The Garden of Eden

This may be shocking for some Catholics to learn or for that matter Christians in general, but the Roman Catholic religion is combination of Judaism and Pagan worshipping. Before anyone accuses this author of being "anti-Catholic," I'm not, at least not completely. I was born and raised Roman Catholic (though now that I know more about the Church I am no longer a practicing Catholic) and attended Catholic schools for most of my school career. Long before I ever did any research on the subject I was able to see through the teachings of the Church as contradictory and in some cases completely made-up.

In Catholicism the main focus is upon the New Testament, but Catholics (at least back when I was going to school and Church) they did refer to the Old Testament at times, especially when talking about creation and how man came to be. Let's visit the Garden of Eden for a moment. I think we're all familiar (Catholic or not) with the story. The Garden of Eden was "perfect." Adam and Eve were the first perfect man and woman, and in the middle of all this "perfection" God decides to put that nasty tree of knowledge smack dab in the center. He also tells his "perfect" man and woman creations never to eat from the "Tree of Knowledge" or they'll be banished from the Garden "forever." On top of putting the nasty tree in the land of "perfection" and opening Pandora's Box by telling his "creations" not to eat from the tree, He (meaning God) somehow let that pesky Satan, disguised as a snake into this heavenly kingdom known as the Garden of Eden.

Adam and Eve were supposed to be God's children, his creations. The God we were taught as Catholics is omnipotent and all knowing. Well, how come he didn't know that when you tell someone "not "to do something they'll do exactly the opposite? So, poor Eve (which by the way does anyone find it interesting that "Eve" gets the blame for "man" being kicked out of Eden?) gets tempted by that sneaky, cunning snake aka the Devil, and eats from that Nasty tree of "Knowledge." She then has time before gaining "knowledge" that what she did was wrong, to "tempt" Adam into eating the apple from the same tree. After both have eaten from the tree, they "instantly" realize what they did was wrong and also realize they're naked. So, they go and find some fig leaves to cover their parts and try to hide from God, but it's no use. God kicks them out of the Garden into the cold cruel world with nothing but their fig leaves.

Oh and by the way back in that "perfect" garden is another tree. The tree of Eternal Life, only now that tree is off limits to the two offenders, Adam and Eve. God even put angel as a century to guard the tree. He was armed with a pitchfork looking weapon, just to make sure no one could sneak by and get a an apple from the Tree of Eternal Life (anyone ever wonder why there was no angel like that "protecting" the tree of knowledge)? I mean if you don't want people eating from a specific tree wouldn't you want to make it difficult for someone to get to its fruit?

I'd heard this story of "creation" from the time I was born. Finally in when I was in fourth grade I couldn't take it anymore. I was pretty precocious for my age. I knew how babies were made, at least the basics. I also knew that the Church said it was against not only man's laws, but God's laws for people to practice incest. As I said, I couldn't take it anymore. I'd heard this story again for the millionth time and this time I just had to ask a question that had been burning in me for a long time. I asked the nun the following questions: Sister, doesn't the Church say that incest isn't allowed? She said emphatically that, that was correct. Mankind is not to practice incest. I said, okay then I need help understanding something. If Adam and Eve were the first man and woman, then they got kicked out of Eden, I could understand them making babies with each other. However, the babies grew up and were all having babies of their own. This would mean the children of Adam and Eve where having sex either with each other or with their parents, which in either case equaled incest. To take it further that would mean if we are to take the Bible as "factual" then we are all products of incest, at least somewhere in our lineage. Granted it was millions of years ago, but still it means we're all born of incest.

Needless to say the nun looked at me like I was Satan. She took a moment to compose herself and said that I was wrong. I said, "Really, how am I wrong"? She then goes on and says that Adam and Eve were NOT the first man and woman; they were the first PERFECT man and woman. She continued by telling me there were other people who lived outside the Garden and that's who Adam and Eve's children ultimately procreated with.

Wow! This led me to a whole new world of questions. I then asked the following question: Well, I'm still confused. Isn't God supposed to be perfect? Sister answered that of course God is perfect and he's infallible. I asked her, "and perfect and infallible means God never makes any mistakes, right"? She said that was correct. My response was that her answers were making any logical sense. If God is perfect and can't or doesn't make mistakes, then how could there be "Imperfect" people living outside the Garden of Eden, and Adam and Eve were His "first" perfect man and woman? I mean what did he do, take some dirt (since the Bible says from dust we came and to dust we'll go) and not add enough water and then his "human" recipe was messed up? So, were there 3 headed people outside the Garden or people missing limbs or something? Plus, you just said he doesn't make mistakes, so it's just all very confusing.

In retrospect it's a good thing corporal punishment was outlawed by the time I was making these "observations." I'm sure Sister Rosalia would have happily beaten me into next week. Instead, all she could was glare at me, tell me that I was staying after school for detention and she called my parents (poor, ignorant Sister Rosalia had NO idea what she was going to come up against when my parents did finally arrive, but that's a whole other story). For this article, the point is Sister Rosalia insisted that there was never any incest in the creation of man, and every priest and nun after her basically stuck to a similar story.

Even if I wanted to buy into her story, it's flawed. Let's go back into the Garden before that wench Eve messed it up for the rest of us (You do know she's the reason women go through pain during childbirth. We're paying for the sins of Eve). Oh, but God is a God of Love and Merciful. I'm sure He is...The messed up God is the one the Catholic Church peddles. Anyway, if Adam and Eve were "perfect" and were never supposed to eat from that Tree of Knowledge, why was Adam and Eve made anatomically with all the right parts and organs to make babies?

In the Catholic faith there are seven blessed sacraments. One of those is the blessed sacrament of marriage. Theoretically, marriage is blessed by God and when you're married you're supposed to have sex to make babies (not for recreational purposes). Sex is given the "seal of approval" by God after marriage for baby making. I'm repeating myself because I want all of you to understand that blessed sacrament of marriage makes sex okay, as long as you're doing it to make a baby. Are we all clear on that point? Good.

Great, sex is okay to make babies once we're in the holy state of matrimony. However, after that little baby is born we as Catholics have to run and get the baby baptized pronto because God forbid the baby die un-baptized he or she will end up in limbo; neither heaven or hell because the baby is born with sin of "original sin." "Original sin" being the act of fornication that created the baby to begin with...you remember? The act that was given the seal of approval by God and the Church once two people are married. Oh, and that's the whole reason people are supposed to get married. It's to procreate. Yet somewhere along the line the very act that was created by God, the entity that doesn't make errors, someone how became a "sin" even in a union that's blessed. To make matters worse the poor innocent born to that married and blessed couple is born in sin out of the womb. Yes, the Catholic version of God is very loving and merciful indeed. After all, I guess the sin filled child, straight from its mother's womb, if he or she were to die could have been cast into hell. Instead, God will just send the baby to limbo for eternity. He really is a merciful God. (*Note: The Church in its "Infallible" wisdom revised this doctrine in 2007. Supposedly the Church found this viewpoint "unduly" restrictive and not in keeping with a loving and merciful God. You don't say)!

Please don't go jumping to conclusions. The author believes in God; just not the messed up kind of God portrayed by the Catholic Church. This article is to get people thinking and stop "swallowing" what the Church hands you every week. Granted it's getting harder and harder for them to sucker people into having "unconditional" belief in them, but there are still many people that have blind faith in the Church

Sources:

http://www.usccb.org/nab/bible/genesis/genesis3.htm

http://www.jesuschristsavior.net/Sacraments.html

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11312a.htm

http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0702216.htm.