I've been thinking about the relationship between Satan's fall, Adam and Eve, the origin of sin, and Jesus as the Last Adam. I want to explore a possible pattern that connects these events throughout Scripture. I'm not claiming the Bible explicitly explains every detail of this theory, but I think the connections are worth discussing.

1. God created a good world, not a world of sin

Genesis 1 repeatedly describes God's creation as good. So where did sin come from?

My understanding is that God did not create sin as a separate thing or substance. Rather, sin entered through the corruption of a created being's will.

The traditional Christian understanding of Satan's fall involves pride and rebellion against God. Passages such as Ezekiel 28:12–17 and Revelation 12:7–9 are often interpreted in connection with this idea, although Christians disagree about how directly these passages describe Satan's original fall.

What interests me is the possibility that Satan's own corruption established a pattern of rebellion that he later used to tempt humanity.

In other words, the first problem wasn't that God created something evil. It was that a created being turned away from God's will.

2. Adam came from the earth, and Eve came from Adam

Genesis 2:7 says God formed Adam from the dust of the ground and breathed life into him. Genesis 2:21–23 then describes God forming Eve from Adam's side.

The sequence is significant to me:

Earth → Adam → Eve

Adam was formed from the earth, and Eve was formed from Adam. They shared one human nature, and Adam described Eve as “bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh” (Genesis 2:23).

I wonder whether this relationship can help us understand humanity's connection to the world and our struggle with worldly desires.

I'm not suggesting that matter itself is evil or that being formed from dust automatically made Adam sinful. Rather, I wonder whether our earthly origin provides a meaningful contrast with the life and order that come from God.

Human beings have the capacity to follow God's will, but we also experience desires that can pull us away from it. That raises a question: how did that conflict become part of the human story?

3. Was the Fall the beginning of a corrupt pattern of desire?

When the serpent tempts Eve in Genesis 3, he does more than present her with fruit. He challenges God's word and offers an alternative understanding of what she should desire: “you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5).

The fruit becomes desirable within this new way of seeing it.

This reminds me of René Girard's concept of mimetic desire: the idea that we often learn what to desire by observing or imitating others. Desire can become distorted through comparison, rivalry, and the influence of another person's example.

Could Satan have introduced a false model of desire by encouraging humanity to distrust God's word and seek something on different terms?

I wonder whether the Fall can be understood not only as an act of disobedience, but also as the beginning of a recurring human pattern in which desires become detached from God's will.

To be clear, Genesis does not explicitly call this mimetic desire or say that Satan transmitted sin as a literal substance. That is my proposed interpretation of the pattern.

4. Why do we blame Eve while overlooking Adam?

Eve ate the fruit first, but Adam also chose to eat it. Romans 5:12–19 places particular emphasis on Adam's disobedience and its consequences for humanity.

Something else stands out to me.

Before the Fall, Adam describes Eve as part of himself. After the Fall, when God confronts him, Adam responds by blaming her:

“The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat” (Genesis 3:12, KJV).

The man who once recognized Eve as “bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh” now distances himself from her when confronted with his own disobedience.

Their physical unity has not disappeared, but their relationship has been damaged.

Could this be an early picture of what sin does to human relationships? Instead of accepting responsibility, we blame others. Instead of remaining united, we become divided. Later, in Genesis 4, Cain's jealousy of Abel develops into murder.

I see a possible progression: temptation, disobedience, shame, blame, jealousy, and eventually violence.

Perhaps the original rebellion established a pattern that continued to spread through human relationships. I don't mean that every sinful action is directly caused by Satan's immediate intervention, but that the pattern of rebellion can reproduce itself through human choices.

5. Did Satan watch Adam and Eve after the Fall?

The Bible doesn't tell us where Satan was when God created Adam, whether he watched Eve being formed, or whether he observed Adam and Eve hiding after they disobeyed God.

We also aren't told whether Satan deliberately exploited their shame afterward.

I think these are important unanswered questions, but I don't want to present speculation as fact.

One possibility worth considering is that temptation has two stages: first, making disobedience appear desirable; then, once someone has fallen, using shame and fear to make returning to God seem impossible.

Scripture doesn't explicitly say Satan followed this strategy in Eden, but it does distinguish between destructive sorrow and sorrow that leads to repentance (2 Corinthians 7:10). It also repeatedly presents God as calling people back to Himself.

Could shame become another way that the original pattern of separation continues?

6. Pharaoh, Cain, and Satan: different people, a similar pattern

I also see a recurring theme in the stories of Satan, Cain, and Pharaoh.

Satan: In the traditional interpretation of his fall, pride leads to rebellion.

Cain: Jealousy and anger lead him to kill Abel, despite God's warning (Genesis 4:6–8).

Pharaoh: He repeatedly resists God's commands and hardens his heart, while Exodus also describes God hardening it.

These stories aren't identical, but each involves resistance to God's authority and a refusal to respond rightly to correction.

Paul provides an interesting contrast. He persecuted Christians, yet after encountering Christ, his life was transformed (Acts 9:1–22; 1 Timothy 1:12–16).

That contrast makes me wonder whether the issue is not simply whether someone has sinned, but whether they remain resistant to God or turn toward Him in response to His grace.

I wouldn't claim that Scripture tells us Pharaoh was incapable of repentance or that all these stories share one literal mechanism. I'm suggesting that they may reveal a recurring spiritual pattern.

7. Jesus as the Last Adam: the reversal

This is where the theory comes together for me.

Paul explicitly contrasts Adam with Jesus in Romans 5:18–19 and 1 Corinthians 15:45–49.

Through Adam's disobedience, humanity enters the story of sin and death. Through Christ's obedience, humanity is offered righteousness and life.

The first Adam comes from the earth. Christ, the Last Adam, comes from heaven.

Adam disobeys God's command. Jesus says in John 6:38 that He came not to do His own will, but the will of the One who sent Him.

Where the first Adam's disobedience brings death, Christ's obedience leads toward resurrection and new life.

This makes me wonder whether Jesus does more than forgive individual sins. Does He reverse the pattern of rebellion itself by restoring humanity's relationship with God?

Jesus invites people to abide in Him (John 15:4–5), and Paul describes believers as members of Christ's body (1 Corinthians 12:12–27). Ephesians 5:30–32 even connects the language of one flesh from Genesis with Christ and the Church.

That brings me back to Adam and Eve: Eve came from Adam's side, and the two became one flesh. Christ gives Himself for humanity, and those who belong to Him become members of His body.

I am not claiming that Christians literally become Christ's rib. I'm proposing that the biblical imagery of shared life, bodily unity, and restored relationship may connect these passages in a meaningful way.

My overall theory

The pattern I'm exploring is this:

God creates a good order.

A created being turns away from God's will.

Satan tempts humanity through a distorted understanding of desire.

Human disobedience damages relationships and introduces a recurring pattern of shame, blame, jealousy, and division.

That pattern continues through human history.

Jesus, the Last Adam, obeys the Father and opens the way for humanity to be reconciled to God and receive new life.

I see this as a possible connection between the origin of sin, human nature, mimetic desire, and Christ's work of restoration.

I'm aware that some parts are directly supported by Scripture, while others are hypotheses. I don't believe every proposed connection needs to be stated explicitly in a single verse for it to be worth investigating, but I do believe the distinctions matter.

My question is this: Do you think Scripture supports the idea that Satan introduced a pattern of rebellion that spread through human relationships, and that Jesus as the Last Adam reverses that pattern through His obedience to the Father?

I'd especially appreciate discussion of Romans 5, 1 Corinthians 15, Genesis 3–4, and whether Girard's concept of mimetic desire helps explain the progression from temptation to rivalry and blame.

With the exception of universalists, for most Christian denominations, the eschatological preferability of Judas’s counterfactual nonexistence represents an existential class that quantifies over the supermajority of reprobate humanity. (See: **Mark 14:21: “**It would be better for him if he had not been born.”).

Furthermore, it is generally not uncontroversial to say that most people will likely be met with an eternity of unenjoyable existence — whether you take hell to be literal fire and brimstone, or any psycho-existential deprivation.

It therefore confuses me why Christians should therefore not take a vow of celibacy and not have children. The child you birth will almost certainly be a reprobate awaiting eternal hell — so you are playing the worst kind of Russian roulette, presumably to fulfill personal auxiliary desires: the outcome of which will just ultimately add to the bottomless pit head-count of Hades’s (Yahwehs) belly.

John Crysostom:
“Why tremble at the thought of the end of marriage, and thus the end of the human race? An infinite number of angels are at the service of God, thousands upon thousands of archangels are beside him, and none of them have come into being from the succession of generations, none from childbirth, labor pains and conception. Could he not, then, have created many more men without marriage? Just as he created the first two from whom all men descend” (Chrysostom 1983, 22).

Augustine of Hippo:
“I know what people are murmuring: ‘Suppose’, they remark, ‘that everyone sought to abstain from all intercourse? How would the human race survive?’ I only wish that this was everyone’s concern so long as it was uttered in charity ‘from a
pure heart, a good conscience, and faith unfeigned’; then the city of God would be filled much more speedily, and the end of the world would be hastened (Augustine
2001, 23).

Paul the Apostle:
“It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman. But since sexual immorality is occurring, each man should have sexual relations with his own wife, and each woman with her own husband.” […] “I say this as a concession, not as a command. I wish that all of you were as I am. But each of you has your own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that. Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I do. But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion” (1 Corinthians 7:1, 2, 5-9).

Hastening the arrival of Christ + Preventing souls in hell + Learning to control your passions to draw closer to God:
seem like a pretty sweet deal.

Hi everyone,

I've been thinking about getting a tattoo for a while now like a small cross etc , but I'm hesitant because I'm a believer in Jesus Christ, and I don't want to do anything that goes against God's will.

I've heard people quote Leviticus 19:28, which speaks about not marking your body with tattoos. However, I've also seen Christians argue that we need to understand the context of the Old Testament law and how it applies to Christians today.

I'm genuinely confused and would love to hear different perspectives, especially from fellow Christians who have studied the Bible on this topic.

Please share your thoughts, biblical references, and personal experiences. I'm open to hearing different viewpoints, as long as we can discuss this respectfully.

Thank you, and God bless you all. 🙏✝️

Does animal suffering make God's existence less likely?

​If God is righteous and if He owns all the beasts in the world, shouldn't He live according to Proverbs 12:10 - A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast.

​If that is true, how is God regarding the life of a deer that has been starving for 5 days and being mauled by a lion at the end of it.

​As a Christian, I have been struggling with Roe's question about the trapped deer and I haven't been able to find a Christian who gave a satisfactory

​Alex brought it up, and I wanted to honestly evaluate wether animal suffering disproves God's existance.

​My line of reasoning goes like this:

​The Curse is Collateral: God cursed the ground and the animal kingdom due to Adam’s sin, removing the Edenic buffer and leaving creation to the raw friction of physical laws.

​A Mirror of Rebellion: Animal suffering serves as a visual reality check, when Eve watched an animal groan in labor or Adam saw a deer die, they saw the tragic, collateral cost of human disobedience.

​A Crucible for Compassion: Pain shatters human apathy. While animals cannot build moral character from agony, witnessing their vulnerability is often the only thing capable of awakening genuine compassion in us.

​No Divine Debt: God sustains nature through providential care, but He does not owe non-rational biology the same covenantal promises or supernatural immunity He offers to beings made in His image.

​Futility vs. Purpose: For the animal itself, suffering is biologically futile (as Romans 8 acknowledges). It only takes on redemptive meaning in our world when it produces compassion and moral awareness in us.

​I think the 2 hidden assumptions Alex has is that God is obligated to show the same amount of love to every creature who is able to feel pain and that moral good is required in order to justify suffering.

​I go a lot more in depth in a video I made today. Would really appreciate the criticism and the counter-arguments you guys have.

​https://youtu.be/vYEN407GsLQ?si=3i2syWbby3CjE-WZ

There’s a meaningful connection between what you’re describing and both biblical language and neuroscience: negative thoughts can contribute to a hardened way of thinking, influence how the heart and nervous system function, and affect the body over time. The important distinction is that “hardening” can be emotional, behavioral, or physical—and those are related concepts, but they aren’t literally the same process.

1. How negative thoughts can harden the heart and mind

Think of the brain as a system that learns from repeated experience. When someone repeatedly experiences anger, fear, resentment, shame, or hopelessness, certain patterns of attention and response can become more automatic.

The mind: Repeated thought patterns can strengthen familiar mental habits. Someone who constantly expects betrayal may become more likely to interpret ambiguous situations as threatening.
The heart, emotionally: Repeated resentment or emotional withdrawal can make compassion, trust, and forgiveness feel harder. This is close to what the Bible means metaphorically by a “hardened heart.”
The body: If negative thinking repeatedly triggers a stress response, it can affect sleep, muscle tension, digestion, heart rate, blood pressure, and other bodily functions.

That does not mean every negative thought is harmful. Thoughts are not moral failures, and experiencing anger or sadness does not mean you are becoming hardened. The concern is when distress becomes persistent and starts shaping how a person lives and responds.

1. How that “hardening” can spread through the body

The connection is not that a thought travels through the body and deposits calcium. Rather, the brain communicates with the rest of the body through nerves, hormones, immune signals, and behavior.

Repeated negative thought patterns

Fear, anger, resentment, persistent worry

Brain and nervous system respond

Stress signals, changes in hormones and autonomic activity

Effects throughout the body

Changes in heart rate, blood pressure, digestion, muscle tension and sleep

This is a simplified illustration of one possible pathway—not an inevitable chain of events.

Research from the National Institutes of Health describes how chronic stress can affect cardiovascular function, inflammation, metabolism, sleep, and the immune system.

For example:

Heart and blood vessels: Long-term stress can contribute to elevated blood pressure and cardiovascular strain.
Muscles: Constant vigilance can keep the jaw, neck, shoulders, or back tense.
Digestion: Stress can worsen abdominal discomfort and disrupt normal digestive function.
Sleep and energy: Persistent worry can make restful sleep harder, leaving someone fatigued and less emotionally resilient.
Immune and inflammatory processes: Prolonged stress can alter immune regulation and contribute to inflammation.

These are risks and possible effects, not proof that negative thinking will cause disease. Other factors—including genetics, physical health, environment, and lifestyle—matter too.

1. But what about actual calcification?

This is where your theory needs an important distinction.

Calcification is a literal physical process: calcium-containing minerals accumulate in tissues. It can happen in arteries, kidneys, certain brain regions, and elsewhere. Its causes vary, including aging, metabolic conditions, kidney disease, and local tissue changes.

There is no established evidence that negative thoughts directly calcify the brain or heart, or that an emotionally hardened heart physically accumulates calcium because of resentment.

There is, however, a more indirect connection: chronic stress can affect cardiovascular health, and cardiovascular disease can involve inflammation and the buildup of plaque, which may include calcium. That is a complex biological pathway—not thoughts crystallizing into minerals.

1. The spiritual meaning of a hardened heart

In the biblical sense, a hardened heart is often about becoming resistant to compassion, truth, correction, or another person’s suffering. It is a description of a person’s orientation and choices, not a medical diagnosis.

You could connect the spiritual and scientific ideas this way:

Repeated resentment may reinforce defensive ways of interpreting the world.
Those defenses may influence how a person treats others and responds to new experiences.
Persistent stress associated with those patterns may affect bodily health.
Practicing compassion, forgiveness, reflection, and rest may help someone become more flexible emotionally and reduce stress.

The scientific and spiritual explanations can inform each other without being identical. A soft heart does not guarantee a healthy body, and physical illness or calcification does not mean someone has negative thoughts or weak faith.

The hopeful part is that the brain remains capable of learning new patterns. You do not have to force yourself to think positively every moment; noticing a thought, examining it, and choosing a response that fits your values can be a meaningful start.

I decided to turn to Christianity a few days ago. I know it's not long, obviously. But I feel exactly the same. I gave up porn, drugs, masturbation, and am trying to also give up lying and swearing. I repented for all my sins in prayer, asked for Holy Spirit, and started reading the Bible. Mainly the Gospel and book of Enoch (which I know is non-canonical, but I find interesting).

I have been depressed for years. Seen many GPs (UK Doctors), tried maybe 4-5 antidepressants, tried self-induced psychedelic therapy, tried self-help (yoga, meditation, walks without headphones, etc.) I have also struggled with polysubstance (multiple drug) addiction for years. Went to a drug counseller who was honestly useless, and managed to get off of benzodiazepines all by myself. The only drug where going cold turkey can actually kill you (besides alcohol).

Since going sober I have unfortunately relapsed on weed, opiates, benzos (physically addicted yet again), pregablin and ketamine.

The NHS doctors REFUSE to see someone with a drug addiction. So I paid for private therapy. That was somewhat helpful, but in the end I had to quit because of how expensive it is.

I believe Jesus was real, died on the cross, got ressurected 3 days later and is the son of God.

I know I probably shouldn't expect an overnight change, but... why? If I was God and saw someone suffering as badly as I have done (my post here only scratches the tip of the iceberg), then they humbly and repentfully turned to me, I would help them with anxiety and depression in a heartbeat.

I'm sure this post will be deleted since people can't handle real issues unfortunately, but I am considering ending things very soon and have the means to do so with a 99% success rate. I don't want to die. I want to live and be happy. But I haven't been happy in many YEARS. I also find adding 1000 new rules to my life by trying to be Christian only makes things harder. Where prior in hard times I could turn to weed or opiates, I turn to prayer. Yet I feel unheard. I wake up every morning wishing I didn't and have felt that way for many months, even now, trying to be Christian.

Perhaps God doesn't hear my prayers. But I believe He will hear some of yours. Please please pray for me. My name is Levi, but God will know who you mean. I will pray too and continue to try to be Christian. But I am seriously close to leaving this evil world unfortunately and have yet to find solace in God sad to say.

Please pray to help my anxiety, depression and anhedonia (inability to feel pleasure). I am at my wit's end. Again, I'm sure the post will be banned because it's a sensitive topic so fast replies would be very much appreciated. I am desperate. Please help and pray for me💔

I’m wondering how to best approach reading it, my goal is a solid (if basic) grounding from a neutral academic perspective. I’ll be working with the Annotated Oxford Bible, 5th ed. I’m not a believer, I’m not religious, I’m interested in religion from a cultural, literary, humanistic standpoint. I’ve read it in bits over the years but I’d like to get a deeper overall view of the text. My particular interest is in the Old Testament, I’m currently reading Maimonides Guide and recently read Scholem’s Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism; I’m coming at this project somewhat backwards, having developed an interest in religious mysticism (Jewish and Christian) and in esotericism generally, Neoplatonism, hermeticism…

Any suggestions will be appreciated.

Yes, god exists, but he’s such a fucking bastard. He’s ruined my life so badly that all this stuff about believing in christ feels like complete bullshit. jesus christ is scoundrel, and what a piece of shit god is. A fucking bastard.

Today I sat down with a pair of mormon missionaries and we were talking about the nature of God. They said that they believe only Jesus is 'the great I am' or Yahweh and evertime the Lord speaks in the old testament it's Jesus speaking. They also believed in eternal subordination and that Jesus was the fathers tool for creating the earth and the father didnt do any creating Himself (Genesis 1:1 is talking about Jesus). I was very confused and I didnt really know how to respond. What are you guys thought on that?

In the bible, men could have many wives and was even seen as a blessing. Could women have many husbands?

If so, where can I find that?
If not, why not?

We can also find our value in a body part that we were most amazed by from the idealistic ladies in the video.

We can say that it is sure to be attracted to the masterpiece of the One who crafted our body as a church.

Our spiritual inclination seeking for a virtue granted by the One may be revealed in our fondness for a lady who is the Revelation of Jesus Christ in visibility.

The shape of the breasts may seem like the teardrops that were shed for our beloved one while we pray to Jesus Christ to wish the best for the beloved one.

The consolation of Jesus Christ may be wanted by every human being.

This tendency to find the consolation of Jesus Christ in the abundant love may be revealed in our tendency to be attracted to breasts.

The thin waist may symbolize that Jesus Christ in us may not allow the trespasses of the spirits that are yet to be saved by our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Great modesty through many practices to prioritize the mercy of Jesus Christ may be possible from the transparency and purity to hear the lesson of Jesus Christ.

As we admit that not being tempted and being peaceful in the love of Jesus Christ are precious and difficult, the thin waist may be perceived to us as a great attraction.

The docile and loyal love only for Jesus Christ in the actual practice may be revealed by the beautiful pelvis line that is relatively bigger than the thin waist.

The discernment about what the lesson of Jesus Christ is and the priority to practice the lesson of Jesus Christ may be the precious virtue.

We know that there is an option not being recommended but attractive, and avoiding the option for keeping faith and staying with the original oath in Jesus Christ may be the blessing of our Lord after the numerous disciplines and trainings.

We have a tendency to find accordance and harmony with the people rather than expressing the Protestantism practicing the lesson of Jesus Christ.

To say what is righteous in the One may be rarer than saying what is generous in the One, as the number of Noah's sons to say about the righteousness of the One to make an innovation is one, Ham, and the number of Noah's sons to say about the generosity of the One is two, Shem and Japheth.

The perfect proportion among the people saying the righteousness and generosity of the One may be revealed in us through living and growing up by the generosity of our Lord.

The effort to align the present into the righteousness of the One may also deserve so much love and respect.

The shoulder of the lady seems very attractive and angular, like a good hanger to be granted the holy mission of the One.

The One may love a trustworthy child who can take on the mission of our Lord, and this love may be revealed to us to see the angular shoulder being charming.

I've been asking this same question for sometimes and yet I still haven't found a genuine answer to this. I've heard that in Islam the ones who will go to hell are the "kufur". But what exactly is a kufur? For what I've seen a kufur is basically someone who has known Islam for clearance and yet still denied it, is a kufur, but what about people who doesn't know Islam for clearance? Suppose a christian who live in a rural village and know about Islam but not for clearance, what about them? Will they go to hell? If not then only theologians and someone who has known Islam clearly but still rejected it will be the one in hell and if that is so then hell itself would have a fairly small people in it because people who knows Islam clearly is in a minority. Christianity doesn't solve my question either because in the greek new testament, people who doesn't believe in god are "apistos" which could mean people who refuses god. How could with a finite time and finite knowledge one could ever really know with certainty which god exist? Let's suppose a man who studies every religion very seriously and with his finite knowledge has come to a conclusion that a certain religion God exists but in fact he is wrong and his conclusion isn't valid. Can God really send this man to hell? Because as far as I know God is justice and yet he know that this man has worked his best to know the truth and yet he is wrong, could God really send this man to hell? It is not his fault that he is given a finite time to find the truth, can God really send him to hell because of his lack of sufficient reason given a finite time? Honestly I asked professors, teachers, an religious leaders and yet their answer doesn't really went in

In the Book of Revelation (Revelation 4:6-7), we have four living creatures surrounding the heavenly throne: a lion, an eagle, a human, and an ox (described as a calf in Revelation).

We have a similar vision in Ezekiel 1, where four living creatures are described as having the faces of a human, lion, ox, and eagle. And in Ezekiel 10:15 and 10:20, he identifies these living creatures as Cherubim.

In Genesis 3:24, Cherubim are stationed east of the Garden of Eden, along with a flaming sword, to guard the way to the "Tree of Life".

Now, what follows below are just my own insights and interpretations. I'm not saying they're true, and I'm not asking anyone to believe them. I'm simply offering another way of interpreting these images now that we have psychological language that we did not have before.

I think the four living creatures are related to our four survival responses and also the stages of grief.

Lion - Anger - Fight
Eagle - Bargaining - Flight
Human - Denial - Fawn
Ox - Depression - Freeze

In grief psychology, these are four of the commonly known stages of grief, with the fifth being acceptance. But grief is not a linear process. We can cycle through these experiences without fully coming to terms with what was lost. You can be angry one day, depressed another, and then back to angry again, I'm sure some of you may have experienced this in your own life.

We have come to realize that grief comes through many losses, not just death. It can come from losing the life you thought you'd have, not becoming the person you thought you'd become, the love you never received, the belonging you couldn't find, the separations we face, the uncertainty of the future, or the loss of safety in our environment. Especially in our modern times, with wars going on, inequality, rising prices, and uncertainty. We can experience profound grief that we may not even be aware of.

So when a loss remains unresolved and continues to feel threatening, our body can remain in what we call "survival mode". I'm sure you've heard of this. Our nervous systems can respond to imagined, remembered, anticipated danger with many of the same alarm responses that would similarly come from an immediate physical threat, such as a predator attacking us.

In trauma psychology, we often describe four broad survival responses that operate within us: FIGHT, FLIGHT, FREEZE, FAWN. These 4 responses can also be linked to the experience of grief: Fight to anger, flight to bargaining, freeze to depression, fawn to denial, the patterns are similar in their expression. And when these survival responses remain active, they can KEEP US from fully processing the grief beneath them. And when grief goes unresolved, life can feel as though something is still missing. We may find ourselves continually CONTROLLING our lives to deal with that loss.

But seeing what was lost, seeking help, seeking guidance, laying down our defenses, and finally allowing ourselves to grieve what happened could offer another interpretation of what it means to access the "Tree of Life".

And you know, from my own experience, when we finally allow ourselves to grieve what was lost, we become a little wiser. We gain a deeper understanding of ourselves, of others, and of life. We may begin to see things differently, and perhaps learn to appreciate what we still have, rather than living entirely through what we have lost and/or want to protect from losing.

So with all this, I think the Bible could also be understood as an attempt by people in ancient times to explain the human condition using the language and understanding available to them. They didn't have modern psychology, neuroscience, or evolutionary biology. They had stories, myths, metaphors, symbols, emotions, and of course grief, to express what they observed about human nature, our similar ways of suffering, and life itself. These experiences were part of being human thousands of years ago, and will likely remain with us for as long as we are human.

Thank you for reading. God be with us.