The Snake Represents Creation And Free Will

God Is Light And Evil Is Light Dimmed-So With Free Will Comes A Higher State Of Consciousness-And Evil

Kabbalah Conversation Concluded

“You might have to refresh my memory,” I said. “Aside from Adam’s rib—Eve, and sinfully eating the apple, I don’t remember much about the creation story.”

“No problem,” Michelle replied. “The Genesis story had Adam and Eve being the first humans, and Adam was more or less seduced by Eve into eating the forbidden fruit. But Eve wasn’t totally to blame because the wily serpent told her to do it. She was told that she and Adam would win the knowledge of good and evil upon eating the fruit, and become like gods. Some say the snake was actually Satan in disguise, and, as far as Eve was concerned, the snake probably was the devil because women have lived in hell ever since, but that’s a story for another time. Anyway, according to plan, she ate from the tree of knowledge and then got Adam to do the same. Because they actively disobeyed God, both were thrown out of paradise, and so began the dismal history of human suffering. However, the Kabbalah tells a different story.”

“Don’t tell me, I bet the characters are the same,” I said, “but they mean something different.”

“How did you know?” replied Michelle.

“It just makes sense,” I said. “The Bible is more than a history book. It’s too important for that, but I don’t think anybody knows its real meaning.”

“Now you sound like Robert,” Michelle responded. “According to Kabbalah, the creation story is not about Adam and Eve; it’s about the creation of the image of God—the birth of free will. Adam and Eve represent the principal of duality—the principle of opposing opposites, while the serpent represents the principle of division. In the Bible, the Garden of Eden is described as a true paradise. Before the apple was eaten, there were no negatives, no separation, and no sense of identity. Everything was different from the way that we see things now. Adam and Eve did not know they were naked. They did not know right from wrong. They did not know suffering. Then, with the apple, they were offered a sense of separateness, identity, and individuality. Not eating the forbidden fruit meant living in a perfect, preconditioned world, but one without depth and the potential for creativity. The ‘gift’ of discriminating thought, however, brought with it ‘free will’ and punishment. Confronting and disobeying God is where freewill and creativity began, as well as the vital, but imperfect, world of the human being.”

“So the serpent represents creation and free will?” I replied.

“According to this interpretation, yes,” responded Michelle. “I found this story shocking. After all, how often does the devil get redeemed in a religion? Martin says that without the energizing of creation, without the serpent, we would never have an opportunity to know God. We would never have an opportunity to walk the path that, ultimately, takes us straight into the heart of a loving, compassionate God—our Divine source.”

“That sure is an interesting take on the creation story,” I replied. “But what about evil; is it just an outcome of free will?”

“I don’t think anybody, or any religion for that matter, has a good answer for that one,” Michelle said, “but, according to Martin, free will births the potential for a new awareness, one that mirrors the divine in all of us, and evil is related to that awareness. God is light, and evil is that light dimmed. Evil represents the darkening shadows that hide and distort light. In other words, God is veiled and those veils, depending on context, are perceived as good or evil. Evil is here to stay; that is the down side. The up side is that light illuminates darkness, illuminates the path that takes us to the source of all light.”

“So, with free will comes a higher state of consciousness—and evil,” I said. “Is that what I’m hearing?”

“That’s what Martin would say,” replied Michelle. “In the creation story, God cursed the serpent, but Martin says that the meaning of that curse is the subject of great debate. The words head and heel are code words in the Kabbalah. They signify the different epochs unfolding in the process of creation. The head represents the earliest part of an era, while the heel represents the end of an era. According to Martin, God’s curse represents the changing of eras. The serpent biting its own heel indicates a future era wherein messianic consciousness arises. Rather than a cursed serpent, according to that interpretation, the serpent represents the coming of a new ‘God consciousness,’ whatever that means. Apparently, at the very least, the serpent represents more than just an ‘evil thing!”

“You can say that again,” I replied.