Why I Believe The Genesis Account of the First Humans
Look at the hand in the picture above — that’s the hand of my little foster granddaughter. She’s reaching out to touch something that is dangerous and could kill her, or seriously injure her. I, the authority figure, am warning her not to touch it, explaining to her the dangers, and reminding her she’s been told before the same, even though I know she can’t quite grasp it all at this point in her understanding. And what does she decide to do? You know the answer…you recognize the scenario as I do.
The house she is in is a lovely house with lots of ‘child-safety features, and she spend many hours every day in a special playroom prepared beforehand just for her. Her play room was beautifully setup ahead of her arrival by Mommy and Daddy, and filled with a variety of toys and things to play with. There are comfy sofa couches where I can sit comfortably and have her on my lap for story-time, and a scad of books on some shelves. There is padded floor (deep rug) for softening falls; stuffies and toys of many types for play; a myriad of noisy playthings that bring a happy reaction every time (the more noise, the better)…All great stuff for a toddler with a 4-second attention span.
This room is great, basically free from danger — although there are few sharp objects, like the bookshelves or a nightstand, all arranged in such a way as to be very difficult for her to hurt herself. Lamps and lights are absent from lower levels, with only one hanging from the ceiling well out of reach.
In this ideal setup there is literally only ONE source of danger in the room: the electric sockets in the walls, which are all covered up with ‘child-safe’ socket covers. They can be removed anytime if needed, but most of the time are safely plugged up, to remove all danger from little ones.
So WHERE does granddaughter want to go when Grandpa is not looking? WHAT does she want to touch? WHICH ITEM in the room breaks her 4 second attention span of interest, stops her motion and silences her sounds for an extended period of time? You guessed it, that light socket.
I had put on a children’s educational video for her to catch glimpses of (in 4 second spurts), and had gotten caught up in the action of it, when I realized that she’s not in sight — it’s not easy to disappear or hide in a room 15ft x 10ft — but I realized she’s out of sight, and veeeerrrry quiet.
I get up from my couch and look behind it, and there she is, sitting on the floor behind the chair, playing with the light socket. She had removed one of the plastic covers, had it in her mouth, and was deciding on her next move when I saw there.
The voice of authority boomed out it’s warning: “That’s dangerous, sweetie, you could HURT yourself. Don’t touch…Give it to Grandpa…” who takes it and immediately puts it back into the socket.
Back to my chair, back to her roaming the room, grabbing and bringing to me this and that which we share together … After a few moments, when she’s not bringing me stuff anymore, and I’m caught up in the educational video once more (always learning even at 66), I notice the room is quiet and she’s disappeared again — and of course we all know where she was to be found: back at that socket, the ‘forbidden’ item of interest. Again the voice of authority warning of the danger, and again back to other things to distract her from that socket…I put some furniture and cushions in the way, knowing that will work only temporarily, and that I have to keep a closer eye on her.
She of course doesn’t understand it all, she’s just fascinated by the thing she has been warned is dangerous, and that she shouldn’t touch it…
In my mind’s eye I see the first 2 humans, many years previously, in their perfectly prepared playroom/work area where they are moving about, having been given EVERYTHING they need to be happy, busy and comfortable, in a PERFECT WORLD — yet always present in one part of their space is something they are repeatedly drawn to, something they are attracted to, and the one thing they aren’t supposed to touch. I have a strong feeling from my experience with granddaughter that perhaps that warning was given more than the one time that it’s recorded in the Bible. Perhaps they would drift over to that tree on occasion when work and play were done, pulled to the one thing they could not have, until they one day got to the point of risking everything to ‘touch’ it, to put in in their mouths? They had been warned by a loving voice of authority, but they went ahead anyway.
Anybody that has kids has surely seen that scenario play out time and time again over the years. Any judge or jury has probably heard or seen it as well, as cases of wrong-doing come before them & the motives of ‘why’ are examined. Any doctor, psychologist or case worker can recognize it in the lives of addicts who just cannot say NO to substances that are guaranteed to snuff out their lives sooner or later…
It’s a familiar story, and in spite of the debated amount of years that have passed, there has been literally NO CHANGE in the details since this first recorded case: There in a prepared space void of inherent danger, with guidelines set up to follow & dangers explained ahead of time, with a warning to not touch; followed at some point by a willful decision to ‘do what I want’ in spite of every effort to protect the human from his own destruction or hurt. I’ve seen it in each of my children from tiny toddler until today, with them (and I) still facing daily decisions to do what’s right and safe, or to do what’s wrong, harmful and destructive.
So we really can’t even blame the first two humans and their bad decision for the state of our world and for bringing all the bad upon us — we each stand in front of that same tree on a regular basis, or that same electric plug socket, hearing the authoritative voice of warning trying to explain and reason with us about the consequences … And we still go and touch the forbidden thing, yielding to that strong human will which desires to do what it wants in spite of any pre-explained danger.
That’s why I believe the story laid out in Genesis 1–3 — it’s so accurate even in it’s simplicity, written down by someone music earlier in history, well before our modern age, yet which perfectly explains human nature and so much of what’s happening today, and what has gone wrong throughout history. It explains what went wrong in our originally perfect world, what broke it and continues fighting against our world’s prospering … It also clearly illuminates what area of our humanity we each need to work on to fix it.
I see that same story playing out in the news, the internet, on the streets, and in my granddaughters play room. THAT’S WHY I BELIEVE IT.
