Babel

Today I participated in a fascinating workshop lead by Melvin Bray and Russel Rathbun. The purpose of the exercise was to reinterpret/retell a story from the book of Genesis. We were handed sheets of paper that contained a verse from Genesis, along with Good questions to help us flesh out the story.
The story I would up with (luckily one I knew!) was the story of the Tower of Babel. At the end of the class, Melvin recorded us telling our stories (if we were willing to.) So, if not now, you should soon be able to find a copy of me reciting the following story at http://findourselves.kidcultivators.org I encourage you to go there, as I'm sure the other stories Melvin is acquiring will all be thought provoking. I know that the ones I heard recorded were all worth hearing.
So here's my translation of the Babel story. I love the way God forces upon me the juxtaposition that right after I rewrite part of the end of the Bible, I find myself rewriting part of the beginning.

Genesis 11:
Babel

Now humanity had taken it upon itself to build a tower unto heaven. This tower was to serve not only as a symbol of humanity's accomplishments, but also to be a gateway into heaven, so once again man could stand beside God. God saw the tower, and understood that humanity had the ability to achieve the impossible when they worked together, as they were truly the children of the Lord.
But the tower to heaven was not only a symbol of the humanity's ability, but also as a symbol of its arrogance, and its carelessness to undertake the construction of a tower so tall that surely the lives of people would be lost in its construction, or when it topples.
To punish humanity for its arrogance, and to protect us spiritually from entering heaven wrongfully through the wrong path, and to protect us physically from the fall from or of the tower, God took humanity and broke apart its language so that the feat could not be accomplished.
God knew the travesty of taking away humanity's ability to accomplish the extraordinary , but was brought solace in the knowledge that each new language would produce new cultures whose beauty would surpass that of any lifeless structure that man could create.