"THE Lord made His world not in order to judge it, not in order merely to dominate it, to make it obey the dictates of an inscrutable and all-powerful will, not in order to find pleasure or displeasure in the way it worked: such was not the reason for creation either of the world or of man.

"The Lord made the world and made man in order that He Himself might descend into the world, that He Himself might become Man. When He regarded the world He was about to make He saw His wisdom, as a man-child, "playing in the world, playing before Him at all times." And He reflected, "my delights are to be with the children of men."

"The world was not made as a prison for fallen spirits who were rejected by God: this is the gnostic error. The world was made as a temple, a paradise, into which God Himself would descend to dwell familiarly with the spirits He had placed there to tend it for Him.

"The early chapters of Genesis (far from being a pseudo-scientific account of the way the world was supposed to have come into being) are precisely a poetic and symbolic revelation, a completely true, though not literal, revelation of God's view of the universe and of His intentions for man. The point of these beautiful chapters is that God made the world as a garden in which He himself took delight. He made man and gave to man the task of sharing in His own divine care for created things. He made man in His own image and likeness, as an artist, a worker, homo faber, as the gardener of paradise . He let man decide for himself how created things were to be interpreted, understood and used: for Adam gave the animals their names (God gave them no names at all) and what names Adam gave them, that they were. Thus in his intelligence man, by the act of knowing, imitated something of the creative love of God for creatures. While the love of God, looking upon things, brought them into being, the love of man, looking upon things, reproduced the divine idea, the divine truth, in man's own spirit.

"As God creates things by seeing them in His own Logos, man brings truth to life in his mind by the marriage of the divine light, in the being of the object, with the divine light in his own reason. The meeting of these two lights in one mind is truth."

from "New Seeds of Contemplation" - Chapter 39, The General Dance - by Thomas Merton

This jumped out at me today.

I know as some Fundamentalists read these paragraphs of Merton's there will be an immediate tendency to reject it in it's entirety because of the statement "The early chapters of Genesis…are precisely a poetic and symbolic revelation, a completely true, though not literal, revelation of God's view of the universe and of His intentions for man."

So - if that really bothers you - we'll pretend that statement is not there and proceed under the presumption that the early chapters of Genesis are in their entirety - quite literal. The fact is - I don't know. I wasn't there. And for me personally to assert the literal veracity of something I was not actually witness too - is not an act of faith - but presumption based on hearsay.

Hebrews 11:3 says, “By faith we understand that the worlds [during the successive ages] were framed (fashioned, put in order, and equipped for their intended purpose) by the word of God, so that what we see was not made out of things which are visible.” Amplified Bible. Regarding “faith”, whether Genesis 1-8 are Literal or Metaphoric or Allegoric is not the issue. God made it - and there are images recorded to give us a Spiritual insight as to what it was (and is) all about. “By faith” I accept these.

“And said, Truly I say to you, unless you repent (change, turn about) and become like little children [trusting, lowly, loving, forgiving], you can never enter the kingdom of heaven [at all].” We often quote Matthew 18:3 to impress upon our evangelistic target, or a “weaker” disciple, the necessity of accepting

a particular understanding of Bible interpretation as “the” absolute interpretation - to be accepted as a little child - trusting and accepting, without doubts or questioning, for these would surely be acts of rebellion and unbelief.

Our contemporary Bibles are even phrased as to express this particular premise. I.e. If it is stated this way in the “book” - it must be so.

Now - understand me - I am a great lover of contemporary translations, particularly the Amplified Bible. But sometimes- just because “it is written” - “It Ain’t Necessarily So…”

kai eipen amhn legw umin ean mh strafhte kai genhsye wv ta paidia ou mh eiselyhte eiv thn basileian twn outran Matthew 18:3 Textus Receptus Greek

“and said, ‘Verily I say to you, if ye may not be turned and become as the children, ye may not enter into the reign of the heavens;” Matthew 18:3 Young’s Literal Translation

In our translating and interpreting we too often impose arbitrary preferences to enhance and express preferred understandings. This may be an unavoidable thing - but reinforces the necessity of digging and re-modeling what we may have previously held as absolute. The new model just may be closer too and expressive of God’s mind.

The word here for “repent”, “be converted”, “turn” is “strepho” . It is a synonym for “metanoeo” and means “to change one’s mind”. Repent = think differently.

Our thinking - Christian, Pagan, Secular or otherwise - Is in reference to the language we use - and how we interpret and apply words. These “words” - images - abstract symbols - are products of natural mental capacities. As such their reference is bound to a dimension of being and reality, and express in terms and in association to this reality. The “reality” of language is that of humanity - in relation to God or not - the “carnal” man.

The categories of language always find their primary reference in the capacities of the human mind. They are not of themselves the expression of the mind of God. They may, as we become connected, and relationally involved with the inner intimacies of God, our “real” divinely infused resident nature, become the interpreters of that life, but the language itself is the by-product of our humanity.

To put it simply presumed Christians (at least the vast majority of those professing Christ), Pagans, Secularists and whomever else you wish to label -ALL - essentially find themselves living in, enslaved too, bound too and speaking the same language of the same kingdom. Oh yes there are plenty of doctrinal differences and reasons to abuse and detest each other, but all of this is the result of living from and relying on the resources provided by the kingdom of men’s own making.

We presume that by changing our doctrines (theologies, mental apprehensions) that we will change our habits and allegiances and grow closer to God. Acquiring a more “Biblical” referenced frame of thought is our key to the ether world. But we fail to realize that “changing our minds” as simply referenced “turning around”, “repenting“, “rejecting carnal behaviors”, leaves us in the same “kingdom”. Our language and words may be more religiously referenced, but they are drawn from the same source as before. And ultimately will produce the same results. Whether that is expressed in one

or another form of religious superiority, fundamentalist jihad (Islamic or Christian), or religious cannibalism, to name a few.

Repentance is a prerequisite to entering the kingdom of heaven. But not just repentance - changing our minds - “thinking differently” - the old thought categories are passed away - ALL is become new. “Think differently”, become as a little child. Now don’t go back to that “trusting, lowly, loving, forgiving” mental image of a child. It’s a lot more than that, and in some respects not this at all. This is the child image religion would have you buy into. Religion is a product of that old kingdom. “There’s a new sheriff in town.”

“He saw His wisdom, as a man-child, "playing in the world, playing before Him at all times.’” “And He reflected, "my delights are to be with the children of men.’” “God made the world as a garden in which He himself took delight. He made man and gave to man the task of sharing in His own divine care for created things. He made man in His own image and likeness, as an artist, a worker, homo faber, as the gardener of paradise”

Have you ever considered the “wonder” that a child experiences. Or the delight of just being - and the naturalness of play. To Play, is to work. To work, is to Play. And the discovery in Play is never a burden. Learning is not a chore - it is the norm. We - in our well intentions - and methods of expertise, begin the process of imposing expectations and eventually robbing the joy from the character once delighting in the naturalness of being. And another is assimilated as part of the “Borg” (ref. Star Trek Next Gen).

I’m not so sure we were “literally” cast out of the garden. The one thing I am sure of is that we have found our primary reference for thought, and understanding our being, in another kingdom.

Maybe God is just waiting for us to come play in the garden? Maybe finding that garden means thinking differently about a lot of things? Maybe it’s not something I will have to try and think differently about, but simply will think differently - when I’m in the garden?

Childish questions?