Sorry to overload you with comments... Really enjoyed the conversation! I'm fascinated by your reading that Adam and Eve are aspects in each human. It reminded me of a reading Origen gives in his homily on Exodus 1 that really troubled me. He says that Pharaoh commanded the midwives to kill the baby boys but let the baby girls live. The text says that they feared God and did not do as Pharaoh said. Origen takes from this that they not only let the boys live but must've also killed the girls. He then argues that there is male and female in us all: the male is virtue and the female is vice and the work of the two Testaments (two midwives!) is to save the male in all of us but put to death the female. Really troubled me. Do you think Origen is actually grounding this reading of Exodus 1 in something similar to your reading of Adam and Eve, or do you think he is just off base here and his "misogyny" is showing lol?
How lucky is Zoe to have a father who can have this conversation with her! I loved hearing you speak to her with such respect for her own thoughts while also teaching.
I have been influenced by Rene Girard, and light of his insights it makes sense to me that the subtlety of the serpent is in the character of mimetic desire, rivalry, and scapegoating (accusation) and violence. The subtlety is that human desire is a divinely created ‘good’ but so easily becomes disoriented/disordered by mimesis (which in itself is a fundamental created good). The violence which ensues is 100% self justified and morally right in the eyes of the one who is accusing another. No wonder we end up in such difficulty!
Lovely conversation, thank you to you and Zoe for making it available. Such a beautiful example of what our world desperately needs: inter-generational dialogue, rich with patience and thoughtful humility.
Also, it was fun to hear you reference Lynne Isbell’s fascinating research “The Fruit, the Tree, and the Serpent: Why We See So Well.” A very interesting read. Happy New Year to the Green Family!
Sorry to overload you with comments... Really enjoyed the conversation! I'm fascinated by your reading that Adam and Eve are aspects in each human. It reminded me of a reading Origen gives in his homily on Exodus 1 that really troubled me. He says that Pharaoh commanded the midwives to kill the baby boys but let the baby girls live. The text says that they feared God and did not do as Pharaoh said. Origen takes from this that they not only let the boys live but must've also killed the girls. He then argues that there is male and female in us all: the male is virtue and the female is vice and the work of the two Testaments (two midwives!) is to save the male in all of us but put to death the female. Really troubled me. Do you think Origen is actually grounding this reading of Exodus 1 in something similar to your reading of Adam and Eve, or do you think he is just off base here and his "misogyny" is showing lol?
How lucky is Zoe to have a father who can have this conversation with her! I loved hearing you speak to her with such respect for her own thoughts while also teaching.
I have been influenced by Rene Girard, and light of his insights it makes sense to me that the subtlety of the serpent is in the character of mimetic desire, rivalry, and scapegoating (accusation) and violence. The subtlety is that human desire is a divinely created ‘good’ but so easily becomes disoriented/disordered by mimesis (which in itself is a fundamental created good). The violence which ensues is 100% self justified and morally right in the eyes of the one who is accusing another. No wonder we end up in such difficulty!
This was so good. I’d love to hear more discussions like this with your daughter.
Lovely conversation, thank you to you and Zoe for making it available. Such a beautiful example of what our world desperately needs: inter-generational dialogue, rich with patience and thoughtful humility.
Also, it was fun to hear you reference Lynne Isbell’s fascinating research “The Fruit, the Tree, and the Serpent: Why We See So Well.” A very interesting read. Happy New Year to the Green Family!