Tess Cushing

7/26/17

Venetian Art and the Bible: Final Project

DIVINE Journal Vol. 1

In My Image: An Effort to Create the Perfect Man

God

Introduction: The purpose of this experiment was to create a being worthy of populating

heaven and serving as my companion. I identified 7 positive qualities called Heavenly

Virtues that I wanted to cultivate (faith, hope, charity, fortitude, justice, prudence, and

temperance) and 7 negative qualities called Deadly Sins that I wanted to avoid (pride, envy,

gluttony, lust, wrath, greed, and sloth). A new being, which I have called Man was created in

my image and placed in an artificial arena that I also created for the purposes of the

experiment. The arena was filled with everything that Man needed to survive, including a

variety of other living beings that I made for his use and enjoyment (Genesis 1:1-27).

Throughout the duration of the experiment, I presented the subjects with various tests in

order to assess their worthiness to dwell within my kingdom. Non-invasive conscience

scans were used to assess the presence of the Deadly Sins and Heavenly Virtues in the soul

of each subject. I tried various methods to establish a relationship with Man and cultivate

the Heavenly Virtues to the complete exclusion of the Deadly Sins. As of now, I have not yet

perfected the species, and it remains persistently prone to error and wickedness. Therefore,

the experiment remains unfinished. However, I find it useful to offer this report on my

progress and methods thus far.

Part One: The Creation of Man

Hypothesis: I hypothesized that a being created in my image would also reflect my divine

behavior and would act in a manner consistent with a level of respect and obedience to me

as his creator.

Methods: Over a period of 6 days, an artificial arena was created to house the experiment

and its subjects. I named the arena Earth, and I will use this label to refer to it throughout

the rest of this report. On the first day, I divided the time on Earth between a light period

(which I called Day), and a dark period (which I called Night), so that my subjects would

adhere to a regular circadian rhythm and most of their activities would be contained in the

Day period (Genesis 1: 3-5). Containment of the subjects behaviors to a particular period

facilitated my observations and allowed me to observe subjects inhabiting different regions

of Earth at different times. On the second day, I created a barrier between my kingdom of

Heaven and Earth so that I could watch my subjects without them being aware of my

presence (Genesis 1:6-8). On the third day, I separated Earth into portions of dry land and

water. I covered the dry land with a variety of simple creatures called Plants, which I

intended to serve as a primary food source for the subjects (Genesis 1:9-13). On the fourth

day, I made some modifications to the barrier that I placed between Heaven and Earth and

added two large visual stimuli in the form of glowing orbs to differentiate the Day and Night

Periods. Once again, this was to keep the subjects on a schedule and aid in my observations

(Genesis 1: 14-19). On the fifth and sixth days, I created a variety of creatures with specific

bodily and behavioral adaptations that allowed them to survive in different habitats on the
earth. I also created the main subject of my experiment in my own image (Genesis 20-27). I

made two subjects for the first phase of the experiment, one male named Adam (Subject A)

and one female named Eve (Subject E). I placed them in a contained environment on Earth

called the Garden of Eden that contained everything that they needed to survive (Genesis

2:8). A psychological experiment was conducted to determine the strength of their

character and whether they were loyal enough to be my eternal companions in heaven. One

tree with extremely appetizing fruit was placed in the center of the garden and the subjects

were told that they would be killed if they ate the fruit from that particular tree (Genesis

2:17). Then, I sent a serpent to Eden to tempt the subjects to eat the fruit.

Results: Subject E gave into temptation and ate the fruit with minimal pressure from the

serpent (Genesis 3:6). The time from the beginning of the temptation to the ingestion of the

fruit by Subject E was 8 minutes. Subject E also convinced Subject A to eat the fruit. The

time from Subject Es invitation to share the fruit to Subject As ingestion of the fruit was 3

minutes. Only one temptation trial was required for each subject, because they both ate the

fruit after being tempted the first time. Subject A did not require a temptation trial by the

serpent because he was sufficiently tempted by Subject E. Following the ingestion of the

forbidden fruit, I performed a non-invasive conscience screening of both subjects. They

both ranked low on the temperance scale and high on the gluttony scale.

Figure 1:
Subject E presenting Subject A with the Forbidden Fruit (Adam and Eve, Tintoretto,

Academia Gallery in Venice).

Conclusion: The results of the experiment did not support the hypothesis. Subjects A and E

were like me in external image, but they failed the psychological test. They did not exhibit

significant moral deliberation in response to temptation (average time to ingestion: t=5.5

minutes). The results of the conscience scan also showed signs of moral failing because they

tended more toward gluttony than temperance. Therefore, the subjects were not deemed

worthy candidates to be my eternal companions in heaven. Originally, I was going to

dispose of them and redo the experiment, but I decided to allow them to reproduce for a

few generations and run subsequent trials.

The failure of the subjects to demonstrate divine countenance may have been due to

my decision to confine them to Eden, where they were provided with everything that they

needed and did not experience any challenges. This may have led them to be skeptical of

their need to rely on me for protection and the necessity of keeping their promises to me.

For the purpose of future experiments, I made the decision to transfer both subjects out of

Eden so that they could experience more uncertainty and hardship and begin to view me as

a protector and moral guide. In order to establish my authority and begin training the
subjects, I also imposed a negative reward system whereby consequences were introduced

for their breach of trust. The woman was punished by being subjected to pain in childbirth,

and the man was assigned the hard labor of cultivating plants for his food (Genesis 3:14-

19). These were to serve as continual reminders of Mans inferiority and his need to follow

my example.

Procedural Note: Adam and Eve were allowed to reproduce and their descendants quickly

populated Earth (Genesis 5). I refrained from experimenting on the population for several

generations because I wanted to collect qualitative data on their behavior. However, I did

conduct repeated non-invasive conscience scans. The subjects ranked very high on the

scales for the Deadly Sins and very low on the scales for the Heavenly Virtues. Artificial

selection was used to eliminate the humans who had accumulated too many Deadly Sin

mutations in their consciences. A man named Noah (Subject N) and his sons were selected

to continue reproduction while the other subjects were eliminated during a 40-day period

of flooding on Earth. Following this selection procedure, Subject N and his sons were

allowed to continue reproducing and their subsequent generations showed significant

positive improvements on the conscience scans (Genesis 6-8). A man named Abraham

(Subject Ab), a descendant of Subject N, had extremely high values for the Heavenly Virtues.

I decided to focus on only subjects descended from Subject Ab as potential candidates for

my eternal companions (Genesis 12:2-3). However, due to the high cost of imposing

another natural disaster and the risk of psychological damage to my chosen lineage, I

decided to let the other branches of Subject Ns family tree continue to inhabit Earth and

reproduce.
Figure 2:

Subject N sheltering in an Ark during the flood (Mosaic depicting Noah from St. Marks

Cathedral)

Part 2: The First Covenant-Blood

Hypothesis: Acting solely as an enforcer of my divine law through negative feedback

mechanisms was not sufficient for cultivating the Heavenly Virtues in the early generations

of Man. I hypothesized that creating a covenant with my chosen group and establishing

their special relationship to me would make them more likely to obey my laws and practice

the Heavenly Virtues. I also hypothesized that a familial approach, whereby the participants

were required to physically mark themselves as participants in the covenant would create a

strong group identity and shield them from the influence of the Deadly Sins.

Methods: I appeared to Subject Ab and informed him of the nature of the covenant. I

promised to bless his descendants and make them the recipients of a great kingdom. In

return, every male in his family had to be circumcised in order to identify him as a member

of the house of Abraham and a participant in the covenant (Genesis 17: 7-14). In order to

test the strength of the covenant, I used one of the other groups of humans, called the
Egyptians, to enslave the chosen people. I then observed how this affected their familial

identity and observance of the covenant.

Results: I collected qualitative observations on the success of the covenant over many

generations prior to and subsequent to the Egyptian enslavement. Subject Ab was initially

successful at keeping the covenant. 100% of the males in his household were circumcised

immediately after the creation of the covenant (Genesis 17:23). I observed the self-creation

of the specific label Israelites that the people assigned to themselves to distinguish

themselves from other groups. In addition, the rate of marriage outside the group

remained low (<5%). However, over subsequent generations, I began to once again notice

changes in the conscience scans. The Israelites began showing increased values on the

Deadly Sin scales and corresponding decreased values on the Heavenly Virtue scales. The

practice of circumcision declined to approximately n=0 participants. In addition, the rate of

marriage outside the group rose significantly (>50%). These changes were particularly

noticeable after the enslavement event (Joshua 5:2-7).

Figure 3:

Subject Ab undergoing a character test in which he was asked to sacrifice his son (Abraham

and Isaac, Titian, Santa Maria della Salute)

Conclusion: The results of the experiment did not support the hypothesis. Although initially

successful, the creation of a family identity was not strong enough to create a population

that continued to practice the Heavenly Virtues. The Israelites abandoned their group

identity and failed to follow through on their agreement with me. The practice of

circumcision declined to approximately n=0 participants, which signified a complete

abandonment of the covenant (Joshua 5:2-7). I concluded that the formation of a family-

based covenant was not strong enough to capable of withstanding the hardship of

enslavement or the exposure to other groups.

Part 3: The Second Covenant-Law

Hypothesis: Since the familial covenant was unsuccessful, I hypothesized that the creation of

a law-based covenant would be more successful in compelling the Israelites to practice the

Heavenly Virtues. While the familial identity required significant psychological cultivation

on the part of the Israelites, a written law is more objective and can be applied to everyone

without discrimination. In addition, the rate of intermarriage between the Israelites and

other groups eliminated the possibility for another familial covenant, so it seemed logical to

attempt to join the people together through laws and common values rather than a blood

relationship. I also hypothesized that it would be too difficult for the Israelites to follow

their new law code in captivity, and that relocation back to their homeland would allow

them to keep the covenant.

Methods: A man named Moses (Subject M) with high levels of the Heavenly Virtues was

chosen to lead the Israelites out of captivity in Egypt. I repeatedly sent Subject M to the

Egyptian Pharaoh to ask him to release the Israelites. I gave Subject M the power to perform
great feats in order to convince the Pharaoh of my legitimacy as a God. Each time, I

hardened the Pharaohs heart so that he refused to let them go, and then unleashed a

terrible punishment on the Egyptian people (plagues, swarms of locusts, etc). Finally, I

allowed the Israelites to be led out of Egypt by Subject M and begin a journey back to their

homeland (Exodus 3-12). I purposefully manipulated the variable of the Pharaoh to create a

greater challenge for the Israelites and convince them that I alone could aid them in their

darkest hour. After the departure from Egypt, I called Moses up to the top of the Mt. Sinai,

and presented him with the new covenant. I promised to protect and bless the Israelites as

my chosen people in return for their faithfulness in following my laws. I created a list of 10

Commandments that I thought would facilitate the development of the Heavenly Virtues

(Exodus 19-20). The 10 Commandments are as follows:

1. You shall have no other gods before Me.

2. You shall make no idols.
3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
4. Keep the Sabbath day holy.
5. Honor your father and your mother.
6. You shall not murder.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10. You shall not covet.

After the covenant was made, I allowed Subject M to lead the Israelites into

their homeland. After they were established, I repeatedly sent another group

of people called the Canaanites to challenge them in order to test their

abilities to work together and defend their identity as the chosen people from

outside entities (Joshua; Judges).

Results: I took qualitative observations regarding the treatment of the covenant following

the agreement with Subject M on Mt. Sinai. At first, the Israelites were very respectful of the
Covenant and they kept it in a special box called the Ark of the Covenant. They regarded the

Ark as sacred and used it to unite themselves in battle and strengthen themselves against

their enemies (Exodus 25). However, over subsequent generations, the Israelites divided

into 12 tribes that were no longer united. The northern tribes refused to help the tribes in

the south when they were threatened (Judges 21:24-25). Once again, the peoples

conscience scans showed rising values for the Deadly Sins and decreasing values for the

Heavenly Virtues.

Figure 4:

Subject M receiving the 10 Commandments at Mt. Sinai (Moses at Mount Sinai receiving the

Tablets, Tremignon and Meyring, Chiesa di San Moise)

Conclusion: The results of the experiment did not support the hypothesis. Structuring the

covenant around a common law was not sufficient to maintain a common identity for the

Israelites and allow them to cultivate the Heavenly Virtues. Even though I presented them

with a set of laws and values to unite them, there was no enforcement. Upon being

threatened by outside groups, the Israelites quickly divided into smaller groups in order to

look after their own interests. This division and lack of regard for fellow man caused a rise

in the Deadly Sins and a corresponding decline in the Heavenly Virtues.

Part 4: The Third Covenant-Kingdom

Hypothesis: Since the law was not a sufficient incentive for keeping the covenant, I

reluctantly hypothesized that appointing a man to rule over the Israelites and act as my

representation on Earth would enforce the covenant. I thought that having a man who

represented me and enforced the rules of the covenant would put more pressure on the

Israelites to obey the covenant and practice the Heavenly Virtues.

Methods: I instructed one of the most virtuous Israelites names Samuel (Subject S) to find a

king to rule over the people (1 Samuel 8: 7-9). After one unsuccessful attempt, Subject S

found a worthy candidate named David (Subject D) who had much higher values for the

Heavenly Virtues than the other Israelites (2 Samuel). He did have slightly elevated levels of

lust and greed, but I attributed that to the fact that my species design had not been

sufficiently perfected. After establishing Subject D as king of all 12 tribes of the Israelites, I

made a covenant with him that if he abided by and enforced my law, I would protect and

bless the people of Israel as my chosen people and would cause one of his descendants to

establish an everlasting kingdom (2 Samuel 7).

Results: My qualitative observations revealed that Subject D and his son Solomon (Subject

So) were effective at fulfilling the covenant. They successfully kept the 12 tribes of Israel

united under a common identity. Subject So built a temple for the people to worship the Ark

of the Covenant (1 Kings 7-8) and approximately 90% of subjects traveled to visit it. This

value is higher than would be expected by chance (p<0.001). The levels of Heavenly Virtues

rose in Israel and there was a corresponding decline in Deadly Sins. However, Solomons

son Rehoboem (Subject R) had an extremely high greed level and tried to impose high taxes

on the population. This resulted in the tribes splitting into two groups. 10 tribes in the
north abandoned Subject Rs kingdom while 2 tribes in the South remained faithful (1 Kings

12). This effectively split the Israelites into Israel in the north and Judea in the south. The

northern kingdoms observance of the covenant declined to close to n=0 faithful

practitioners and the levels of Deadly Sins rose greatly in the population.

Figure 5:

Subject D preparing for battle (David, Michelangelo, Accademia Gallery in Rome)

Conclusion: The results of the experiment did not support the hypothesis. The early kings

had high levels of the Heavenly Virtues and were able to effectively enforce the covenant,

but the later kings were unable to keep the Israelites unified. I concluded that there were

not enough men worthy of serving as kings and providing an example of divine behavior for

the people of Israel. I do not believe that the idea of having a king to enforce the covenant

has been disproven by this experiment, but rather that there is no Earthly man who is

capable of producing a suitable lineage of kings to uphold the covenant and unite the

Israelites. I also realized that focusing on one group of people was resulting in the failure of

my experiments because the sample size was much too small. I decided to try to establish a

covenant with all of mankind in the hope that the larger sample size would yield a better

result.
Part 5: The Fourth Covenant-Messiah

Hypothesis: Since there was no earthly subject capable of serving as the king of Israel and

enforcing the covenant, I decided to send my post-doctoral fellow Jesus to earth to establish

an everlasting covenant with all of mankind. I hypothesized that if Jesus served as the

perfect embodiment of the Heavenly Virtues, to the complete exclusion of the Deadly Sins,

he could serve as a divine king to enforce the covenant. I also hypothesized that, if Jesus

made a significant sacrifice for mankind, it would motivate the people to repent their sins

and focus on practicing the Heavenly Virtues.

Methods: I impregnated a virgin named Mary (Subject M) with Jesus in the form of a fetus

and allowed him to be raised as an Israelite. Jesuss earthly heritage placed him in the

lineage of Subject D, thus fulfilling my earlier promise that a Messiah would be born to his

descendants. I instructed Jesus to teach the people my ways and enforce the covenants. I

also instructed him to collect a group of disciples who displayed the Heavenly Virtues and

could closely follow his teachings. Then, I caused a group of people called the Romans to

crucify Jesus on a cross because of his teachings. Before he died, Jesus made a new and

everlasting covenant with mankind. At the Passover feast, he told his disciples that his body

and blood would be sacrificed so that the sin of man would be forgiven and they would be

able to gain salvation in heaven. In return, they had to practice his teachings and strive to

emulate him in their own lives. On the third day after his death, I resurrected Jesus and had

him appear to some of his disciples (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John). This served as a means to

legitimize his divinity and demonstrate my power once again. Then, I brought him back to
heaven to continue his post-doctoral work and left his disciples to continue his Earthly

work.

Results: Following the earthly life of Jesus, the Heavenly Virtues became more prominent

among mankind (an overall increase of about 47%; p<0.001) and the Deadly Sins declined

(an overall decrease of about 33%; p<0.001). However, the Deadly Sins still persisted to

some extent among all humans, even those that were the most pious and dedicated to

Jesuss teaching. Many people who were originally not included in my group of chosen

people began to recognize me as their God and honor the everlasting covenant. The number

of people faithful to me has increased to over 2 billion and is still increasing at a statistically

significant rate (p<0.001).

Figure 6:

Subject M cradles Jesus after his crucifixion (Pieta, Titian, Accademia Gallery in Venice)

Conclusion: The results of the experiment did support the hypothesis. Many people were

extremely moved by the sacrifice that Jesus made for humanity. They dedicated their lives

to living by his example and teaching others to honor his covenant. The possession of the

Heavenly Virtues became a goal that mankind actively worked to achieve and the Deadly

Sins were widely recognized as negative qualities that should be avoided. I concluded that

the extreme sacrifice that Jesus made to guarantee salvation for the people was the only
way to demonstrate my love and devotion to mankind and the necessity of their

reciprocation. Although the Deadly Sins are still present in significant quantities, I have

realized that people, not being divine, are prone to sin and cannot achieve perfection.

Therefore, I believe that despite my inability to eliminate the Deadly Sins, I have made

significant progress in developing the character of man. My decision to reintroduce non-

Israelites into the subject pool was successful because many of them have demonstrated

great virtue and have shown their loyalty to me.

Overall Discussions and Future Research: I still have not been able to create a being that

matches my divine countenance and displays the Heavenly Virtues to the complete

exclusion of the Deadly Sins. Despite being made in my image externally, mankind is

fundamentally flawed and can never achieve perfection. However, I believe that this study

demonstrates the great strides that I have made with mankind, particularly after the death

of Jesus. Currently, I am allowing mankind to continue on its path and I am observing the

fluctuations in the Heavenly Virtue/Deadly Sin ratio. I am pursuing some other research

and anthropological projects to see how humans respond to different scenarios and stimuli

such as fundamentally conflicting values between groups, limited natural resources, greater

technological prowess and a changing environment. Once I am satisfied with all of my

projects, I will end Mans time on Earth and judge which subjects are worthy enough to join

me in Heaven. I am unsure what to do with Earth yet, but humans have done considerable

damage to it, so I will probably dispose of it (in accordance with the Divine regulations on

hazardous waste). Then, all the souls who have died will be reunited with their bodies and I

will decide which ones can enter heaven and live as my eternal companions. Those with a
low Heavenly Virtue/Deadly Sin ratio will be sent to Underworld University to serve as

subjects for Dr. Satans research rather than simply being disposed of. Until that time

however, I will continue observing their activities and making observations about their

patterns of behavior and changes in morality.

Figure 7:

Simulation of Heaven after the chosen ones are admitted (Paradise, Tintoretto, Doges

Palace)

Acknowledgements: I would like to thank my post-doctoral fellow Jesus for assisting me in

this project, especially with regards to his help in designing and executing Part 5 of the

study. I would also like to thank the League of Angels and Other Divine Beings for

volunteering their time to relay messages and signs to Earth. Lastly, I would like to

acknowledge my sincere gratitude to Dr. Satan of Underworld University for assisting me in

this project and providing peer-reviews of my work. Despite our differences in research

methods, I am extremely grateful for his scholarly opinions and advice.