The Christian Cross is an intrinsic symbol of Christianity that is ubiquitous around the world. From the very beginning the Christian community was diverse and eclectic for the first 300 years as it grew and proliferated in the Middle East, Asia and Africa. Christianity was consolidated by the Roman Catholic Church in 325 AD, under Roman Emperor Constantine, which split Christianity between east and west in what is recorded in history as the “great schism.” Subsequently, Christianity was introduced to Europe by way of the Roman Catholic Church, and the faith remained consolidated in Europe until the 1600’s. During the 1200 plus years of Roman Catholic domination in the western hemisphere, the Protestant Reformation occurred, and in the 16th century the faith bifurcated in Europe in the context of Catholics and Protestants.  From the 16th century until currently Protestant denominational Christianity proliferated in Europe and in America. Hence there is a universe of Catholic and scores of Protestant denominational Christian churches proliferated in the western world.

The colorful history of Christianity grew throughout the entire world, yet the Holy Cross has remained the unequivocal symbol of Christianity and Jesus the Christ, the progenitor of the universe of Christianity. While unanimity exists among the universe Christianity and the faithful, the consensus breaks down immediately as soon as one moves beyond the Holy Cross, and Jesus Christ. Fortunately, more often than not, the spirit of Christianity has emerged to modulate Christian sectarian discord the framework of religious tolerance. However, there remains a specter of discord over the centuries between Catholics and Protestants.

Since the advent of Christianity in the Middle East, Africa and Asia It was healthy and appropriate for the respective Christian communities to appropriate the faith on behalf of their respective cultures and community. Prior to the advent of Roman Catholicism, Christianity was diverse and eclectic during the first 300 years. Therefore, prior following the advent of the Roman Catholic Church, Christianity was consolidated and remained dominant for 1200 years, until the Protestant Reformation. As the faith divided between Catholics and Protestants, Christianity began to return to its early state of diversity and eclecticism…

The organized Christian religion, notwithstanding denomination, and the various orthodox traditions practice a similar worship modality in the context of their weekly observance, and traditional holy days, with few variances. However, orthodox Christianity, by way of the Eastern Orthodox branch of churches, Roman Catholic Church, and Anglican Church reference their weekly worship service as a Mass. On the other hand Protestant denominational Christianity references their weekly observance as a worship service.  Predominantly the weekly service of Christianity occurs on Sunday, although Saturdays are an observance day in some faiths. Nevertheless, there is a general similitude among the universe of Christianity regarding the weekly worship service. The popular worship service represents the hallmark of the organized Christian religion and congregations along with respective clergy have assembled in this framework for centuries. In addition, the clergy represents the intermediaries between the faithful and God the father, by way of Jesus the Christ. Hence, the weekly worship service is the popular observance modality throughout the universe of the Christian faith.

On the other hand, Eastern Orthodox Christian Church and Roman Catholic Church have an ancient system of monasticism, with monks working within monasteries that proliferated throughout the early centuries of the Christian faith. Monasteries are institutions of learning, teaching, observance and defending the church. Traditionally, monastic orders have churches within their jurisdictions and they are generally responsible for training clergy that manage the churches, administer to the congregation and offer to the poor, and conduct the weekly worship service. In addition, monk’s often carryout special “orders” and engage in disciplines that are beyond the public sphere. Accordingly, monastic orders explore obscure and hidden meaning, and nuance with esoteric meaning. Therefore, as a practical matter, monastic orders in esoteric theology, while the popular clergy and parish priest engage exoteric worship. There is a dichotomy between monastic orders, and the clergy, parish priest and preacher. Specifically, in the monastery, service equals worship, and the popular clergy engage in worship as service. The religious experience of the general public is the weekly worship, in organized Christian religion. Monastic order was not grandfathered into the Protestant Reformation, nor was the “Adoration of the Magi” (Three Kings Day), among other Orthodox Christianity and Roman Catholic observances.

In the framework of monasteries esoteric theological ideas and concepts are engaged that as a practical matter are not included in the popular Christian discourse, and worship service format. And in the universe of traditional Christianity Roman Catholic and Protestant denominationalism, the conventional story of Adam and Eve are the central characters to the biblical Judeo-Christian story. The biblical narrative informs the reader that Adam was created first and Eve was created from Adams rib. This metaphor firmly establishes the patriarchal system which definitively positions Eve as subordinate to Adam, and the canon of scripture informs us by way of example how the vertical hierarchal paradigm operates in the relationship between Adam and Eve, and human relations in general. Thus, the religions of Abraham (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) are patriarchal religions.

On the other hand, there is another theological account which informs that Eve was the second wife of Adam, and first is known as Lilith… The brief, the Adam and Lilith creation story is summarized as follows: Adam and Lilith were created by God from the earth, simultaneously and as coequals. Shortly thereafter Adam lamented to God his unhappiness that Lilith would not easily submit to preference to maintain the master position. For her part, Lilith was adamant relative to enjoying the master position which more often than not caused bickering between them. Ultimately, Adam’s argument prevailed and God responded by creating Eve, from Adam’s rib. Therefore, from the outset of God’s creation, the relationship between Man and woman was coequal and horizontal in nature. The story of Lilith is among the esoteric theological allegories and offers a perspective beyond the traditional creation narrative.

STORY OF CREATION…

The story of creation in Christianity is possible one of the most well-known Origin stories to this day. The Book of Genesis states that God created the Earth in six days and rested on the seventh and in those days he gave life to the first humans; a man and a woman by the names of Adam and Eve. However, few know of the dark secrets that are kept within the history of Creation about a woman by the name of Lilith and her origin in Eden. The only things that remain to be answered now are who she was and what ever happened to her…

Thesis: Is Lilith truly Evil?

Origin of Lilith

The Talmud of Babylon


Lilith in Eden

Adam and Lilith
Alphabet of Ben Sira


Modern Culture

English Literature

Conclusion: Lilith was mostly considered evil in the past due to a male governed world and the close minded ways of society. Now as women gain more power and people are more willing to understand new things, it really depends on what culture you come from that determines how you view Lilith in the past and going forward.

The Story of Lilith

As the world continues to grow and the past is slowly uncovered by the future, many new characters and legends are rediscovered and studied to better understand what the past was like and how certain things that mankind still doesn’t have answers for came to be. One of the questions that will always be desired an answer for is the ever elusive “Origin of the Universe”, something that science and religion have fiercely clash over for many centuries now. However, the focus of this paper isn’t on the ever ongoing battle between science and religion, but the discoveries – or rather – the reintroductions of certain aspects of religion that were found through scientific studies like anthropology and archaeology. A grand example of this would be Christianity, which is one of the world’s most widely known religions of our day and age. Massive studies are still done on the Bible and in the certain locations to prove the existence of prophets like Moses and Jesus and places such as the lost paradise that was the Garden of Eden and the unholy cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. As researchers dig deeper and deeper into the past, more facts and stories are brought up to surface and either solidify or unravel some of society’s oldest beliefs and theories. The story of creation in Christianity being one of them and it all started with a famous she-demon who once was a woman by the name of Lilith.

Origin of Lilith

The earliest knowledge of Lilith comes from the Babylonian Talmud – second to the Torah and a central text of Rabbinic Judaism – where it is believed that the Babylonians may have derived her from myths about Sumerian female vampires called “Lillu”, and Mesopotamian succubae called “Lilin”. The roots that make up her name are a mix of Sumerian, Akkadian, and Hebrew with each more or less translating to “female night being/demon”, although any connections between the Sumerian and Mesopotamian versions of Lilith were later cut from that of the Jewish version. The Mesopotamian version of Lilith was believed to be a species of sexual demon – also known as succubae – meaning that there were both male – lili or incubus – and female – lilitu or succubus – that existed. This disagreed with the Jewish belief that Lilith was purely female and a single being.

Within the Talmud, Lilith is mentioned a total of four times and the connection of her being Adam’s first wife had still not been brought to light. However, due to her background thanks to the influence of the Sumerian and Mesopotamian versions in which she is associated with evil, Lilith was seen as a dark creature and often used as a warning against both men and women. She was considered to have a relation to abnormal fetuses and impurity. The Talmud stating that: “If an abortion had the likeness of Lilith its mother is unclean by reason of its birth, for it is a child, but it has wings” (as cited in Pelaia, Lilith in the Talmud and in Midrash, para 1). The Talmud also warned against men sleeping alone at home. Since Lilith was given a succubus influence, rabbis believed that she was responsible for nocturnal emissions that men had while they slept and that she gathered up their semen so that she could give birth to her many demonic offspring.

Lilith in Eden

Small hints of Lilith being the “First Eve” were discovered in Genesis Rabbah 18:4 as a collection of rabbinic literature – Midrashim – about the book of Genesis. It is with this knowledge and centuries of thought and study that Lilith eventually won the role of Adam’s first wife in Jewish folklore, and would also end up developing two opposing versions of the story of Creation. These two concepts of Creation would be separated into Genesis 1 and Genesis 2; Genesis 1 housing the story of Adam and Lilith and Genesis 2 housing the more widely known version of Creation with Adam and Eve. The main differences between the two concepts are Lilith and Eve and each of their relationships with Adam.

In Genesis 1:26-27 it clearly states: Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground”. So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them (Genesis 1:26-30 NIV). This meaning is that God had created both Adam and Lilith out of mud on the same clay and at the same time, making them equals and rulers over everything else that He had brought into existence. And yet in the second Genesis, God created Adam first and then created Eve out of one of Adam’s ribs after he had created all the animals in the Garden of Eden. Rabbis had noticed the problem and quickly came up with their own theories of explaining how Genesis 1 became Genesis 2, many involving the idea that Adam had been unsatisfied by the “First Eve” and God ended up replacing her with the “Second Eve”, a wife that would meet each of Adam’s needs without resistance.

The idea of Lilith being Adam’s first wife wouldn’t have more consideration until the birth of the Alphabet of Ben Sira, one of the earliest works of religious literature dealing with Lilith and Adam. However, some of the traditions that are explained in the Alphabet are actually believed to be older than the story since scholars tend to date the Alphabet between the 8th and 10th centuries AD. The amulet that is used to protect newborn boys until their circumcision was thought to come from this story, but actually dated back into the time in which the Mesopotamian belief of Lilin was still at large. Also, the idea of Eve having replaced another woman isn’t solely something of the Alphabet, as it can be found in the Genesis Rabbah. Nonetheless, what makes the Alphabet of Ben Sira unique is the idea that Lilith was Eve’s predecessor.

The story explains how God had created Adam and then Lilith shortly afterwards out of clay but they started to bicker with each other when left alone. Lilith wanting to be seen as Adam’s equal used the claim of their birth from the same clay to support her point, and refusing to submit to him when it came to sex as she also wanted to have a turn in the dominant sexual position. Seeing as they would never come to a compromise, Lilith uttered God’s true name and left Eden of her own freewill, leaving Adam alone in the Garden. God swiftly sent three angels after her to bring her back to Adam even if force was necessary, but even with their threats of throwing her into the Red Sea, Lilith stood firmly with determination of not going back to Eden and having to submit to Adam or even God’s will. She proved that she was a force to be reckoned with when she struck a deal with the angels in that she would not attack children that wore the amulets that had the three angels names inscribed on it, but the unlucky ones were hers. What Lilith didn’t know was that God had told Adam of a plan he had for when the angels found her, if she returned then all would be forgiven but if she didn’t then she would have to pay the price with the lives of a 100 of her own children. The result of the story in the end was that of a strong woman being replaced and then slowly demonized into a dangerous baby killer out of hatred and grief for the deaths of her own children. Time and more legends have molded her into the demonic yet sinfully beautiful seducer of men and succubus and mother of demons that we know today, earning her the title of Queen of the Demons.

Modern Culture

With Western growth and the spread of the arts and culture, Lilith quickly found herself the theme of many paintings and sonnets that played up her reputation as a “femme fatale” during the Romantic period of the 18th century. There were even a few artists that showed a more beautiful and loving side of Lilith, the Victorian poet Robert Browning an excellent example of this in his poem “Adam, Lilith, and Eve”. A poem that shown Lilith is a new light and explained some of the traditional myths that surrounded the trio that were the first of Eden; Browning even went as far as depicting Lilith and Eve being friendly with one another as they chat while Adam sat between them. In the poem, Lilith even admits to always having loved Adam while under threat of death as Eve admits the opposite while in the same situation; Browning purposely focused on the good that was still within Lilith buried deeply under the taint that she has gained.

The Romantic depiction of Lilith continues to grow as society matures and women are given more rights as she becomes more popular in and out of Occultism. Many cultures now hold her on similar terms as that of Dark Goddesses like Kali or Hecate, and others viewing her in the same light Isis and many other Goddesses that represent women, childbirth, love, sexuality, and magic.

Conclusion

In the past, Lilith was considered evil due to her desire for equality between men and women, and we must remember that men. in the religious and secular worlds, held and continue to hold most of the power in everything that ranged from business to marriage to education. The men of that time wanted women to be more like Eve in that sense; a wife that was submissive and unwilling to disobey their husbands. Sadly, that mindset does still exist although it is diminishing. Many potential “Lilith’s” live under death threats from even their own husbands and are force to live in fear as “Eves”. Nonetheless, the spirit of Lilith’s determination and will grows stronger and stronger everyday so that only leaves one thing to ask now. If Lilith is still viewed as something evil and now there are many “Lilith’s” being born into the world or coming out of their “Eve” shells, does that mean that all women are now evil?