The allegory of The Fall that we have all come to know and love as it has come down to us is corrupt, twisted by the priests to extract tribute from a frightened congregation: "Pay me and I will intercede for you to gain merit for you in Heaven and save you from etermal Hell" The money flows into the coffers. The original story, as I heard in on the radio one Sunday morning, years ago, goes something like this:
God tells A&E that all in the Garden is theirs, but of the Forbidden Fruit, they are not to eat, lest they taste death. Then God goes away, but reappears to them as a serpent, in order to ensure that they eat of the Fruit. The 'Forbidden Fruit' is a symbol of Higher Consciousness. Remember that the serpent told A&E that the reason God did not want them to eat of it was because their 'eyes would be opened and they would see as God sees'. This is none other than God, or Higher Consciousness. God is using reverse psychology on his innocent children to give them the free and unconditional gift of Divine Union, but first He must set up a piece de resistance by telling them NOT to eat of the Fruit as a device to coax them into partaking of it. God knows they will not be able to resist such a succulent and tempting taboo. In this original version of the Allegory, Divine Union, the goal of all religious endeavor, is perfectly achieved and "all's well that ends well." Story end, and man and God live happily ever after, while enjoying a hearty belly laugh. (Think of the laughing Buddha, here). But in the corrupted version, man and God are separated, and man is driven from Paradise only to hit every bump in the road before finally having to pass through death and gain entry into a tenuous Heaven. Buddhists jokingly call this 'The Long Way Home'.
In this original story, there is no Sin; there is no Devil; and there is no separation from God. Perfect Union with God has been achieved. This is the correct version.
Sceptical? Here...have a bite, so your eyes can be opened and you can see through the facade.....
We call this piercing of the facade 'Enlightenment'
I subscribe to the idea that our souls got lost in exploration.
In the beginning ( we will use the term as a reference point) souls had no knowledge because they had no experience.
To condemn any soul for what they do is like condemning a child to life in prison for spilling some milk.
This is God's schoolhouse.
We are here to learn, no condemnation, we learn through experiencing our own words and actions coming back on us, ie. the law of cause and effect.
We have an eternal soul and have and will live many lifetimes.
No worries, we live in the mind of God, the game called life is rigged in our favor.
We cannot fail.
Perfection is inevitable.