A Thank You to the Professor

One thing that I have noticed throughout this semester is that this class has related to many of my other courses I am taking this year. In my human sexuality class, as I am studying for my final, there is a whole section about Augustine, his views on the sinfulness of sexual desire, and his views based on Adam and Eve. In fact, in my text, it says that the story of Adam and Eve has contributed to many negative views on sex. And as we stated in class, Augustine interpreted the covering of genitals (and how sex was generally practiced privately) as a sign that sex was sinful in general, since it was driven by passion, rather than by will. I just thought it was very interesting and I thought you would find it satisfying to know how important your course really is.
Another thing that striked me, and most likely why I absolutely had to email you, is that in my Genetics class, our professor was talking about the scientific basis of a common ancestor (and actually used the term Adam and Eve to describe them!) What we were learning was that a Y-chromosome and Mitochondrial DNA can be used to trace common ancestors. It has been used over time to confirm or deny ancestry of modern people who claim to be related to famous figures (one of the examples used in class was Thomas Jefferson). Anyways, it was found that humans have a common ancestor from around 100,000 years ago, and what makes this unique is that it is much later than most other species common ancestors. The common ancestor of a chimp, I believe, was about 3 million years ago. Furthermore, they used their genetic screening to determine the origin of this common ancestor, and it resided in northeastern Africa (around the Nile River). Our professor also pointed out that there is evid
ence showing that an event recently after the origin of man almost caused man to become extinct. He did not mention the Ice Age, but rather a flood (Noah's Ark) or volcano. I thought this was absolutely incredible and I thought you would like to know about. And maybe, if you already haven't done so, you could further research this and use it for one of your books!
Also, I decided to look at Michelangelo's depiction of Gen 2-3, many different images.
When I saw the depiction of Adam and Eve's expulsion from Eden, I noticed that the snake was anthropological, half man, half serpent. This, of course, comes from the notion that the serpent was Satan. Also, I noticed that Adam and Eve before the fall were much more beautiful, and after the fall, they are depicted much darker, Eve has a more deformed face, and they seem to be in great pain. This obviously manifested the punishments. The human-serpent is also seen giving Eve the fruit, which shows Michelangelo's own interpretation of Genesis. Michelangelo also depicted Genesis 1 on the cieling of the Sistine chapel, not just Genesis 2-3. In his creation of Adam, the much more famous piece, Adam is seen almost completely created, right before God touches him. This, of course, is somewhat of a depiction of Genesis 2, in which God infuses Adam with the breath of life. But here, rather, Michelangelo interpreted this breath of life as a spark of life, in which God makes Adam alive
by his touch. Also, the many angels around him represent the multiplicity of beings we discussed in class. Each angel has a different facial expression, which of course comes from the Vita, in which some angels support the creation of Adam, while others don't. In his depiction of the creation of Eve, I noticed that Eve was created from Adam's rib, while he is asleep on a dead tree, that has been cut in half. Here, unlike the creation of Adam, God is seen much older and wiser. Also, as a Catholic, I cannot help but look at this depiction of Adam as a comparison to Christ. The tree is like a cross, and Adam almost looks dead upon it. I believe this depiction attempted to connect Adam with Jesus, much like Augustine and many of those after him. This, of course, manifests the common belief that Jesus was what made the Genesis story go "full circle," in which Jesus was the second Adam, and the last.