Giving it all up. Killing the fattened calf. Laying it all down. Raising the knife. A ritual preparation for the spilling of blood, the spilling of soul. The stripping away of life. On a white cloth altar. So you can see.

Better make sure it is worthy. The sacrifice I bring. Do I respect it enough to pierce my deepest emotion? Do I regret it enough to feel the fatal weight? Do I hate it enough to summon the power of death? Do I love it enough, to name it sacrifice?

By Cindy Koch

Both Adam and his wife shudder in fear. They have both eaten the forbidden fruit now. The first bite was great, but the bitter aftertaste was unlike anything they ever had. Cowering deep in the bushes they feel nauseous from embarrassment and shame. Something is terribly different and dreadfully wrong. Instead of running into the arms of their protective Creator, all they want to do was scamper away. Far, far away. Unexpectedly, this taste of knowledge and freedom was very bad.