{"id":80,"date":"2006-10-05T18:10:01","date_gmt":"2006-10-05T18:10:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/summametaphysica.com\/ge\/30020-tree-of-lifetree-of-knowledge\/30022-elaboration-on-structure-of-trees\/"},"modified":"2018-04-23T20:19:09","modified_gmt":"2018-04-23T20:19:09","slug":"30022-elaboration-on-structure-of-trees","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/30020-tree-of-lifetree-of-knowledge\/30022-elaboration-on-structure-of-trees\/","title":{"rendered":"300.22 Elaboration on Structure of “Trees” (pps.85-86)"},"content":{"rendered":"

hard cover page 85<\/p>\n

300.22 Elaboration on Structure of “Trees”<\/p>\n

There are two major types of existence possible for man in a universe created by God. The two sets of dynamics are mutually exclusive.309 <\/sup>The dynamics within each set are interrelated and interdependent.<\/p>\n

The first type of existence is one of aggressive providence, a gilded-cage existence. Man’s needs and nature’s travails are handled by God on behalf of man. Under the dynamics of a Tree of Life existence, man in general is treated as an infant in a comfortable home. All is lush and relatively problem-free. High growth and dignity are sacrificed on the altar of bliss and eternal life. All is taken care of.<\/p>\n

But there is also the Tree of Knowledge set of dynamics: A life of challenge, freedom, privacy, and responsibility; aggressive pursuit of knowledge: pain and joy in greater extremes; a life of independence and risk; mortality by virtue of natural and moral evil; diminished Divine Providence to “leash” natural evil; infinite growth potential; a higher potential for “moral good” and “moral evil”; a higher level of dignity for man by virtue of his freedom and responsibility. Man’s individualism, creativity, and capacities for good and growth will have a greater arena for expression, along with man’s cruelty and nature’s calamities. In seeking to control his environment and to prevail over it, man comes closer to a true image of God.”310<\/sup> The biblical narative regarding Eden indeed touches on the dynamics of knowledge, temptation, free choice, evil, privacy, and pain juxtaposed against eternal life in a garden of bliss.<\/p>\n

Berkovits notes: “The area of imperfection also seems to be the source of freedom in the world. The absolutely faultless is unfree.”311<\/sup><\/p>\n

The dynamics of the Tree of Life form a complete set, as do<\/p>\n

===================================
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d- NOTES \u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d-<\/p>\n

309 <\/sup>See the analogous but quite different formulation in Merton, The New Man, <\/em>p. 108. “St. Bernard puts this ‘sapor mortis,’ this taste for death, at the very heart of original sin. It is the exact opposite of the wisdom, the ‘sapida scienta’ or existential (‘tasting’) of knowledge of the Divine good. The two are incompatible with one another. They cannot exist together. Consequently, having acquired the one, Adam necessarily lost the other.”<\/p>\n

310 <\/sup>See Philo, On the Unchangeableness of God<\/em> 143 (Loeb ed., vol. 3, pp. 8 1 ff.). “Wisdom is a straight high road, and it is when the mind’s course is guided along that road that it reaches the goal which is the recognition and knowledge of God. Every comrade of the flesh hates and rejects this path and seeks to corrupt it. For there are no two things so utterly opposed as knowledge and pleasure of the flesh.” In Lewy et al., Three Jewish Philosophers,<\/em> p. 52.
\nCf. Fackenheim, The Jewish Return info History,<\/em> p. 263. “Philosophical reflection may find it necessary to choose between a God who is divine only if he is omnibenevolent and omnipotent, and a world which is truly world only because it contains elements contradicting these divine attributes, namely, evil and human freedom.”<\/p>\n

311 <\/sup>Berkovits, God, Man and History,<\/em> p. 79.<\/p>\n

~continued~
\n<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
CONVERSION TABLE for this multi-page unit<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
you are currently on hard cover p. 85<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
< BACK<\/a><\/td>\n<\/td>\nNEXT PAGE><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\t\t\t\tPages pointer<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/td>\nhard cover page<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1
\n2<\/td>\n		>
\n><\/td>\n		85
\n86<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

<\/p>\n

hard cover page 86<\/p>\n

the dynamics of the Tree of Knowledge. These sets are mutually exclusive. One may not simultaneously operate under the full dynamics of the Tree of Life set and the full dynamics of the Tree of Knowledge set.<\/p>\n

The sets are in inverse proportion. The more one increases the influence and magnitude of elements inherent in one complete set, the more one decreases the influence and magnitude of the dynamics inherent in the other complete set.312<\/sup><\/p>\n

One cannot simultaneously possess full freedom and eternal life, because each is an inherent dynamic of mutually exclusive sets. The operation of one set in full force would imply the relative quiescence of elements of the other set.<\/p>\n

As full and aggressive Divine Providence, along with all the other elements of our Tree of Life paradigm, decreases, all elements of the Tree of Knowledge paradigm\u00e2\u20ac\u201dincluding the elements of challenge, freedom, privacy, and responsibility\u00e2\u20ac\u201dincrease. The expansion of one set implies the contraction of the other set.<\/p>\n

Man cannot have the “best” elements of each set simultaneously, as, for example, both pursuit of knowledge and eternal life, not as a Divine punishment, but rather due to the implicit nature of the dynamics. God will not unravel the relationships, as they are inherent in the cosmic essence, which is inherent in God’s nature, as well.313<\/sup> For God to unravel the relationships would be to unravel the fabric of the cosmos. Universal truths are extensions of the Divine, and vice versa, and consequently, immutable by definition.<\/p>\n

===================================
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d- NOTES \u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d-<\/p>\n

312 <\/sup>See Merton, The New Man, <\/em>p. 110. “Adam, by his proud act, his insistence on improving his wisdom and science by adding to it the knowledge of evil, inevitably lost the full experience of goodness that was freely given to him by God. . . . These deprivations [the consequences of eating from the literal ‘tree of knowledge’] were not merely the revenge of an irate God-they were inherent.”<\/p>\n

313 <\/sup>Thus “miracles” are consistent with a period of limited Divine intervention, e.g., the Exodus, but not consistent with a period of perceived contraction of the Divine, e.g., the mid-twentieth century.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
CONVERSION TABLE for this multi-page unit<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
you are currently on hard cover p. 86<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
< BACK<\/a><\/td>\n<\/td>\nNEXT PAGE><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\t\t\t\tPages pointer<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/td>\nhard cover page<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1
\n2<\/td>\n		>
\n><\/td>\n		85
\n86<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

hard cover page 85 300.22 Elaboration on Structure of “Trees” There are two major types of existence possible for man in a universe created by God. The two sets of dynamics are mutually exclusive.309 The dynamics within each set are interrelated and interdependent. The first type of existence is one of aggressive providence, a gilded-cage […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":78,"menu_order":390,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":[],"yoast_head":"\n300.22 Elaboration on Structure of "Trees" (pps.85-86) - David Birnbaum Summa Metaphysica I<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/30020-tree-of-lifetree-of-knowledge\/30022-elaboration-on-structure-of-trees\/\" \/>\n<link rel=\"next\" href=\"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/30020-tree-of-lifetree-of-knowledge\/30022-elaboration-on-structure-of-trees\/2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"300.22 Elaboration on Structure of "Trees" (pps.85-86) - David Birnbaum Summa Metaphysica I\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"hard cover page 85 300.22 Elaboration on Structure of “Trees” There are two major types of existence possible for man in a universe created by God. The two sets of dynamics are mutually exclusive.309 The dynamics within each set are interrelated and interdependent. The first type of existence is one of aggressive providence, a gilded-cage […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/30020-tree-of-lifetree-of-knowledge\/30022-elaboration-on-structure-of-trees\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"David Birnbaum Summa Metaphysica I\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-04-23T20:19:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/\",\"name\":\"David Birnbaum Summa Metaphysica I\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/30020-tree-of-lifetree-of-knowledge\/30022-elaboration-on-structure-of-trees\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/30020-tree-of-lifetree-of-knowledge\/30022-elaboration-on-structure-of-trees\/\",\"name\":\"300.22 Elaboration on Structure of \\\"Trees\\\" (pps.85-86) - David Birnbaum Summa Metaphysica I\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2006-10-05T18:10:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-04-23T20:19:09+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/30020-tree-of-lifetree-of-knowledge\/30022-elaboration-on-structure-of-trees\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/30020-tree-of-lifetree-of-knowledge\/30022-elaboration-on-structure-of-trees\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/30020-tree-of-lifetree-of-knowledge\/30022-elaboration-on-structure-of-trees\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"300.20 TREE OF LIFE\/TREE OF KNOWLEDGE\"}]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"300.22 Elaboration on Structure of \"Trees\" (pps.85-86) - David Birnbaum Summa Metaphysica I","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/30020-tree-of-lifetree-of-knowledge\/30022-elaboration-on-structure-of-trees\/","next":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/30020-tree-of-lifetree-of-knowledge\/30022-elaboration-on-structure-of-trees\/2\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"300.22 Elaboration on Structure of \"Trees\" (pps.85-86) - David Birnbaum Summa Metaphysica I","og_description":"hard cover page 85 300.22 Elaboration on Structure of “Trees” There are two major types of existence possible for man in a universe created by God. The two sets of dynamics are mutually exclusive.309 The dynamics within each set are interrelated and interdependent. The first type of existence is one of aggressive providence, a gilded-cage […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/30020-tree-of-lifetree-of-knowledge\/30022-elaboration-on-structure-of-trees\/","og_site_name":"David Birnbaum Summa Metaphysica I","article_modified_time":"2018-04-23T20:19:09+00:00","twitter_card":"summary","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/","name":"David Birnbaum Summa Metaphysica I","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/30020-tree-of-lifetree-of-knowledge\/30022-elaboration-on-structure-of-trees\/#webpage","url":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/30020-tree-of-lifetree-of-knowledge\/30022-elaboration-on-structure-of-trees\/","name":"300.22 Elaboration on Structure of \"Trees\" (pps.85-86) - David Birnbaum Summa Metaphysica I","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/#website"},"datePublished":"2006-10-05T18:10:01+00:00","dateModified":"2018-04-23T20:19:09+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/30020-tree-of-lifetree-of-knowledge\/30022-elaboration-on-structure-of-trees\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/30020-tree-of-lifetree-of-knowledge\/30022-elaboration-on-structure-of-trees\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/30020-tree-of-lifetree-of-knowledge\/30022-elaboration-on-structure-of-trees\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"300.20 TREE OF LIFE\/TREE OF KNOWLEDGE"}]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/80"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=80"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/80\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":246,"href":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/80\/revisions\/246"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/78"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/ge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=80"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}