Taking the Bite

It is important to know that knowledge is formed not only by seeking the truth, but also in failure to do what is planned. In the books of Genesis and Plato’s Republic, knowledge is presented in a sense of stepping out or "taking the bite," through metaphorical parables that lead humanity into greatness, and show that acquiring knowledge is valuable to all mankind.

Stepping out and "taking the bite" has never been an easy thing, and it was not easy to the figures years ago. In Plato’s Republic, the caveman was presented with an uneasy task. " When one of them was freed and suddenly compelled to stand up, turn his head, walk, and look up toward the light, he’d be pained and dazzled and unable to see the things whose shadows he'd seen before." Plato was not trying to present a candy-coated message, and make the reader believe it’s easy leaving everything behind and stepping out into knowledge, but instead he reveals to us later on in the novel that truth is the reward.

The book of Genesis shows acquiring knowledge in a whole new light. "The Lord God took man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die (Genesis 2:15-17)." What do we always do when someone tells us not to do something? Consider being a child again. "Brandon, don’t touch that pot... It will burn you." But through our own stupidity, the knowledge comes, when we learn that the pot is hot, and by placing our hands on the pot, we come to that realization. When our parents say not to do something, they are only looking out for our own good, and they do mean what they say. God is like that in the creation story. He tells Adam and Eve not to eat from the tree for their own good. Like it does to me, temptation got the best of them. They ate from the tree, and for that one moment, I’m sure there was bliss. Just think of biting into a big, juicy red apple, and how it must have been soothing to the taste. That moment, however, lasted seconds, and their eyes were opened to their nakedness. They felt shame.

Once being punished for their sin and rebellion of God’s desires, the Lord God says in Genesis 3:22a, " Man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil." I believe this shows that God’s purpose has come to be, not for us to be slaves of our own ignorance but to "step out" into the world and take on all the aspects that come along with it. We can now feel, touch, smell, hear and see with our own eyes the reality around us, and make mature and honest decisions on how to carry out God’s plan.

Plato comments about the prisoners of the cave, "They’ve been there since childhood, fixed in the same place, with their necks fettered, able to see only in front off them, because their bonds prevent them from turning their heads around. The prisoners of the cave are not mental slaves of ignorance, but physical slaves. They are held captive, fixed in a position, so they will believe the things that they see and hear around them are the truth, when in all actuality, it is all a lie. By stepping out into the light, even though it is uncomfortable at first, they realize that there is a whole new world out there waiting for them to come upon. All they have to do is to keep focused, and obtain the knowledge that they have gained from doing so.

God places humans on the earth for a purpose. He gives us the insight to make our own conscientious decisions, and the knowledge to be at the hands of our own fate, ideas, and beliefs. To not know the truth is to live in Eden for eternity. This knowledge is formed through the choices we make, by the free will God gives us. Had Adam and Eve not eaten from the tree they would have stayed in Eden forever. They would not have been ashamed of their nakedness, not ashamed of their actions, not ashamed for disobeying the God that breathed life into them and placed them in the world, and most importantly, not knowledgeable of their consequences. The knowledge formed by the God-given free will shaped Adam and Eve and still shapes us today.

It is also important to realize that once we are faced with reality, as in Plato’s Republic, we have the free will to leave the old world behind, or turn around and give them the chance that we were given. As a Christian, this is very important to me. In order to educate God’s people who are searching for the truth, walking alone, lost in the world, it is important to tell them the knowledge I gained, by opening their senses to the world of God, in hopes that they  will gain a new sense of belonging, and won’t ever have to walk alone anymore.

In Genesis and The Republic, the characters were used as models for us to go by. They show that the knowledge obtained through mistakes, and maybe through uncertainty, benefits and shapes the world in a way it intends to be.