Here are Debbie’s notes from this Sunday…
Creation
So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, for she was taken out of man.” For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. (Gen 2:21-24) Let’s see a show of hands for people that find Adam’s first comment to Eve to be romantic.
The Tree
And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.” (Gen 2:16-17) Before she partook of the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, there was only good in man. Good can be seen in three elements: faith, hope, and love. Evil can be seen in the three opposites of good: doubt, detest and despair. Evil is the perversion of all that is good. God did not “set us up” by planting the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Where there is good and free will then there is always the opportunity to pervert that which is good. Since God is all that is good, there is no way for him to encompass evil. But by creating us with a free will then He had to also allow us the choice of knowing good and evil. The word “know” which the serpent uses in reference to having an understanding of the good and evil after eating the fruit is the Hebrew word “yada”. It means to know intimately, to experience. They would not just gain mere knowledge; they would intimately know evil – the perverseness of all that is good.
When Eve ate of the fruit, she lost one of her aspects of goodness and that was her faith in God. The serpent convinced her that her faith in God was ill placed and that God had ulterior motives. After Adam and Eve ate of the fruit they lost the second aspect of goodness, love. They lost their love between each other as they struggled to blame each other. Adam blamed Eve (betrayal), Eve blamed the serpent, and no one took responsibility for their own actions. (It is so prevalent in our nature to try and blame someone else for our mistakes. We are constantly shifting the blame onto anyone but ourselves.) They lost the intimate relationship, the love they shared with God. And lastly they lost their hope, the eternal life we have in communion with God. And thus, evil entered the world.
As their knowledge of good and evil became part of their being, they became ashamed of their nakedness. I do not think it was a sudden realization that they had no clothing but more of a realization of all that could be construed as evil and perverse about their nakedness. They were vulnerable. Their feeble attempt in covering themselves only shows how futile our efforts to hide shame are without God’s help. It took the work of God to cover them appropriately. All evil is a distortion of the purely designed intents of God.
The Curse
To the woman he said, “I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”
Itstsabown – pain, labor, hardship, sorrow
Etsab – pain, grieve, displease, vex, stretch into shape, vessel, object
The word here for desire is “teshuwqah”.
Teshuwqah – desire, longing, craving to control, master. Desire to run over, take advantage of. Same word is used in the following chapter to describe the desire of sin to rule over man. “Then the Lord said to Cain, ‘Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.’” (Gen 4:6-7)
Mashal – rule over, have dominion, reign
To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat of it,’ Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”
Ground – all that was fertile and yielding (no longer give up her strength, support to man)
Toil – burdensome labor
Thorns – A thorn is meant to protect the plant from anything which may try to harm it. Thorns are branches or stems that are modified into hard structures with sharp ends. Though similar in appearance to spines, or prickles they are differentiated by the plant organ from which they arise (i.e. stems, leaves or epidermis). Thorns are generally used by plants to protect themselves from herbivores.
“The thorns are the doubts and fears that represent our past hurts and emotional wounds. If we focus on them, and grab onto them, we relive the pain, and we cannot see the beauty of the Love that we are, as beautiful as the rose.”
Thistles – the common name of a group of flowering plants characterised by leaves with sharp prickles on the margins. Prickles often occur all over the plant – on surfaces such as those of the stem and flat parts of leaves. These are an adaptation to protect the plant against herbivorous animals, discouraging them from feeding on the plant. A thistle is a thorny plant with a beautiful flower. Its thorns symbolize both evil and protection.
“For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away.” (1 Pet. 1:24).
Roles
At the time of creation:
Male: Giving “nathan” (H), “zakar” (H), Seed (give), Give protection, Give Care, Give through praise “halal” (H) and thanksgiving “towdah” (H).
Nathan – to give, bestow, devote, dedicate, commit, to put on, to make, constitute. Man’s first command from God is to not “take” of the tree. He was given the task of naming all creatures. He gave of his body for the creation of woman. Adam constituted Eve. She was made from his same substance.
Zakar (male) – the origin comes from a meaning to penetrate, or infix. To remember, recall, call to mind, to make mention of with praise. To bear witness to, to bear a likeness.
Gabar (man/warrior) – to prevail, have strength, be strong, be powerful, be mighty, be great
Halal – praise, glory, boast, shine, commend, celebrate, give
Barak – bless, to kneel, to bless, to adore. This act leads to the word “ashar” which means to be blessed, to be happy.
Female: Receive “pathach” (H), Womb (receive), helpmeet “ezer” (H), Give through encouragement “chazaq” (H).
Pathach – to open, to free, open oneself, to loosen
Naqab (female) – to hollow out, to excavate, to pierce, perforate or bore into, to appoint.
Ezer – help, succour, from the root word ‘azar.
Azar – to help, succour, support, surrounding hence defending
Cabab – to turn, turn about or around or aside or back or towards, go about or around, surround, encircle, change direction, transform, to encompass, surround. “How long will you wander, O unfaithful daughter? The Lord will create a new thing on earth – a woman will surround a man.” (Jer. 31:22)
Chazaq – to strengthen, to prevail, to harden, to encourage, to make firm, be resolute, to repair
Story in Numbers 25 & 31 concerning the Midianites. Women have great persuasive capabilities that should be used for good not evil. We are held responsible for how we lead others astray. Prevalent throughout the Old Testament that women led men astray.
Sex: We see these roles manifested in the physical realm as part of the design God intended in our sexual marital unions. If the woman is not open, she cannot surround or support the man. If the man is not encouraged, hardened, made firm, then there is no consummation or union between the two. The man gives of his seed (gives of himself) and the woman opens to the seed and accommodates new life within.
Authority & Submission –
Original intent was in the roles of giving and receiving.
Mashal (H) – to rule over, have dominion, reign
Rabah (H) – be or become great, be or become many, be or become much, be or become numerous, to make large, enlarge, increase, become many.
Exousia (G) – ex means “out of”, ousia means “that substance” – “out of that substance”.
Kurieuo (G) – dominion, rule, lordship over. Never used in relationship between Christians.
Authenteo (G) – exercise dominion over. Is used once in 1 Tim 2:12
Paradidomi (G) – to give into the hands, to give over into one’s power, to commit, to commend, give oneself up. (Eph. 5:25) [Betray]
Authority comes from being the source substance of something. God is the divine and ultimate authority because all things were created by him. We are all ultimately from his “substance”. But with authority as the source substance, comes responsibility. Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and we are directed to care for it as such. All substances issuing from the source are considered part of the body and must therefore be cared for as the temple of the Holy Spirit as well.
Radiyd (H) – something spread, wide wrapper, large veil, “covering”.
Pathah (H) – to be spacious, to be open, to be wide, entice, persuade [Deceive].
Kata (G) – down from, through out, according to
Kalypto (G) – to hide, veil (root: krypto)
Katakalypto (G) – to be covered
The symbol of covering was meant as a protection to women so that they could not be hurt, taken advantage of, or ogled (grasped mentally). This was a symbol of extreme worthiness not of unworthiness. God wants us to be open, but in order for us to be open in a world full of sin, hate and abuse we must be covered for our own protection so that we may properly be open to God and to our counterparts. God wants us to rid ourselves of the thorns and thistles and allow Him to protect us. We cannot sufficiently cover ourselves, only God can. (Gen 3:21) We are meant to be open, inviting, encouraging, supportive, strengthening, and enticing. But in order to do that we must be protected. A wife encourages the husband to enter into her rest. He in turn protects and shields her from the pain inflicted by the world in her state of openness.
Hypo (G) – by, under
Tasso (G) – to put in order, to arrange, agree upon (hupotasso)
Histemi (G) – to place, put, set, standby, to support (hypostasis)
Hupotasso (G) – to submit
Hypostasis (G) – substance
A wife is of the substance of the husband. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.” (Gen 2:24) As that substance we are designed to support, harden, encourage, make firm, strengthen and repair the source substance.
The Single Life
Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs – he wants to please his commanding officer. (2 Tim. 2:3-4) I would like you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord’s affairs – how he can please the Lord. But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world – how he can please his wife – and his interests are divided (1Cor. 7:32-35)
Top Gun story. There are certain things you cannot just run off and do as a married person. As a single person you have a specific and special calling that is unique to you while you are single. Treasure that calling, for when and if you do get married, you are called into accountability to the demands of the relationship according to scripture. Singleness is a calling to be a front lines soldier of God.
Christ & the Church
Christ leads us. Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. (Eph. 2:22-23)
Christ loves us. Husbands love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave (paradidomi) himself up for her. (Eph. 2:25)
Christ serves us. (John 13:1-17) But made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. (Phil 2:7)
Christ is the authority because he came first (exousia) – all things were made through his substance. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. (John 1:1-5)
The Church is the encourager and strengthener of the body of Christ. In our partnership with the Spirit we propel Christ to new heights. “The Sprit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say ‘Come!’ Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.” (Rev. 22:17) We wonder why Christ has not yet returned for us. Maybe we are not yet fulfilling our roles as his bride. If you ever wondered why women talk so much, it’s because we are a reflection of the church and God actually wants us to pray (talk to him) that much!
Old and New Testaments
God becomes Father, Messiah becomes Husband, and Spirit becomes Comforter. These were new roles initiated and reintroduced to mankind through Christ’s sacrifice. God never changed; His relationship with us took on a new dimension – a new level of intimacy.
Back to Creation
Love & Respect
Giving & Receiving
Authority & Submissiveness
The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman for she was taken out of man.” (Gen 2:23) …meaning… “Because you are my substance – you were taken from my body, my ousia – I will love, protect, care for and treasure you as a part of my body. I will give you praise and bless you – adore you. I will dedicate, devote, and commit to you. I give (paradidomi) myself up for you.” Is that romantic or what??!!
Goals
God, others, and creation – perfect harmony between all relationships. The hierarchy of God, man and creation is symbolic of the effort it will take to restore those relationships. We did fall, we have been redeemed, but it takes effort on the part of all parties to make the plan work to its fullest. We are human, but that is no longer a curse. We cannot say, “oh well I’m only human”. Christ redeemed us and we now have the potential to be “human” as intended at creation. “We are human” is a blessing not a curse.
Restoration
Mankind became God’s thorn at the fall; God constantly had to contend with man and try to break through to him. The Cross brought unity between God and mankind through the act of forgiveness.
Woman became a thorn to man at the fall, constantly contending, deceiving, and persuading man. The Cross brought unity between men and women through the act of forgiveness. FORGIVENESS is the key!
Christ took our thorns upon himself and wore them as a crown for the whole world to see. We no longer need to carry our thorns; we are redeemed. “Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe and went up to him again and again, saying, ‘Hail, king of the Jews!’ And they struck him in the face.” (John 19:1-3) When God tried to reach out and touch mankind we pierced him with our thorns and thistles. God wants us to abandon our thorns. He bore them for us. We no longer need the harsh protection of them; we have a much greater protection now.
The Future
God calls on us to bear fruit. Thorns and thistles which we allow in our lives inhibit the growth of fruit. “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes or grapes from briers. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart.” (Luke 6:43-45) “Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned.” (Heb. 6:7-8) Let us bear fruit and become fertile land leaving the thorns and thistles behind us.
the.gathering.community 
April 22, 2008 at 4:17 pm
Every thing you need from & more
April 24, 2008 at 1:45 am
Recently I have been studying the concept of opposites. In cases of opposites they usually include two extremes that have a purpose in working together to form a complimentary result. An example would be ‘hot’ and ‘cold’. In their extremes they are harsh and brutal producing damage and destruction. But when they are utilized in compliment to one another they yield a result of ‘warmth’. ‘Wet’ and ‘dry’ is another example. In their extremes they produce flood and famine, but when used in compliment to one another they yield agriculture.
But…there is one set of characteristics that we normally consider opposites that I must question the validity of. It is the concept of ‘good’ and ‘evil’. In their extremes only one is bad and they serve no complimentary purpose on one another. One must then question if they are truly opposites. The concept of opposites is that the two extremes are equal and opposing forces that yield purpose when they come together. To say that evil is an equal and opposing compliment to good is an inaccurate assessment of the concept. If we believe that all that is good is of God and all that is evil is of Satan then to say that evil is an equal and opposing force is to implicate that Satan is some sort of opposing equal to God… and he is not that. Evil does not even come close to manifesting the power of good. They are not equal in any sense of the word. In light of that I must ask… what is the concept of ‘good’ and ‘evil’ all about then since they do not follow any of the rules of opposites. Thoughts… ideas?
April 24, 2008 at 1:30 pm
love the posting debbie. i was also reading over your notes for last sunday. wow! i am sorry i missed it. i completely agree with your comment here and have had many thoughts on the subject matter myself. all these false concepts of good and evil…and then who, but god, is capable of judging such a thing in the first place? it is a difficult concept to touch on because, inevitably, in doing so, we will be biting on the toes of many people (including ourselves)and little seems worth the leap. but i am definitely going to compile some of my thoughts on this subject and reply a little more in-depth later.
thanks for the posting debbie 😀 — very thought provoking in our journey towards god’s truth
April 24, 2008 at 8:37 pm
a thought…
it has often been said that evil is the absence of good, like dark is the absence of light or cold is the absence of heat. i wonder if that’s accurate…
April 24, 2008 at 10:56 pm
New thoughts for a new day…
Good = pleasant, agreeable, appropriate, to be delightful, joyful, to be pleasing.
Evil = bad, disagreeable, malignant, giving pain, injury, calamity, to break, shatter, to be broken.
So I guess they are opposites but not in the sense of a complete reverse characteristic. In order for evil to exist there must first be good. When good is shattered or broken then we come to the result of evil. It does not work in the reverse however because you do not need to have evil first in order to then have good. Evil is only a result of shattering what is good. Good can come when evil is fixed or restored but the ultimate source was always good.
This thought process came about when I was trying to define the source of evil. We know that for Adam and Eve the source was in the serpent’s presentation of a broken logic to them. But where did it come from before that? In Satan’s fall from grace it was as a result of his pride in something of genuine goodness. He was created beautiful and had extreme talents for glorifying God but he took that good and broke it, wanting instead to be glorified himself. He could not however be the source of evil, since Satan has no creative power and therefore could not create evil. Evil’s ultimate source is good. It is the brokenness and shattering of a pure intent. Therefore, the only way for evil and sin to come about is to distort, break, or shatter something that is originally intended as good. Evil begins with good, but good does not begin with evil (unless you are originated in a sin nature)…aha… the story takes on new shape. We are born broken and shattered because of the “fall”. But we have a means to return to good – Jesus Christ. So our entire existence is based in our pursuit to return to good which was the original source of everything.
(My brain hurts… I think I’m going to go find something less thought provoking to do… like plant flowers.)
These are just my thoughts today… they may be different tomorrow if this logic proves to be “broken”.
April 25, 2008 at 9:22 pm
If evil is not a created thing in itself but is a distortion of good, and if God is wholly good and creates only good things, then what originally triggers the distortion?
A classical theological question, for those so inclined: Is it free-will? Is it God somehow through His sovereignty by the means of secondary causes?
Arminius or Calvin or neither?
Adam and Eve were created good and perfect in a world without sin, yet they still became “bent.” Why?
As far as Satan goes, Scripture is mysteriously obscure. Passages classically attributed to his origin may actually be referring to something else altogether. It seems God, through the giving of Scripture, deems our knowledge of Him and goodness to be the focal point of our studies. Yet we live in a world catastrophically “bent,” and we feel it every day.
So in other words, what is God’s (the original and good source of everything) role in all of this evil?
April 25, 2008 at 10:05 pm
Arminius and Calvin? Did I make a jump to predestination or salvation somehow? That wasn’t my intent. My point is merely that evil cannot first exist without good. Evil to me is simply taking something that is first created by and through good and then twisting it into a misshapen form yielding evil. Evil cannot exist alone. When I sin, I stop and ask myself, what good intent did I distort? I’ll use an example of drinking or drugs. People do those to make themselves feel better. They are harmful to our bodies in excess not to mention the drugs in particular are illegal. But is the original intent wrong? To feel good? No. God tells us He wants us to feel good, but He wants us to do it by and through Him, not through some “less than” substance which will in the long run ruin our minds and bodies. Intent is good… the execution is a distorted solution to what God originally intended for us. That is what I’m getting at. What belongs to God is the original intent of all things for good. What is not of God is the solutions we come up with that exclude God from the equation. The final point being, that the only way to truly reach the original intents of God in good is through God himself.
April 25, 2008 at 10:09 pm
Oops… left out one comment. The distortion occurs when we decide to leave God out of the picture. When we think we can do it without him. God gives us wisdom and knowledge. Adam and Eve had access to that through God but they chose instead to try and attain it through the tree instead of through God. When we strive to reach an initial good without God is when evil enters into our lives.
April 28, 2008 at 3:26 am
i would venture to say that all people in all areas of life do things so that they can feel ‘good.’ it seems to me people have a need to feel ‘good’ because of a separation from god. i wonder if there is a difference between making ourselves feel ‘good’ in any matter or form and god putting that good feeling into us, such as adam and eve in the beginning did not need to seek to feel ‘good,’ but truly felt GOOD in god. it seems all people today are looking for a means in which to feel ‘good;’ some find that feeling in drugs, or in items (including debt or thievery to get them), others in sex (including rape to feel power and superiority), others in work, and even others in god. but if we are only looking to feel ‘good,’ and this is our only intent for all these things, are those who choose god even all that concerned with god himself? choosing god is something i would consider the right/good thing…but it seems to me the intent is wrong/bad here. we can look at a lot of different acts that would not be considered sins, but would be considered good that someone could do…such as volunteering or adopting a child, and so on. some people will do these things to feel better about themselves, to feel ‘good’…or perhaps also superior to others (but this will still end up in them feeling ‘good’). anyway, my point is, i have a hard time seeing any of this as clear-cut…intent, good and evil, right or wrong. acts that can be considered good in one case, can be considered bad in another…intents that can be considered bad in one case can be considered good in another. of course, only god can judge these things…the most clear example of this would be the men in the time of jesus who thought they could judge his acts and intents, and some saw his acts and intents as evil. but, it is also said that we cannot turn a blind eye to evil and we must despise it (so we have to be able to judge evil a little)…my feeling is that this would relate more to if we see one person hurting another we cannot allow this to continue or we are allowing more evil. concerning our own salvation, jesus said those who he did not know he would not speak to his father in heaven, but only those who he does know…he also said that many would cry out his name and proclaim they knew him, but he would say to them, i do not know you. thus it is our closeness to god that truly matters, which will invariably mean closeness to good, as jesus also said, they will know who you are (speaking to his disciples) by your love for your brothers. but it seems to me this is a tricky thing. as many times in trying to become closer to god (through good and god himself), people will separate themselves more from him, as jesus said, ‘for whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.’ matthew 16:25. therefore, even if a person SEEKS to SAVE his life through the lord, will he not still lose it?
it is my understanding that man before the fall did not have to seek any means to feel ‘good’…he just felt good and there was no defining the feeling or understanding it (meaning it could not ever be sought). of course, this comes directly from his relationship with god. then, of course, he lost it when satan convinced him there was a ‘good’ better than what he already, NATURALLY felt, and then he could not get the relationship back. what does that mean for us, and for people today who seek to feel ‘good,’ and even those who seek that relationship again with god? personally, i see the proliferation of evil intents and acts when people seek to feel ‘good.’ as could not we say that satan sought to feel ‘good’ through power when he borne the first sin, pride? does this intent to feel ‘good’ not separate ourselves more from god? –especially when it hurts other people. for it is said, ‘you shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ and because only god can judge the truth of what is good and evil, this must be what humans abide by on earth. and if all people desire to feel good again, then it is my understanding that they must love themselves already, which means if they even showed half of that love they have for themselves to others, the world would be a much better place, and there wouldn’t be the hurt like there is today.
on where evil came from if god did not create it, and its level of greatness compared to good (meaning are they opposites or not)…in the bible there are many passages discussing the idea that a good tree only bears good fruit, and a bad tree, only bad fruit, so if god is good and therefore created all things good, where did evil come from, as the good things he created should have only been able to bear good things and so on and so forth? perhaps, if instead of looking at evil as an entity all in itself, a separate entity from good, we look at is as only a level of separation from god. for when adam and eve ate the apple, they did not commit a sin from our perspective today, or any inherently evil act that we could see (as they did not harm each other or anything like this), but what they did do was separate themselves from god and harm their perfect relationship with him. as god told them not to eat the apple, but they had the free-will to eat the apple. in these terms, they did not, being good trees, bear bad fruit when they ate the apple, but they simply exercised their free-will to separate themselves from god. satan, in my opinion, committed the same act…he exercised his free-will to separate himself from god; as satan did not want to be one of god’s angels in the kingdom of heaven, being connected to god and working with him, but he wanted to be separated from god so that he could become more powerful and rule over him. in this way, he did separate himself from god and from good, leaving only a futile desire to feel ‘good’ (as, like love, it is impossible to define or describe or seek the true feeling of good in god). the further we separate ourselves from god, the more we separate ourselves from good. evil acts, in my opinion, can be judged based upon the hurt placed on the person who had the said act done to them…but was the person who committed that evil act, evil? i don’t believe so. as they are still good and beautiful and holy, created by god, but they are separated from god. just like with adam and eve, god has no role in the free-will he gave creatures (thus the term, free-will)…god had nothing to do with their eating of the apple and separating themselves from him, and he was heartbroken in the act, not because of the act itself, but because of the separation therein. for every tear that men cry on earth, god must cry so many more, knowing the utter magnitude of the separation between us and him. i think he cries for those that are hurt by evil acts, but i think he cries just as much and more for those who are separated from him, therefore committing the evil acts, for it is the evil-doers soul that is hurting, truly, as he can protect the souls of those who are close to him. god cannot play any role in a man’s free-will to separate himself from him, thus separate himself from good (in terms of feeling good and the good acts which he therefore does).
i think when it comes to the devil, he is a separate evil entity, as god took away all chances he had to come back to him and good (like taking away all roots of the good tree he was created from)…this is how separated he became. when it comes to humans though, no human will have his innate goodness and holiness stripped of him until the harvest (revelation). so no human still on earth is a separate evil entity, but simply separated (at different levels) from god and good, and doing acts which may separate him more…acts that can (depending on the person and their perspective) be seen as good or evil or neither, but still, separating from god’s view and truth. but every human still on earth has all the goodness and holiness still in him, making him up, to become close to god and good again…and of course, the love of god. and we need so little else.
so, these are my thoughts:
separation from god means separation from good, thus the idea of evil.
closeness to god means closeness to good and the natural doing of good.
thoughts? ideas?
–also, if this is not completely clear, let me know and i will try to clarify, as i am very tired and not feeling so well right now (so don’t be too harsh!):)