New Word: Because of This, That

I learned a new word today. Etiology. Do you know it?

Etiology is the investigation or attribution of the cause or reason for something, often expressed in terms of historical or mythical explanation. In this case, the something is consequence.

Where did I learn this word? My dad. He's a bountiful source of arcane knowledge and well-grounded wisdom. He has taught Sunday School for quite a few years. He teaches the elder set. By that, I mean that I am easily the youngest in the class and I turn 60 this year.

Dad is curious by nature, so when he teaches, his preparation goes beyond the Leader's Guide. He compares passages from various commentaries, looks at different translations of the scripture verses that the lesson refers to, and also looks at historical sources so he can provide context for what's being presented. Sometimes, he comes across interesting words.

So, etiology.

It came from study for Genesis 3. The New International Version of the the Bible gives this passage a heading, The Fall. If you click on the link, you'll see that the serpent planted doubt in Eve, one of two humans living in a perfect place, Paradise or Eden. The serpent didn't directly confront or refute. Instead it posed the question, "Did God really say, ...?" and let Eve mull it over. Eve replied with an assured response, but the serpent poked at the doubt. "You will not certainly die ..."

Eve is human. Eve is us.

She rationalized why taking the proscribed fruit and eating it was a good thing. It was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom. Lots of pluses. So she did it. That seemed good, so she shared it with her husband, too.

Shortly after that, God asked them what they'd done (vv. 8-13). Adam, the other human in Eden, blamed Eve for giving him the fruit. Eve admitted she'd been deceived, but blamed the serpent. Curiously, the serpent didn't blame anybody. Maybe its work was done.

Like a good parent, God begins dispensing etiology. "Because you've done this, here's what will happen." Cause and consequence.

To the serpent: “Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

Cursed above all livestock. Did that mean no nobler purpose? The serpent would not be a source of meat, nourishing bones, wool or hides.

Crawl on your belly. Maybe the serpent had limbs or wings before. Who knows? But to this day, serpents crawl on the ground.

Enmity. Almost all discussion of snakes I've read on social media includes zealots offering no quarter to snakes. And a great deal of fear.

To Eve: "I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you."

In the moment, consequences can seem like curses.

You will experience severe pain. You will desire your husband, which will lead to more severe pain. Your husband will rule over you.

So two of those three have come to pass. The husband ruling over the wife part needs to be considered case by case.

To Adam: "Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return."

Here was a significant change. Mankind's new existence was not to walk through a shady garden and pluck food from a tree (think oranges, apples, lemons, limes, grapefruits, peaches, mulberries, persimmons, dates, figs, and also the varieties of nut trees). Instead, we would work bent over to dig into and turn the soil, plant seeds, wait for rain and sunshine while they germinated, separate the crop from the weeds, cut the plants at harvest, dry and thresh, and store against the needs of the winter and the requirement for seed to plant the next year. And then we'd die.

We'd made a horrible mistake.

I say we advisedly. What Eve did in that moment, you and I do every day. We make choices, rationalize our supporting reasons, and sometimes drive a wedge more and more deeply between us and our Creator. At the same time, if we feel we are getting caught out, our response to etiology is to blame. Nearly anyone will do.

With no judgment, abject humility, and deep caring, I suggest we own our actions. Let responsibility rest where it belongs. And accept that, just as separation was a result of our choices, reparation can be too.

Prodigally yours, Dave