The Bible's "Book of Genesis" was written
around the time of the Babylonian and Egyptian civilizations that ultimately
morphed into the Greco-Roman Empire. It
is this empire that we are continuing to cling to through our American culture.
Unfortunately, the 'Book of Genesis' story of Adam and Eve's fall was taken literally over the years. Adam and Eve have been seen by most of us as "real" people. However, they were not! They were metaphors reflecting the "yin" and "yang" of humanity. Thus they were all of us reading and writing this article. We are Adam and Eve as well as Cain and Abel. We are the story.
The explosive message of Adam and Eve, as well as Cain and Abel, is reflected in the fate of many groups of human beings across the world. For example, when Europeans invaded the Americas, then the story of Cain (the Europeans) destroying Abel (Native American hunting/gathering cultures) was once again living out the Genesis story.
Thus is the power of myth. It will continue to act itself out until we "get it" and decide to change our myths and our lives by firing corporations while letting go of their top-down power structures. The myth regarding our current top-down power structures is the "fall."
Meanwhile, we continue being murderers of cultures, people and planet. Cain's murderous horror show has reached worldwide power and domination through his manifestation in corporations. In terms of environment, Cain has pretty much destroyed this planet while Abel is close to total extinction. When Exxon wants to "mine" oil shale, whole cultures are obliterated and their land turned into a fiery hell. At best, many of the remnants of Abel are inherent in those living within Native American Reservations and indigenous peoples worldwide.
Please consider visiting the following URL to determine how we, as Cain, have destroyed our world. The readers are the ones to make this stop. Thus is Rob Kall's "Bottom-Up." WE are responsible. http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/biodiversity/elements_of_biodiversity/extinction_crisis/
Thus is the mentality inherent in this current Dark Age, also known as the Kali Yuga. Prior to the Kali Yuga, people were more apt to think in metaphor and understood metaphor as reality. Epistemologist Gregory Bateson refers to metaphor as a language that connects. Our "fall" is inherited in the ignorance we have regarding the relational whole. https://interculturalstudies.orgBateson/biography
Purportedly, the Kali Yuga (Dark Age) is currently diminishing in power, thus many believe we are going into a "New Age." Yes, according to Hindu and other spiritual teachings, we have been in a Dark Age and are moving out of it. I'm not sure, but I do think that perhaps we could be moving towards a more just, sustainable and equitable story leading to the same in lifestyles.
So far, I don't see it. Indeed, I see an increase in our socio-pathology and lack of questioning what we have accepted as reality. One of these questions we need to confront is Eve's "Fall", which is not just women, but working classes and slaves.
The story of Adam and Eve and their sons, Cain (agriculturalist) who slew Abel (hunting / gathering tribes) metaphorically speaks to the movement from hunting/gathering cultures into agriculture (owning and hording) and ultimately civilization. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunter-gatherer I should also mention that the ancient hunting / gathering cultures were the original leisure societies who worked on average 4.5 hours per day getting food and tending to the households.
The story of Adam and Eve is written in mythical language and is not literal. In real time, the story of Adam and Eve was written towards the end of hunting/gathering cultures with their nomadic herdsmen, and it continues to manifest in our lives to this day. What occurred was a move towards agriculture and a "laying claim" to the land.
This fulfills the line of God who says to us humans as a curse, "ye shall labor on this land, and your labor shall be in horrid pain." We did it to ourselves. We are the ones that have cursed us. We allowed this mess.
For example, how many hours do a lot of hunting / gathering cultures work each day. The statistic that has been reported is 4.5. And how many hours do we work for "our living?" 8 hours plus? No God or Goddess did this to us. We did it to ourselves by becoming alienated from who we are, our Nature, our Self.
Due to our alienation and our desire to conquer, Cain's sociopathic behavior continues. His sociopathic murder of Abel is continuing to live itself out in this present genocide while we sit with our thumbs in our ears, making us deaf, dumb and blind to what's going on.
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