Forbidden Fruit

I was just now sitting here eating an apple with my son when a thought came to me.

In the Bible it states that Eve ate of the fruit - later on it was written in to be an apple.

So, what if apples were forbidden by the Church?

Or how about this, all fruit is considered sacred and not to be eaten?

Or, given the dietary restrictions already believed in by those of the Jewish faith I wonder if this could have started earlier and been carried over into the Christian faith.
 

Philip

Donor
Or, given the dietary restrictions already believed in by those of the Jewish faith I wonder if this could have started earlier and been carried over into the Christian faith.

If it occurred earlier, the restriction is likely to be discarded with the rest of the dietary restrictions.
 

terence

Banned
Your son might be the Chestnut of your Eye.
Isaac Newton might have to wait until a pine cone fell on his head.
A pine-nut a day keeps the Doctor away.
Pomme-de-terre = American turnip?
Waht have you started?
 
I was just now sitting here eating an apple with my son when a thought came to me.

In the Bible it states that Eve ate of the fruit - later on it was written in to be an apple.

So, what if apples were forbidden by the Church?

Or how about this, all fruit is considered sacred and not to be eaten?

Or, given the dietary restrictions already believed in by those of the Jewish faith I wonder if this could have started earlier and been carried over into the Christian faith.

The apple was written in when the Bible was translated to Latin (something about a similarity between the latin words for Apple and Sin?).

But if apples were forbidden by the church the way the Jews and Muslims forbid Pork, then you can see Christian burnings of apple trees as tools of satan. This can be a problem in the newly Germanic parts of the Roman Empire, where a significant part of German paganism relied on worshipping trees (and when the Christians burn the trees down, bad things will happen).
 
Seeing that fruit is a major part of human diet (eskimoes not withstanding), it would be rather difficult to ban fruit.

In addition; the forbidden fruit isn't literally fruit. It's just an allusion, just like the snake. Beware of the snake in your pants.
 
The apple was written in when the Bible was translated to Latin (something about a similarity between the latin words for Apple and Sin?).
Apple is "malus" (feminine noun despite the ending!)
bad/evil is "malus/-a/-um" (adjective)


Interestingly "pomum" is fruit in general, not just apples, despite the French and ?Italian? meanings.
 

terence

Banned
The apple was written in when the Bible was translated to Latin (something about a similarity between the latin words for Apple and Sin?).

But if apples were forbidden by the church the way the Jews and Muslims forbid Pork, then you can see Christian burnings of apple trees as tools of satan. This can be a problem in the newly Germanic parts of the Roman Empire, where a significant part of German paganism relied on worshipping trees (and when the Christians burn the trees down, bad things will happen).

So instead of Cardinals arguing for generations about the number of angels dancing on a pinhead or the moment of transubstantiation-- we get "What's a fruit?" ( No, not who's a fruit?).
Is a pomegranite a fruit?, what about an avocado (when they arrive in Europe), a banana, a tomato? How you make the communion wine without grapes? I seem to recall that some Roman catholic sect or order determined that Rabbits were, technically, fish so they could be eaten on a Friday. So maybe strawberrys could be determined as nuts when daquiries are to be made.
 
So instead of Cardinals arguing for generations about the number of angels dancing on a pinhead or the moment of transubstantiation-- we get "What's a fruit?" ( No, not who's a fruit?).
Is a pomegranite a fruit?, what about an avocado (when they arrive in Europe), a banana, a tomato? How you make the communion wine without grapes? I seem to recall that some Roman catholic sect or order determined that Rabbits were, technically, fish so they could be eaten on a Friday. So maybe strawberrys could be determined as nuts when daquiries are to be made.

Avocados came from the New World IIRC and I'm not entirely sure that they can make the transatlantic voyage as fruit. I do believe that the pomegranite may actually be the fruit in question. Apples are not everywhere and the pomegranite goes in the Mesopotamian region.
 

Cook

Banned
Kait's observation that it's just an allusion and not to be taken literally wouldn't hold much water with the Spanish Inquisition.

"Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition" - Monty Python.

Skisms and Holy Wars over wether the Forbidden fruit was an Apple or a Banana.
 
Has lynezian not posted yet?

Well, as a Catholic, do note that the Church *officially* does not recognize the forbidden fruit as "apple." Indeed nowhere in my Bible does it say that it was an apple. Most Catholics would argue, i presume, that the forbidden fruit as an "apple" just came along as a result of Christian imagination down the road of history, as they say too of the "three" kings -- nowhere does the Bible state that they were three nor kings (just "wise men")

Don't mean to start any nascent debate here, but just saying that's what the Church stance is, at least that's what I'm currently learning in my introductory theology course anyway :rolleyes:
 
Apple is "malus" (feminine noun despite the ending!)
bad/evil is "malus/-a/-um" (adjective)


Interestingly "pomum" is fruit in general, not just apples, despite the French and ?Italian? meanings.


Actually malus (with long a: maalus) means appletree rather than apple itself. So apple would be something like pomum mali fruit of the appletree.
I'm guessing the reason why pomum became apple in the later Romance languages was due to it being the common fruit.
 
Isaac Newton might have to wait until a pine cone fell on his head.

Probably not. Newton gave the description of having an Apple land on his head as a direct reference to the biblical story - the Apple being the Fruit of Knowledge.

Cheers,
Nigel.
 
Actually malus (with long a: maalus) means appletree rather than apple itself. So apple would be something like pomum mali fruit of the appletree.
I'm guessing the reason why pomum became apple in the later Romance languages was due to it being the common fruit.
Oops! Idiot boy! Gaah! Yes, that's what the dictionary said. That's not what I read. :(
You are, of course, right, sir.
 

Thande

Donor
This one has occurred to me as well. Given how many loony sects there are over the most minor reinterpretation of one verse somewhere in Deuteronomy, you'd have thought this might crop up somewhere, probably by a bunch of firebrands not educated in Biblical translation (what about all those groups that were around during the English Republican period?)
 
Kait's observation that it's just an allusion and not to be taken literally wouldn't hold much water with the Spanish Inquisition.

"Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition" - Monty Python.

Skisms and Holy Wars over wether the Forbidden fruit was an Apple r a Banana.


Love this. Frankly, I'd probably be in the smaller sect of The Cult of the Pair (as I'm not a big fan of banana's and I like pairs more than apples).


So instead of Cardinals arguing for generations about the number of angels dancing on a pinhead or the moment of transubstantiation-- we get "What's a fruit?" ( No, not who's a fruit?).
Is a pomegranite a fruit?, what about an avocado (when they arrive in Europe), a banana, a tomato? How you make the communion wine without grapes? I seem to recall that some Roman catholic sect or order determined that Rabbits were, technically, fish so they could be eaten on a Friday. So maybe strawberrys could be determined as nuts when daquiries are to be made.

Again, loved this. Ecclesiastical debates over the definition of fruit.


The apple was written in when the Bible was translated to Latin (something about a similarity between the latin words for Apple and Sin?).

But if apples were forbidden by the church the way the Jews and Muslims forbid Pork, then you can see Christian burnings of apple trees as tools of satan. This can be a problem in the newly Germanic parts of the Roman Empire, where a significant part of German paganism relied on worshipping trees (and when the Christians burn the trees down, bad things will happen).


When I thought of this I was actually thinking that either mainstream or a sub-religion would develop that would worshiped all fruitbearing trees - which would help relations with the Celts and the Germanic tribes.

But, my gods, you're right - I can see the groves of cherry trees burning now...what have I done?
 
Well, as a Catholic, do note that the Church *officially* does not recognize the forbidden fruit as "apple." Indeed nowhere in my Bible does it say that it was an apple. Most Catholics would argue, i presume, that the forbidden fruit as an "apple" just came along as a result of Christian imagination down the road of history,

Wouldn't that be something if the forbidden fruit had been durian?
 
I do believe that the pomegranate may actually be the fruit in question. Apples are not everywhere and the pomegranate grows in the Mesopotamian region.
Banning the Pomegranate, would have much impact on Europe.
If other fruit come under attack whe can have them legally redefined as Vegetables, like the Tomato.
 
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