Timshel: The Test of Knowledge

Michelangelo's The Fall and Expulsion from Garden of Eden

           College students should always be in search for knowledge, but the question ought to be asked, "Is the pursuit of knowledge worthwhile?" While many would argue that knowledge is practically worthless, it could also be argued that knowledge has a corrupting effect on human nature, and given the story of the fall of man from Genesis, this appears to be the case. After Adam and Eve eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, they become corrupted and sinners, and thus all of humanity is also. St. Augustine calls it "original sin", that human beings are corrupt by nature and that this trait has been passed down from Adam to all of us, caused by Adam eating the forbidden fruit. Thus if eating from the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil corrupted all of mankind, this means that knowledge corrupts. This produces a paradox for college students if knowledge is sinful and yet they are in search of knowledge at the university. On the other hand, I would argue that eating the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil did not corrupt man himself, but corrupted mankind. Knowledge is not sinful, but it gives the option to sin. When humans get together in groups they use knowledge to gain material possessions or power, due to our want to fit in or to find admiration among our peers.

     My line of thinking was inspired in part from a Great American novel. In John Steinbeck's novel, East of Eden, main characters go into a deep discussion about the story of Cain and Abel, and Lee discovers that the English translations are wrong about what God told Cain before Abel, and that the original hebrew word Timshel means that humans have the choice between good and evil. Knowledge is not corrupting, nor is it purifying, but it allows humans to choose between good and evil. We should pursue knowledge to test our faith, learn about wickedness but not give in. Aristotle was right when he said, "It is the mark of an educated mind to entertain a thought without accepting it." In the same way, I say that it is the mark of an upright soul to know about wickedness and maintain righteousness.