mewg
Acolyte
Posts: 27
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Post by mewg on Mar 23, 2010 13:50:32 GMT -5
Many times a week I get an email about some animal which has behaved in a manner not common to the species, A polar bear has approached huskies to get and give a hug. a tiger has "adopted" an infant from another species, a chimp has pined for a goat which has been moved, a racehorse has to be stabled with a certain dog in order to be calm--the list goes on --you get the idea. It seems that there is a hunan longing for a natural world which is not "red in tooth and claw" Why do we have such a deep emotional response to these tales? Why do we want to believe them even tho we suspect not all are true.? Do we have a racial memory of Eden(the original creation which God called"good") in our DNA? A'memory' which makes us yearn for Isaiah's prophecy to come to fruition?
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Post by Sojourner on Mar 27, 2010 15:27:11 GMT -5
Most of us seem to exhibit "instincts." Fight or flight seems to be a generally shared instinct, suggesting that for most humans, there is an urge to maintain existence. In fact, most of us get hungry, have sexual urges and share with most primates a desire to protect offspring. Again, these instincts suggest a biological root that affirms life. If one adds in a "power of reason" in humanity, it would make sense that maintaining life would be easier if we did not exist in a world "red in tooth and claw." I am suggesting that there are several hypotheses concerning the desire for the Peaceable Kingdom, not all of which are terribly metaphysical.
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Post by Uriel on Apr 3, 2010 8:39:13 GMT -5
I can't imagine what a "racial memory of Eden" would be. Cellular life comes out of the ooze, and pretty soon various forms are eating other forms. Nature was red in tooth, etc., long before mankind appeared.
I tend to think of the Eden myth as a depiction of our individual experience of life - from the innocence of childhood to the pain of experience and responsibility. And I don't think God is against our moving toward experience, responsibility and wisdom. Admittedly, we screw it up a lot, but our trajectory is in the direction of evolution.
What we have as individuals is a memory of our own innocence.
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