Light and darkness – are they ontological opposites?

Actually they are not. Light is something that exists – it IS. Darkness is the absence of light, it doesn’t exist – it IS NOT. Let’s use the light switch as an example. You turn ON the light, right? And you turn OFF the light, right? Whatever happened to the “darkness switch”? Darkness is the result when the light is NOT turned on. See the picture?

Death = the absence of life

Death = non-existence

Darkness = the absence of light

Darkness = non-existence

As we saw in the Dead Man Walking post, Adam ate the fruit and died. But everyone always points out that Adam was still there and in fact lived for many years and had another child. The next thing that always gets pointed out is that it’s because Adam died “spiritually” but then no one seems to know what that means exactly.

Before the fruit, Adam’s perception of himself, God, and the Universe was the perception of reality. He saw things as they truly were.

After the fruit, Adam’s newfound KNOWLEDGE of evil (what IS NOT) caused him to see things that didn’t exist. His perception of himself, God, and the Universe was suddenly based not on reality but on the illusions that existed only in his mind. He was suddenly in a world that didn’t exist. He was in the dark. Just like the little child attempting to hide in plain sight with eyes covered, oblivious to the reality of the situation.

This little child my friend is you and me. We live in incredible darkness in worlds that exist only in our minds. Our dark worlds are not reality where God is everywhere, around, in, and through us, giving us life and breath. Our dark world is the world of ME, ME, ME – it’s all about ME. We truly are dead men stuck on our own fantasy island, in the dark, disconnected from all that IS – life, light, goodness, God.

 

John 1:4-5 (ESV)
⁴ In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

 

There is hope, a way to turn the light on, to see again.

 

 

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