From: utzoo!decvax!microsof!uw-beave!uw-june!palmer
Newsgroups: net.religion
Title: Paradise was Hell
Article-I.D.: uw-june.374
Posted: Mon Apr 11 08:27:16 1983
Received: Wed Apr 13 01:39:11 1983

    There has been a lot of talk on this net about "man's fallen
nature."  This all centers on the fact that man, woman, and snake
decided that the pursuit of wisdom was more important than the mindless
following of rules.

    Before the "fall", man spent his days doing nothing, all of his
needs were taken care of, and he was immortal.  He created nothing
(God had a monopoly on that), and he left no mark down through time.
So empty was this period, that the Bible doesn't even mention how long
it was, or what they did during this time.

    Then the snake came, and showed man a way out of his stagnation.
As a result, God got angry and turned them out of the garden, which, to
my mind, was the best thing he ever did.

    If a person does nothing, and leaves no mark, can he ever really be
said to have existed?

    Life today may not be paradise, but at least its something.

                    With thanks to the snake,
                    David Palmer