Moral interpretation of the Tree of Life (life's tree)? etc

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Seamus_Sully

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What is the moral interpretation of the Tree of Life?

Thanks!
 
What is the moral interpretation of the tree of knowledge?

Thanks!
 
How do the moral interpretations of the Tree of Life and the tree of knoweldge work together?

(I assume that they do, do they?)

THANKS!!
 
What is the moral interpretation for “the Lord God formed man out of the clay of teh ground”?

Does this moral interpretation work with those from the two trees?

THANKS!
 
Was the Tree of Life for the interior man or the physical body of man?
 
I will take a crack at the tree of knowledge. We know the knowledge was the knowledge of good and evil. I used to wonder why gaining that by eating could be a bad thing. After all, wouldn’t it be good to know what is wrong and what is good? However, I think the point is that it was never God’s plan for us to know evil, because knowing it costs us our innocence and changes our very being from then on for the worse. I liken it very much to an innocent young child (I have a five year old). They don’t really know evil yet, and are so sweet, happy, and innocent. We are saddened to know one day they will become exposed to evil and forever lose that special innocence. That is, I believe, how God felt when Adam & Eve ate from the tree and knew evil for the first time.

That is just my own personal take on it, so don’t take it as gospel (no pun intended) 🙂

LT
 
From the Catechism of the Catholic Church

The senses of Scripture

115 According to an ancient tradition, one can distinguish between two senses of Scripture: the literal and the spiritual, the latter being subdivided into the allegorical, moral, and anagogical senses. The profound concordance of the four senses guarantees all its richness to the living reading of Scripture in the Church.

116 The literal sense is the meaning conveyed by the words of Scripture and discovered by exegesis, following the rules of sound interpretation: “All other senses of Sacred Scripture are based on the literal.”
117 The spiritual sense. Thanks to the unity of God’s plan, not only the text of Scripture but also the realities and events about which it speaks can be signs.
  1. The allegorical sense. We can acquire a more profound understanding of events by recognizing their significance in Christ; thus the crossing of the Red Sea is a sign or type of Christ’s victory and also of Christian Baptism.
  2. The moral sense. The events reported in Scripture ought to lead us to act justly. As St. Paul says, they were written “for our instruction.”
  3. The anagogical sense (Greek: anagoge, “leading”). We can view realities and events in terms of their eternal significance, leading us toward our true homeland: thus the Church on earth is a sign of the heavenly Jerusalem.
118 A medieval couplet summarizes the significance of the four senses:
The Letter speaks of deeds; Allegory to faith;
The Moral how to act; Anagogy our destiny.

119 “It is the task of exegetes to work, according to these rules, toward a better understanding and explanation of the meaning of Sacred Scripture in order that their research may help the Church to form a firmer judgment. For, of course, all that has been said about the manner of interpreting Scripture is ultimately subject to the judgment of the Church which exercises the divinely conferred commission and ministry of watching over and interpreting the Word of God.”
 
Bear in mind when we in the Catholic Church speak of literal meaning, we are referring to what the author intended to say at the time the words were written and not necessarily the plain meaning of the words today.
It is also difficult to fathom what something like “tree of life” might mean out of context of the rest of the Bible. Thus a Webster’s Dictionary might not be of much help, whereas a good Bible Commentary and a Bible Dictionary might be of assistance. 👍
 
I believe a Literal Tree of Life exists just like I believe that there really are mansions in Heaven.

Is there anything wrong with a Catholic beleving that way?
 
Jerry-Jet said:
I believe a Literal Tree of Life exists just like I believe that there really are mansions in Heaven.

Is there anything wrong with a Catholic beleving that way?
Click to expand...
Absolutely not as long as your interpretation does not disagree with what the Church teaches… 🙂
 
I believe the tree is real.

I believe the tree is literal.

I believe the tree is an internal reality.

I believe the tree is God’s Grace in Adam and Eve’s soul.
 
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