Theological Anthropology
The Story of Humanity
Genesis 1-3
What if nothing has to die for us to live?
How might the early humans have experienced God, stress, and trust?
How does the suggestion of a lie impact our nervous system?
Tree and Serpent; St. Luke’s UMC, Jackson, MS
original photo by Ricky James, used with permission
What do we imagine…
the early humans in the story of Eden experienced in the garden? We are told they had plenty of food in the form of plants—we can imagine nuts, berries, stone fruits, avocado, beans, seeds, leafy greens, olives, grains, tubers, and roots. What might have been the impact of this plentifulness on their nervous system?
“Out of the ground the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food,
the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” (Gen 2:9)
Can we imagine a world where no creature has to die for another to live? What if it was possible for human beings to feed themselves off the sustainable parts of plants, without the plants themselves even having to die? Can we imagine the early humans feasting on the fruit, leaves, and tubers of plants, while leaving the overall root system alive?
“And the man and his wife were both naked, and were not ashamed.” (Gen 2:25)
We’re also told the couple felt no shame, no need to over-consume from the natural world in order to clothe themselves or make for themselves objects of possession.
When I think about that, I’m reminded that—when our stress is “just right”—we tend to perceive our true needs more accurately. What do human beings really need in order to experience life, relationality, kindness, creativity, and joy? We need access to enough food that we are not worried. We need the company of relational, kind people nearby. We need time and freedom to express ourselves creatively. These essential elements tend to create the conditions in which we experience joy, even in the midst of unavoidable stress, time, and environmental challenges.
If we were living in the wild, what would we need in order to feel safe-enough to experience life, relationality, kindness, creativity, and joy? When I considered this, I wondered if the early humans trusted God, and trusted there was “plenty to go around.” Neurobiologically, that trust may have helped to regulate their stress level so that they reflected God’s image as closely as humanly possible.
“Now the serpent waws more crafty than any other
wild animal that the Lord God had made.
He said to the woman, “Did God say,
‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden?’” (Gen 3)
We are told the serpent introduces the suggestion of a lie. God had cautioned the early humans about the danger—stress, death—of having their trust in God disrupted through knowledge of the possibility of evil, which we may understand as “distortion of reality”. And the serpent’s very first words strike a false note; the serpent is distorting God’s word.
From there, the serpent suggests, “God is lying to you; you do not actually have everything you need… God is withholding from you something that would otherwise be good for you.”
We may understand this distorted word—Word—to be the first time trust is misplaced. And from there we can imagine the humans’ stress level starting to rise.
Under stress, we tend to misperceive our own needs, and reality around us. We misperceive threats that don’t actually exist. And we misperceive the trustworthiness (or lack thereof) of those with whom we are in relationship.
How might this story help us understand the relationship between bodily stress, mistrust, and distorted perception? And to what extremes do we imagine God might go to restore our trust?
∞
We reflected God’s image
as we trusted God
and perceived our needs accurately.
Our trust in God helped us to regulate our stress,
so that we consumed only what was good for us
and the planet.
Then we were deceived
into thinking we needed
something God was withholding from us.
Our stress increased,
and we misperceived God as a threat.
Listening with you,
Questions for reflection:
When your stress is “just right,” how does that help you perceive your needs more accurately?
When your stress level rises, how does that alter our perception of reality?
When have you experienced bodily trust in God helping to regulate your nervous system?
Further reading:
Genesis 1 - Genesis 3
Sermons & homilies: What Does It Mean to be Believe?
The Brain & the Spirit, Chapter 2, A Trustworthy Compass, “The Garden,” pp. 34–37; “Knowledge of Evil,” pp. 37–40; “The Story of Humanity,” pp. 41–42.
