33 - The Law

The Law

Another interesting outcome is the law. After the fall, we need the law. The serpent introduces law. Before the serpent, the one edict that God gave Adam and Eve was not even given a second thought by them. They had no reason or desire to break it. That desire was manufactured by the serpent. In that the command from God now is in tension with a conflicting desire, the command feels arbitrary, hence law is born.

The underlying purpose of the law is to guide in correct behavior after that is no longer our only intuitive desire. Once enacted, law no lo nger needs to be thought about by those under it, only obeyed. Therefore conflicting desires are reigned in by the rigid nature of the law.

Generally an issue with law is that when enacted, it is enacted by the powerful and created in their favor, It creates a vertical power structure in which the powerful lawgivers can embed their own interests into the law. However when God is put in the position of lawgiver, because God is wholly complete, God has no interest but creation. However the illusion is still there, and vertical power structures will be appealed to as divinely ordained from the beginning of law.

God’s law keeps us on the correct trajectory and greatly reduces violence. However the law is also impersonal and rigid. In the fall humanity loses it’s intuitive selflessness and orientation towards service to God and creation. We gain true freedom, but also turn inward towards ourselves.

In contrast, the law is not based on relationships and is instead based on transactional results. Individuals are inevitably objectified by the law. This is not ideal, but this is what we now need, so God gives us the law. Yet the law is not the end point.