I suspect that the television series Better Call Saul is so popular because it brings to our attention a deeply troubling reality every viewer senses in his or her own life experience. The characters’ choice of action in response to crises not only reveal their inner character, they shape their character and their future condition. As they face crossroad after crossroad of decisions they proceed towards a destination, while not of their liking, unquestionably the result of their choices which eliminated other possibilities.
The show does this so effectively because it doesn’t define its characters’ personalities and fatal flaws, which would allow us to treat the characters as fictional. Instead, it gently nudges us into a dawning awareness of essential human nature through the use of “precept upon precept” as we’re able to track their disasters back to the start when their bad choices set them up to fall.
You know that Adam and Eve told Cain endless stories of the fabulous way of life in Eden, no death, and how the LORD had promised to restore it through the Seed of the Woman.
The first law documented as being given to mankind is not a “Do Not” but a “Do”.
“God created man in his own image…and God said unto them…have dominion… And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress / groom it and to keep / guard it.” (Genesis 1:27-28. 2:15)
And Cain lived up to that expectation and way of life in recreating the Edenic vegan world.
“and [Eve] bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD. And…Cain was a tiller of the ground…And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD…But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect.”
In the meantime, back at the ranch, Eve had also born Cain’s brother Abel.
“And Abel was a keeper of sheep. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering [reported in other instances as fire from heaven]. (Genesis 4:1-5)
Surely we recognize the repetition of the Luciferian attitude in Cain’s personal pride at his accomplishments and outrage at God’s rejection of his gift.
So he lashed out against, not at Abel for upstaging him, but fundamentally against God for putting him in his place.
“Oh you want blood, do you? I’ll give you blood!”
Continue reading “SECTION XIII: The First Anti-Christ”