From Man to God: Eden's Rite of Passage
What are rites of passage and how is the Garden of Eden the ultimate rite of passage tale?
1 | What are Rites of Passage as we know them?
Coming-of-age marks the transition of a child into an adult. Across the world, coming-of-age milestones vary. In the past many cultures would have considered this transition when a child hits puberty. Today this is considered when a child reaches driving age, enlisting age, drinking age, or voting age, for example.
Rites of Passage are the rituals that celebrate or commemorate the child’s transition. These also vary across cultures and religions, and in degrees of extremity. The purpose of both the milestone and the ritual is to welcome the child into their new stage of life, as though handing over the baton of responsibility of a garden from one generation of leaders to the next.
Many of the extreme traditions include enduring a lot of pain or being faced with the threat of death – both of which are elements of the biblical story.
The Fulani Whip is a tradition found in western parts of Africa in which a young boy of 12 takes turns striking another young boy three times. The one who flinches the least is declared the winner and both are celebrated in for reaching their new status as young men.
By focusing on the task at hand, the boys of Fulani learn the skill of remaining in the eye of the storm in stressful and painful situations, a lesson that deeply impacts their future dealings with pain and adversity.
In the Maasai tribe of Kenya, up until 2012, boys were initiated into manhood by hunting a lion with nothing but a spear. This transformation from boyhood to manhood, through a life-threatening challenge, mirrors the experiences of young men who go off to war, embodying the essence of enduring pain, facing death, and ultimately being reborn as protectors of the community.
The Ticuna tribe of the Amazon practice the “Pelazon” ritual in which a girl’s head of hair is plucked out individually after she obtains her first menstruation. Her body is painted black, the clan’s symbol is drawn on her head and she is dressed in an eagle costume.
The first two rituals, despite being extremely painful and life-threatening highlight the idea that the adult life will be full of suffering and therefore the adult must be strong enough to pass through the trials and tribulations that come their way. In the final example, an extra level of dramatization and symbolism is added, for after death (painted black) the child is reborn as a mighty bird.
I do not condone these extreme practices. I am happy and grateful to have been born in the West, where these practices are not normalised, however, the reason why enduring pain makes a man of a boy and a woman of a girl is because failure to be resistant to it can result in an early death of the psyche and then ultimately of the soul.
When an individual goes through a traumatic experience they have two choices to make: They can let their core rot and become resentful and nihilistic and continue the trauma elsewhere, or transform their trauma into a lesson where they continue to thrive.
Even these extreme rituals, therefore, seek to make their children stronger so they can bear the responsibility of continuing to fulfil their duty on earth despite the challenges that come their way.
That being said, there is one main thing that many coming-of-age traditions lack – a focus on mental maturity, and this is why the story of Adam and Eve is the ultimate rite of passage tale.
2 | The Ultimate Rite of Passage
Whilst the coming-of-age milestones and rituals focus on the physical maturity of a child, they can be likened to God telling Adam and Eve to name all of the animals, for they focus on making sure the new adults can continue the traditions of the previous. They simply become copies of their old lords. However, what sets a true leader apart from an assigned leader is the ability to make good decisions. This requires the ability to think. Someone who does not know how to think does not know how to lead. Hence, the story of Adam and Eve focuses on man’s quest for wisdom.
Adam and Eve’s rite of passage can be split into three main stages: 1) when they are naked and like a child, 2) when they are provided the opportunity for growth, and 3) when they pass the rite.
Stage 1 – The Child
Adam and Eve began life naked. Just like children, they were only concerned with one thing – survival. Their basic needs were cared for. Hence, it was appealing that man could eat of all the trees in the garden and feel as though that was all that was needed: Food, warmth and shelter – the basic needs. Just as seen in a baby, this is exactly what they seek. They seek protection. They seek physical survival.
Secondly, in their nakedness, man was obedient. Just like kids, Adam and Eve obeyed the rules of their father, learning the way of the world through his eyes. As such, they learned to look after the garden as their father saw fit, i.e. naming the animals when instructed. [Note: Adam was being instructed on what to do because at this point he had not developed his Eve, so he could not think for himself. But for the sake of ease, we shall say that both Adam and Eve named the animals.]
Yes, children may disobey when they seek to break-away from their mother or father and explore their own identity, however, ultimately, they return to the rules and customs of their parents for the sake of survival; Since they are not yet capable of living under their own roof, to survive, they must obey the rules of the roof in which they reside.
Just like a caterpillar, at this stage, man is on his journey to metamorphosis through mere survival.
Stage 2 - The Red Pill: Optional Growth
Unlike caterpillars which transform into butterflies on autopilot, the human does not. The human does not automatically reach their highest potential. They must choose to take the red pill and consciously participate in their own metamorphosis. The opportunity to take the red pill is given when God told Adam and Eve about the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil:
But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
Genesis 2:17 [KJV]
This tree is like a parent giving a book to their child about another garden elsewhere which has turned into a prison so they can learn what decisions to avoid, or another garden which is better than their own so they can learn a better path to take. The book would expand their mind and their world and allow them to fulfil their destiny as caretakers of the garden. Except - the Lord does not encourage the child to read the book… or does he?
All across the world, this story has been preached as ‘The Original Sin’, for man disobeyed God’s command. As a result of the original sin from the first two humans on earth, we - generations later – suffer physical death because of the sins of our first ancestors. Had they not sinned, we would never die. That interpretation does not align to the question of how we would all fit on earth if no-one died. Life would be miserable. There would be overcrowding and overall diseconomies of scale. Furthermore, life would get boring as a sense of urgency would be removed where time is non-existent.
Let’s take another look at the commandment. Did God say, “Stay naked - I will continue to look after you”? Or did he simply mention that if they took that path and ate the fruit a death would occur?
Stage 3 – Adult: A Voluntary Decision
The fact that God did not give Adam and Eve the forbidden fruit is the genius of the tale because it shows that personal growth is a voluntary decision.
Adam and Eve were at a crossroads: Should they obey God and remain children forever or should they fulfil their duty to their home, risking death – whatever that entails?
It is often forgotten that there is a key detail in this story which is announced at the beginning of the tale:
And the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
Genesis 2:15 [KJV]
This instruction is set in third person, in the narrator’s voice, as though there is an individual telling the story. It is left ambiguous as to whether God told man why he was made.
Considering he didn’t, this would mean that man was given a choice to choose his purpose. Did he believe that he was made to be loyal to his Lord God and live a life of survival? Or did he believe that he was made to make sure life in the garden was good, for himself and others? Since this is the stage in which man begins to ask himself existential questions, he may have reasoned with the following:
Should I remain a child forever? Am I to continue to name the animals in the garden forever? I like my position and I am good at my job, but what is next? What is the Lord passing on? Who will look after the next generation? What if at some point, the Lord’s system stops working and change is needed? How will we make decisions if we do not know how to think for ourselves? And of course, the worst-case scenario is what if the Lord becomes corrupt? Who will hold him accountable? In all the above scenarios, I am likely to die from boredom, incompetence or corruption. If I don’t take on the responsibility for my life and my future children, then who will?
When Adam and Eve reason among themselves, and with the snake, they conclude that life is not just about survival. They can add value to the garden. They can be givers, rather than takers. They can be active participants in the decision-making processes of maintaining the garden. However, to access this way of life, they must be willing to let go of their own sense of self and way of life. They must be willing to die.
Of course, their final conclusion comes as a combination of two pieces of the puzzle – one from God and the other from the snake. Whilst God just mentioned the death, the snake explained what the death was for.
This touches on another aspect of man’s journey which differs from the common rites of passage, which is that growing up is not about copying your elders – it is about making your own decisions. By engaging the snake (listening to the devil’s advocate) Adam and Eve explore independence from God and learn to think for themselves.
When they finally consume the fruit we know that they joined God and crossed over to the other side because:
1) Their eyes opened – meaning they gained knowledge and awareness
2) They were able to clothe themselves – meaning they could take care of themselves
3) They have become like God, knowing good and evil – meaning they gained wisdom and joined the elders of the garden.
That was their butterfly transformation.
3 | The Passage to Growth is Disobedience
The story of Adam and Eve highlights the requirement of disobedience for the sake of renewal. Adam and Eve chose growth over comfort. This test so happened to mean that they had to explore the areas of life which were not given to them on a silver platter. They had to go against the grain, fight against inertia and disappoint their elders to find their own path. Even if it meant reverting back to their elders, at least they would circle back around on their own will. This sentiment of freedom through disobedience is reiterated with the story of Jesus and with the following verse:
Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.
Matthew 10:34-36 [KJV]
Disobedience is not bad, nor is it a sin. It is the passage to independence and freedom. You have to be able to question your Lord, the one you love so much and revere. You have to be able to detach to be able to see clearly. You must not roam through life on autopilot. You must make a conscious decision when you are following a certain route, and making conscious decisions means looking at the opposing route.
This can be seen in the story of Jesus for who was a born a Jew, where everyone followed the same customs and traditions. He decided that he would seek the opposing opinion and he spoke to John the Baptist – who lived out in the wilderness and did not conform to society. Seeking another perspective opened his mind and he returned to society as an independent thinker. He had his own views on how to live life, that were slightly different to all of the traditional customs. By providing a new perspective he opened up the minds of others to the opportunity to wake up and make their own decisions about life. Since the Lords of the time were corrupt, he was crucified as they did not care about the replenishment of the garden, but themselves. Despite the threat of death, he still cared more about life over survival, freedom over imprisonment and replenishment over stagnation.
In real life, this example is replicated in story of Nelson Mandela who was crucified for 27 years for disobeying the Lords of his time. He saw an injustice and he was willing to die to see freedom. Should Nelson Mandela have kept quiet and saved his life? Or do we not honour the hero in him for choosing to risk his life for the sake of saving others?
Disobedience is the passage to growth, even on an interpersonal level. For example, this could be a personal journey of self-development. It could be the choice to let go of ignorance, laziness, deceit and all such qualities that make an individual weak. It’s not only disobeying an external lord, but the habits that control you. Hence, it may be the personal decision to quit smoking or to train to run a marathon or to set a goal to read a new book every month. It can be the voluntary decision to develop one’s character to become stronger, wiser and better at jumping over life’s hurdles when they come. Just as Jesus was resurrected and came out of the tomb with new white clothes so that he was almost unrecognisable, the person who decides to become the best version of themselves voluntarily participates in the metamorphosis of their life. So yes, others will no longer see a caterpillar, for they have transformed into a butterfly.
In order to become the butterfly, the caterpillar must die. If one is not willing to die, then they are not willing to live.
