Most Christians agree that Adam and Eve were created
immortal physically, that is, that they were never going to age and suffer
death as we do today.
So, if the first human couple were immortal by
nature, the question is:
Did they need to eat food in order to survive as
humans do today?
WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS
First, we need to demystify the creation of human
nature.
The Bible speaks that God created the trees, green
leaves and fruits as food for all living creatures, including animals and
humans (Genesis 1:29-30). From this we deduct that when God said that humans
would ‘Lord’ over all living creatures on the planet, He did not mean that we
were going to use them as food or killing them (Genesis 1:28).
Another thing to consider is the circumstances to
what the human nature would be subjected.
Adam and Eve were not given evil inclinations and
uncontrollable passions like we experience today. They are the fruit of a post
Adamic state, subjected to inclination to sin; but the first couple were free
from these uncontrollable impulses, however, they were also given ‘freedom’;
and with this freedom, they attained the capability to choose to think, speak
and act, according to God’s desire, or against it.
So in Eden there was not evil present, but the
potential of committing evil it was latent from the first day. So, what would
have happen if one of the living humans, unfallen and in perfect condition,
decided to ‘kill’ another human, let say, by stubbing them?. As nothing in
Scripture pertains us to view a supernatural condition of life, except the
incapability of physical death, we can safely assume that if a human being is
subjected to a severe deadly trauma, like being cut in half, or smashed with a
heavy weight; he or she would stop existing, meaning, they would have died.
The Bible does not give warrant to think that Adam
was ‘immortal’ in the sense that he would survive and continue a natural
existence, even by being a severed head from a body, or an undistinguishable
mass of matter smashed under a rock.
The immortality that humans had, was that
they would not suffer ‘natural death’ by old age or sickness, and under normal
pacific circumstances, but not under ‘all’ circumstances.
METABOLISM
If this is correct, then the consumption of food
would be more natural to understand as a source of nourishment to continue the
God given metabolic system we all humans have from creation. In other words,
old age did not come to us, because we had a perfect metabolism where our cells
repaired and replenished from eating food, in the same quality as they were
created, provoking a permanent youthful state that never diminished.
CONCLUSION
God gave us metabolism, that is, the capacity of our
bodies to function as they do today in the best condition. Part of this
metabolism included the renewing of cells, by eating matter, and defecating and
urinating the left overs that we do not need from solid food and liquid. There
is no other reason for metabolism, neither another need for eating, than to
support the metabolic system of living creatures.
So, we can safely assume, that god gave Adam and Eve
food to eat, to support this metabolism in order to maintain the condition of
their material bodies. Had they refused to eat, they would have fallen weaker,
and eventually succumb to these unnatural circumstances.
Omar Flores.
Comments
Post a Comment