding could be wrong.
But any way you look at it, both man and woman would sin. You haven't met anyone on earth who hasn't sinned.
I truly do not understand the concept of sin, as all sin that is stated sound like basic human urges.
We sometimes forget that us as humans are also animals. But back to what you were saying about not one human that has never sinned, yes. It is true to never meet someone who hasn’t sinned, especially when the “sins” are the most normal things a human can experience/do.
If you need to believe in god / have a religion to have good morality you must truly sit down and think with yourself. Because you cannot tell em the only think keeping you from doing horrible things such as r.pe and m.rder is believing in an imaginary higher power is truly mortifying. But yeah sure whatever keeps your morals intact.
Now Rob, you know what I meant. You know that I was not trying to normalize r.pe or m.rder in anyway. Those are urges we can suppress. But those like laziness, lust (in some aspects), and greed (also in some aspects) are nothing but basic human urges. We can go back and forth but scientifically and logically what I say stands for being true.
Are not the sins the " fruit", the seed of the fruit which keeps reproducing itself. As i understand it the definition of a fruit is that it carries its own seed (sin) Eve released the seed to reproduce ad infinitum .
The tree of the knowledge of good and evil. We are not able to conceiveof a world without sin.
Yet, humans, unlike animals, recognize that we ought to behave in a certain moral way, and yet don't. Most of our arguments arise from this impulse. It's that instinctual urging to behave according to a unspoken yet universal standard that separates us from animals.
Sin is, in simple terms, any perversion of the natural faculties against their divinely-ordained purposes (or, more broadly, any violation of the creative decree).
Interestingly, though, in Germanic languages such as English the word comes from a present participle of “is”, in the sense of “that which ought not be”. (It’s also a direct cognate of the Latin word for “guilty,” in the same context.)
The same concept from a different perspective, as it were.
Actually, if you read the text carefully, Adam blames God: “This woman whom YOU gave me”. This is after earlier waxing eloquent about her being flesh of his flesh and bone of his bones. Commentary on human nature.
It's widely accepted now that the fruit was not an apple, as there is no record of apple trees existing that far back in history in the Middle East. It is unlikely that it would be grapes, as they do not grow on a tree; they grow on vines. The fig tree and the date palm are the only trees that are known to have been in existence that far back and in that location. Michelangelo obviously did some research!
For a minute I thought you were going to ask the more fundamental question of why Eve was stitched up by men who made up the whole story. One can but hope.
"Stitched up by men"? I'm not sure what you're referring to.
In the Bible, there are two versions of Eve's creation: In one, she is created from Adam's rib; in the other, she is created at the same time as Adam ("man and woman, He created them").
That there are two versions is the interesting facet.
In my imagination, it was a spider (Araneus diadematus with a white cross mark on back). Its back side was shaped like black human heart. I detested it but it was a gift I needed to swallow. Eve/Anima also brings fertility and these two archetypal, psychological qualities - gift + fertility is imho what historically made "a fruit" into a good symbol.
What I think is interesting is how the depiction of the apple is now associated with revolutions and change. Apple records, Apple IPhones. Snow White’s Apple (which put her to sleep). And even an apple fell on Newton’s head.
Given the impact of smart phone technology on our lives, is it surprising that its most recognizable symbol is the bitten apple?
Great piece; appreciate this! I'm with Michelangelo that it was a fig. In Luke 19, while the Greek for "tree" that Zacchaeus climbs is rendered a "sycamore," some translations render it a "sycamore fig" - that same scene..."the son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost." Definitely a harkening back to Genesis...
Yes, Zacchaeus IS the fruit.
A diminutive man, according to the text, he climbs the tree in order to see over the heads blocking his view. Jesus plucks his ripe heart, saying he has to go to his house.
Where they eat.
This provokes the sensibilities of the crowd: He's a tax-collector, epitome of a "sinner," as a tool of colonial Rome!
But he immediately ALSO bears "the fruit of repentance" in his own life, giving half of what he has to the poor, and restoring fourfold to anyone he has overcharged.
That’s wonderful, Kelly. Never before thought of Zacchaeus as the fruit!
So really enjoy this article! Thank you
Thanks for reading 🙌
Such a great piece
Food for thought.
Love it.
If eve did eat the apple, why do men have an ‘Adam’s apple?’ And couldn’t it be that since after they ate the apple it would shift their morality. So he probably lied on behalf of himself and said eve ate it.
It's my understanding that Eve was decieved, but Adam knew he was doing wrong and ate of the fruit knowing God said not to. God spoke to Adam with this instruction.
My understanding could be wrong.
But any way you look at it, both man and woman would sin. You haven't met anyone on earth who hasn't sinned.
I truly do not understand the concept of sin, as all sin that is stated sound like basic human urges.
We sometimes forget that us as humans are also animals. But back to what you were saying about not one human that has never sinned, yes. It is true to never meet someone who hasn’t sinned, especially when the “sins” are the most normal things a human can experience/do.
Your lack of understanding explains perfectly why there is no morality without God.
If you need to believe in god / have a religion to have good morality you must truly sit down and think with yourself. Because you cannot tell em the only think keeping you from doing horrible things such as r.pe and m.rder is believing in an imaginary higher power is truly mortifying. But yeah sure whatever keeps your morals intact.
You're the one who said that sin - things like r*pe, m.rder - are just normal human urges. You think we're all just animals.
I'm happy that God has provided guidance, otherwise we would have no moral law to prevent you from your urges.
Now Rob, you know what I meant. You know that I was not trying to normalize r.pe or m.rder in anyway. Those are urges we can suppress. But those like laziness, lust (in some aspects), and greed (also in some aspects) are nothing but basic human urges. We can go back and forth but scientifically and logically what I say stands for being true.
Are not the sins the " fruit", the seed of the fruit which keeps reproducing itself. As i understand it the definition of a fruit is that it carries its own seed (sin) Eve released the seed to reproduce ad infinitum .
The tree of the knowledge of good and evil. We are not able to conceiveof a world without sin.
Yet, humans, unlike animals, recognize that we ought to behave in a certain moral way, and yet don't. Most of our arguments arise from this impulse. It's that instinctual urging to behave according to a unspoken yet universal standard that separates us from animals.
Sin is, in simple terms, any perversion of the natural faculties against their divinely-ordained purposes (or, more broadly, any violation of the creative decree).
That is why the word sin literally translates to “missing the mark”
The Hebrew word for it, yes.
Interestingly, though, in Germanic languages such as English the word comes from a present participle of “is”, in the sense of “that which ought not be”. (It’s also a direct cognate of the Latin word for “guilty,” in the same context.)
The same concept from a different perspective, as it were.
But I honestly feel like that part was added to put a blame on women. After all it is in fact a book written by men.
Actually, if you read the text carefully, Adam blames God: “This woman whom YOU gave me”. This is after earlier waxing eloquent about her being flesh of his flesh and bone of his bones. Commentary on human nature.
Flesh of his flesh my ass!
You're building myth upon myth to come up with a statement that you think is profound.
? It seems to me that the writer is simply reporting on the beliefs of other cultures and individuals- regarding the biblical fruit.
It's widely accepted now that the fruit was not an apple, as there is no record of apple trees existing that far back in history in the Middle East. It is unlikely that it would be grapes, as they do not grow on a tree; they grow on vines. The fig tree and the date palm are the only trees that are known to have been in existence that far back and in that location. Michelangelo obviously did some research!
For a minute I thought you were going to ask the more fundamental question of why Eve was stitched up by men who made up the whole story. One can but hope.
"Stitched up by men"? I'm not sure what you're referring to.
In the Bible, there are two versions of Eve's creation: In one, she is created from Adam's rib; in the other, she is created at the same time as Adam ("man and woman, He created them").
That there are two versions is the interesting facet.
One account does not rule out the other. One merely describes how the other was done.
Wonder what religion would've been like if Eve had eaten nuts instead of the apple?
The dear girl bit out of a juicy fig which has far more sensual connotations than an apple. Hence the fig leaf as a quick cover up.
The symbolism associated with the fig is pretty difficult to top.
Monstrous delusions of God.
insightful. thank you for sharing
In my imagination, it was a spider (Araneus diadematus with a white cross mark on back). Its back side was shaped like black human heart. I detested it but it was a gift I needed to swallow. Eve/Anima also brings fertility and these two archetypal, psychological qualities - gift + fertility is imho what historically made "a fruit" into a good symbol.
Funny how I was contemplating this very question recently...