What if Only Adam Bit the Apple?



  What if Only Adam Bit the Apple?

  by

  James Serio

  Copyright © 2014 James Serio

  Cover Design by Miss Mae.

  Ebook formatting by www.ebooklaunch.com

  This ebook is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and events are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Scriptures to Ponder

  About the Author

  Disclaimer

  Copyright Notices

  Chapter 1

  It was the dawn of creation; the Lord had created the heavens and the earth. There was now an abundance of plants and animals and the seas teemed with fish and a diverse variety of aquatic life. The Lord God marveled at the beauty of creation, but decided that there was one thing missing. One more creation to make the earth complete.

  The Lord God said: "Let us create man in Our image. He will rule over the fish of the sea, over the livestock, over the birds of the sky and over the creatures that move along the ground—over every living thing."

  So God created man in His image and it was His will for man to have dominion over all creation. God blessed the man whom He had created and gave him commandments to be obeyed so that he could prosper on the earth. In particular, Adam was told not to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. "If you eat of it," God warned, "you will surely die."

  God named the man Adam. Adam lived for many years on the earth without a companion.

  Then the Lord God said: "It is not good for man to live alone. I will make a companion suitable for him. She can help him tend the Garden of Eden as I have commanded."

  So the Lord God put the man—Adam—into a deep sleep and took one of his ribs, then closed the flesh. God created the the woman out of the rib and then brought her to Adam.

  Adam, who had named all the animals that the Lord God had created, thought to himself, "I will name this one as well." He then announced: "She will be called 'woman' because she came out of man."

  Now Adam had already lived many years on the earth. He did, for the most part, as he pleased. He ruled over everything and regarded God's provision as a birthright. He became increasingly proud, reasoning that he must be rather special to merit all this attention.

  And now God had created a unique animal, designed especially for him! This only added to his sense of self-importance. But he thanked God anyway, just to be polite.

  The woman, new to creation, was humbled by the newness of life. She always sought to stay close to God and learn from her creator. Adam did not; he had matured and was past that stage.

  Adam did tend the Garden, but not as God had commanded: Instead of corn, lettuce and tomatoes, Adam would plant marijuana, opium poppies and 'magic mushrooms.' Adam had found these magical herbs growing wild in the far reaches of the Garden.

  Adam also invented the first bong, which he made out of bamboo. This was a source of great pride and endless joy.

  Adam made a point of getting high almost every day and became increasingly suspicious of God for not Himself telling him about these blessings. Why had God held out on him? If God really did love him, why hadn't He taught him how to get high? What else had God failed to tell him? How could such a selfish God be trusted?

  Adam had been without a companion for many years before Eve was created. And, although he enjoyed God's creation, he had longed for someone to talk to—other than just God. The animals seemed to have no trouble communicating with one another, but they could not talk to him. With one exception—the Serpent. He could talk just fine. He was friendly and was always nice enough to make time for Adam. He was also the only one nice enough to tell Adam about the magical herbs.

  God had warned Adam about the Serpent, but Adam continued to regard the Serpent as an old friend—even his closest friend, someone he could always connect with. He felt alive talking with the Serpent. And, as his relationship with the Serpent blossomed, Adam became increasingly uncomfortable with God. So he'd spend less and less time with God.

  When Adam did talk with God, he paid close attention to what God told him—looking for inconsistencies. He remembered what the wise Serpent had told him: "There's two sides to every story."

  Adam's relationship with Eve blossomed at first. She was giddy with excitement as Adam showed her lush canyons, pristine lakes and travertine waterfalls. "It's all so beautiful," she would say. Adam found her amazing and exciting and was stoked on teaching her all that he had learned.

  There were some things about Eve, however, that Adam found perplexing, even frustrating. She was not impressed with the Serpent. Whenever Adam would say "Let's go say 'hi' to the Serpent," there was always some excuse like "You go. Today, I'm going to plant peppers."

  And she was unwilling to even try any of the magical herbs: "God's all I need," she would say.

  There's nothing more frustrating for a teacher than to have a student who is unwilling to learn. And such was Adam's predicament. Eve was simply unwilling to reap the benefits of all his experience. Even though he was older and wiser.

  Thus, the relationship became strained. And when Eve brought up her conversations with God, things got even worse: "Were you talking about me?" Adam would say. "What did God tell you that I'm not supposed to know?" And Adam began using even more of the magical herbs.

  Eve became increasingly concerned about all the herbs her husband was ingesting. She felt uncomfortable with the changes that were taking place: One day Adam was laughing and making jokes—he was hilarious. The next, he was moody and withdrawn, and looked at everything she did with suspicion. "What's wrong with you?" she'd say. "I think those herbs are making you crazy!" But Adam would have none of this: "You're the one who's crazy," he'd say." "And because of you and God, I NEED those herbs just to relax!"

  Adam brought his troubles to the Serpent, who would listen to his troubles and comfort him. Every time he talked with the Serpent, he would find relief from the burden he was experiencing; it felt good to have such a caring, trusted friend.

  One day, when talking to the Serpent, Adam wanted more than just a listening ear. One thing that he really appreciated about the Serpent is how he'd just listen. He would accept him as he was and not try to change him: "No commandments from me," the Serpent would say. But this time, Adam really wanted some advice. He knew the Serpent was wise. And this time, he really wanted answers for the troubles of his heart.

  "Why is this happening to me?" said Adam."Why can I no longer trust the only woman in the world? Why are she and God conspiring against me? I need some answers!"

  The Serpent listened carefully. He waited until Adam had processed his emotions. He was, in a sense, the first and best ever psychologist. He waited until Adam had calmed down—and then he spoke.

  "I want what's best for you," said the Serpent. "And, although you are having problems with the woman, I care about her as well. I want what's best for both of you. I want you both to have the tools you need so that you can repair your relationship. I want you to have what you need so that you can make it on your own."

  "I don't know about that," said Adam. "She's always talking about God and I'm sick of it! Why did God have to give me such a holy roller?"

  The Serpent replied, "She talks about God because that's all she knows. She needs more wisdom—and so do you."

  "How would we get this wisdom," said Adam. "And why won't you tell me what I should do? I know you have the answers."

  The Serpent replied: "I want you to find the answers for you
rself. That is the only way therapeutic progress can be made. When you find out the answers for yourself, you will understand why I didn't explain everything to you in advance. I am doing this because I care about you. Because I want what's best for you."

  "OK," said Adam. "I know you know what is best. And I do trust you. I know you'd never steer me wrong. So what do I do to get this wisdom that I need?"

  "Remember," the Serpent said, "that you are not the only one who needs more wisdom. Eve needs more wisdom too. It is not enough for just you to have more wisdom. You both need to be enlightened."

  "OK," said Adam. "I know you're right. She does need to be smarter. Maybe then she will stop causing problems for me. Maybe then she will get off this God thing of hers. Maybe she can learn to act normal like me. And then, we'd get along just fine."

  "I couldn't have said it better myself," said the Serpent.

  "OK, so what do we do?" asked Adam. The Serpent listened thoughtfully and realized that the time was now right for an intervention. And so he