Wisdom is the Tree of Life

Authors

  • Gennady PSHENICHNY

Keywords:

Tree of Life, the Garden of Eden

Abstract

 

The author of this work will endeavor to answer the question: What kind of mysterious trees were there in the Garden of Eden, the fruits of which either endowed humanity with eternal life or boded unavoidable death? Were there real trees in the middle of the garden, or is that merely figurative language used to convey important principles? If so, what are those principles? Why did God put such a strong accent on the tree of knowledge of good and evil, not permitting its fruit to be eaten under any circumstances? What was so alluring about the tree that the woman dared to disobey God and make an independent decision? Why did the consequences turn out to be irrevocable?

The main focus of this article is to examine the principles behind God’s commandments allowing or prohibiting certain things, particularly what was behind the prohibition of eating fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The author shows that even today, although God has closed off access to the tree of life in the Garden of Eden, people can still reach it and enjoy its fruit.

Author Biography

Gennady PSHENICHNY

Gennady Pshenichny has been president of uban Evangelical Christian University (former Lampados Bible College) since its founding in 1992, excluding his years of study at Alliance Theological Seminary in Nyack, New York (1995-1998). His major field of teaching is the Old Testament, as well as Homiletics (narrative approach). He is president of the Euro-Asian Accrediting Association.

References

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How to Cite

PSHENICHNY, Gennady. 2016. “Wisdom Is the Tree of Life”. Theological Reflections: Eastern European Journal of Theology, no. 3 (June):28-47. http://reflections.eeit-edu.info/article/view/88040.