According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, the tree of knowledge, connecting to heaven and the underworld, and the tree of life, connecting all forms of creation, are both forms of the world tree or cosmic tree. According to some scholars, the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, portrayed in various religions and philosophies, are the same tree. According to others, however, the tree of life concept is distinct from the tree of knowledge of good and bad, if only because eating from the latter leads to death and not life, and because it is mentioned in Genesis that there exists a distinct tree of life in the Garden of Eden (although humans are barred from entry to the Garden by the time it is mentioned). The Abrahamic religions are Semitic in origin, and not Indo-European- which might serve to explain relegating the idea of a cosmological tree to esoteric sects(e.g. Kabballah) in most Semitic cultures.
The concept of the tree of life appears in the writings of the Baha'i Faith, where it can refer to the Manifestation of God, a great teacher who appears to humanity from age to age. The concept can be broken down still further, with the Manifestation as the roots and trunk of the tree and his followers as the branches and leaves. The fruit produced by the tree nourishes an ever-advancing civilization.
A distinction has been made between the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The latter represents the physical world with its opposites, such as good and evil and light and dark. In a different context from the one above, the tree of life represents the spiritual realm, where this duality does not exist.
According to the doctrine of Swedenborgian's worldwide, belonging to various independent organisations, the first twelve chapters of Genesis are a symbolic retelling of ancient truths. In his large exegis Arcana Coelestia (see AC Potts), Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772) expounds on the symbolism and underlying spiritual meaning of both Genesis and Exodus. The symbolism regarding the tree of life, according to Emanuel Swedenborg, reflects the perception of our mind (or spirit, which is the same thing according to Swedenborg's phylosophy). As the tree (perception) is in the midst of the garden (representing our mind), it represents that part of our mind, which is the will (or heart). Thus knowledge of good is absorbed by our will and immediately applied to life (in the case with the tree of life).
The nature of the tree, or quality of the tree, is dependent on our inner state. It is described as the tree of life, when our will is focussed on what is good and true (spiritual truths or truths of faith), yet as the tree of knowledge of good and evil, when our will is focussed on mere natural memory knowledges and a 'seeing is believing' attitude. The result of us relying and living our life according to our own understanding is that, from that moment (the eating of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil) on, we are to rationally consider what to believe and filter with our natural understanding, rather than accepting what is good directly in our will, which was depicted of the Most Ancient people by Adam. Eve then represents a separate will being given to us, and the two (will and understanding) are separated.
In Revelation the tree again appears in the middle of the garden (taking the entire Bible as a spiritual symbolic journey of self discovery and improvement (spiritual growth) - also called regeneration), which provides then that the leaves are for the healing (which is that the truths which can be understood) are able to be applied to one's spiritual life for the betterment of our character, if you will "healing" our innate selfish tendencies. It takes a whole cycle of self-discovery and rejection of our negative self, to see the tree of life back in the middle.
The tree of life appears in the Book of Mormon in a revelation to Lehi (see 1 Nephi 8:10). It is symbolic of the love of God (see 1 Nephi 11:21-23). Its fruit is described as "most precious and most desirable above all other fruits," which "is the greatest of all the gifts of God" (see 1 Nephi 15:36). In another Mormon scriptural book, salvation is called "the greatest of all the gifts of God" (see Doctrine and Covenants 6:13). In the same book eternal life is also called the "greatest of all the gifts of God" (see Doctrine and Covenants 14:7). Because of these references, the tree of life and its fruit is sometimes understood to be symbolic of salvation and post-mortal existence in the presence of God and his love. From the first growth of the tree, many a limb and branch has decayed and dropped off; and these fallen branches of various sizes may represent those whole orders, families, and genera which have now no living representatives, and which are known to us only in a fossil state. As we here and there see a thin, straggling branch springing from a fork low down in a tree, and which by some chance has been favoured and is still alive on its summit, so we occasionally see an animal like the Ornithorhynchus (Platypus) or Lepidosiren (South American lungfish), which in some small degree connects by its affinities two large branches of life, and which has apparently been saved from fatal competition by having inhabited a protected station. As buds give rise by growth to fresh buds, and these, if vigorous, branch out and overtop on all sides many a feebler branch, so by generation I believe it has been with the great Tree of Life, which fills with its dead and broken branches the crust of the earth, and covers the surface with its ever-branching and beautiful ramifications. Every single organism (alive or extinct) has an ancestral path back to the ancestral replicator. The (mostly useful, aka adaptive at a certain time and place) accumulation of copying errors along that path constitutes an individual's (and species') evolutionary history. In a software tree, the modifications are typically deliberate and intentional, instead of random and filtered by the environment as seen in natural (or artificial) selection.
The concept of the tree of life appears in the writings of the Baha'i Faith, where it can refer to the Manifestation of God, a great teacher who appears to humanity from age to age. The concept can be broken down still further, with the Manifestation as the roots and trunk of the tree and his followers as the branches and leaves. The fruit produced by the tree nourishes an ever-advancing civilization.
A distinction has been made between the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The latter represents the physical world with its opposites, such as good and evil and light and dark. In a different context from the one above, the tree of life represents the spiritual realm, where this duality does not exist.
 Celtic tree of life tattoo |  Celtic Tattoo Tribal Tree Of |  Browse Our Tree Of Life |  Tree Of Life Tattoo Design For |  Tree Of Life Tattoo Design For |
 Tree of Life Tattoo Designs |  Peacock Feather Tattoo on Sexy |  His father\x26#39;s name tattooed on |  tattoo at man\x26#39;s back. |  Tree of Life Tattoos |
In Revelation the tree again appears in the middle of the garden (taking the entire Bible as a spiritual symbolic journey of self discovery and improvement (spiritual growth) - also called regeneration), which provides then that the leaves are for the healing (which is that the truths which can be understood) are able to be applied to one's spiritual life for the betterment of our character, if you will "healing" our innate selfish tendencies. It takes a whole cycle of self-discovery and rejection of our negative self, to see the tree of life back in the middle.
 Blog: Tattoos for Men 2011 |  love tattoos for men last ?? people do woman think tattoos are sexy on men |  Tree Of Life Tattoo On |  Many Tree of Life designs are |  celtic tree of life 13. Koi |
 tattoo trees |  Tree of Life Tattoo Designs |  Tattoo Revue Tattoos for Men |  Author: free logo vector |  Download Skype logo vector |
No comments:
Post a Comment