Timshel

Until the first DVD arrived earlier this week, I'd forgotten how much I liked Lee Holdridge's theme from the 1980 miniseries version of one of my favorite books, East of Eden.

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Ah... Jane Seymour! Such a perfect Cathy.

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The miniseries is a far truer to John Steinbeck's East of Eden than the James Dean version. But you really have to read the book which expands on the theme of Cain and Abel.

My favorite part is the passage that delves into Genesis 4:1-7. Does God order man to conquer sin? Or declare that man will? Or is there another possibility?

In East of Eden, the case is made that most versions of the Bible have mistranslated a key Hebrew word, and that the correct translation gives man free will: It's "the word timshel—‘Thou mayest’— that gives a choice. It might be the most important word in the world. That says the way is open. That throws it right back on a man."

In other words, it's up to man to choose to conquer sin; there's no command, no pre-ordainment.

Read the whole passage here.