I think the Genesis account of the fall is simpler than you make it out to be. Satan told a lie. Eve chose to believe Satan rather than God.
There was no cognitive dissonance. Eve knew exactly what she was doing. Satan knew exactly wht he was doing, and Adam knew exactly what he was doing. There was no hypnosis or cognitive dissonance. In fact, cognitive dissonance and hypnosis are two separate things...not related...cognitive dissonance is not a form of hypnosis.
Perry
From: "Marlin Halverson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: [TruthTalk] hypnotism
Date: Mon, 17 Feb 2003 23:09:13 -0500
"I have never before heard an interpretation of these verses that said ........."
Good! Why re-hash what you already know. Perhaps there is something you have not been told before that may be edifying to you.
Pssssssssssssssssssst. Look at the fruit. See how good it is to the eyes. Focussss. It will make you wize. Your eyes are getting heavy. Take. Eat. Pssssssssssssssssssssssssssssst.
Cognitive dissonance is a form of hypnotism. This is like the deception of Satan. He distorts reality. If I may use a simplistic understanding of the term "cult," wherein mind control is involved, I propose that the followers are hypnotized and deceived by the false doctrines that are being suspended before their eyes, of course mixed with some truth to make them palatable.
As to whether this is "eisegesis" or not, I'll look for a definition. Here is one from a Google search.
http://www.creationists.org/eisegesis.html
Definition of Eisegesis
"Eisegesis is the approach to Bible interpretation where the interpreter reads something into the text that isn't there. This often occurs when one approaches the Bible with personal biases about the issues being studied. Instead of letting the Bible speak for itself, and being open to what it actually has to say, the person practicing eisegesis "filters" his interpretation to fit his own personal world view paradigm. "
All right. Perhaps I am running with this one, superimposing our modern vocabulary over an ancient narrative. What I intend to do is to edify you, noting a pattern that I have thought much about. Your insight, or "eisegesis" about "a persuasive deceiver" and a woman's "pride" is not invalid, but there is much more here.
The candidate has to be willing and submissive to suggestion. Eve was. According to some perspectives, the hypnotist cannot make you do something that you would not ordinarily do. The method of causing the candidate to focus, is an act that facilitates distortion. Unfortunately, the Serpent's distortion was to cause Eve to disregard the commandments of God. Thus, the first man and woman became exiled from paradise and angels were set to prevent them from entering the garden.
Blood was shed to cover their nakedness, pointing to the Blood of Jesus that would cover our sins, commandment breaking. Able understood, but was slain. His assailant, Cain, was further exiled. Man's disobedience has always caused further exile from God.
We need our Redeemer.
Love,
Marlin
P.S. Plugging into a Google search my statement above, "Cognitive dissonance is a form of hypnotism," brought up some interesting sites that correspond to my above thoughts on this matter.
http://www-home.cc.duq.edu/~thames/humcomm/ratio.htm
"The conscious realization of inconsistency makes us uncomfortable because it is in our nature to be consistent. We experience conscious consistency as "harmony" (consonance) and conscious inconsistency as "discord" (dissonance). ......"
"The popular conception of hypnosis is similar to that of brainwashing-while not as powerful as brainwashing, there is still an exaggerated sense of the power of hypnosis and an air of mystery surrounding it; while not as sinister, there is ambivalence about its use. "
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Olympus/1833/persuasion.htm
"What else about persuasion? I suppose I have to at least mention Cognitive Dissonance Theory. This theory states that should behaviour and thinking (cognition) differ, then an uncumfortable condition known as 'dissonance' will arise. Either behaviour or cognition will be altered to reduce the dissonance and bring behaviour and thinking back into line with each other. This one's on all the salesmen's reading list - pre-decisional dissonance, post-decisional dissonance, etc, etc. The point is that you can manipulate someone's behaviour by changing their thinking, or change their thinking by changing their behaviour. This is the sort of very simple theory that I would expect to be used in 'brainwashing'. "
"Then there's hypnosis. Eriksonian non-directive hypnosis is fantastically strong and effective largely because the victim is unaware and unprepared. Routinely practiced by doctors and dentists, this is the origin of Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) although NLP is a popularised, diluted form. This is persusion only in as much as you have to induce (or persuade) a trance. This can be done during the act of shaking hands. Then you're in charge. Absolutely. Totally. Goodbye personality, goodbye volition. Hello Post-hypnotic suggestion. Stage hypnotists are well worth watching although the style and method is totally different. "What's your favourite fruit? Apple? Here eat this beautiful apple (onion) then". Stage hypnotism works like this. Test the audience to select the most responsive ones. Once on stage, the audience demands the expected response from those selected, and it works. " [emphasis mine]
Pssssssssssssssssssssssst.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Charles P. Locke" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Monday, February 17, 2003 10:45 AM
Subject: Re: [TruthTalk] hypnotism
> Sorry, Marlin, I just do not see a hypnotist in the verses you quoted. I see
> a persuasive deceiver and a woman whose pride caused her to want to be like
> God enough to disobey His commanment not to eat the fruit.
>
> I have never before heard an interpretation of these verses that said that
> the serpent hypnotised Eve, or put her into a trance, or any other such
> similar isogesis of the passage. Where do you get these ideas that are not
> in the text?
>
> Perry
>
> >From: "Marlin Halverson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> >Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> >To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> >Subject: Re: [TruthTalk] hypnotism
> >Date: Mon, 17 Feb 2003 09:41:27 -0500
> >
> >The first hypnotissssssssst. They gave power over to him. They yeilded
> >thier own will over to him. Pssssssssssssssst. Psssssssssssssst.
> >
> >GEN 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field
> >which
> > the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath
> >God
> > said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
> >GEN 3:2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of
> >the
> > trees of the garden:
> >GEN 3:3 But of the fruit of the tree which [is] in the midst of the
> >garden,
> > God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch
> >it,
> > lest ye die.
> >GEN 3:4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
> >GEN 3:5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your
> >eyes
> > shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and
> >evil.
> >GEN 3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree [was] good for food, and
> >that
> > it [was] pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to
> >make
> > [one] wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and
> >gave
> > also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
> >GEN 3:7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they
> > [were] naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made
> > themselves aprons.
>
>
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