The Garden of Eden Never Existed, But it Serves a Purpose Today

 


National Geographic posted an article about the Garden of Eden. I did not look into back years but I would guess it republishes stuff about this topic periodically. 

The article says two or three times that most scholars who study this topic do not believe there ever was an actual Garden of Eden. The article goes through the various theories Christians have put out there about where it was. The Bible gives some information about a location but the landmarks are not present today and may never have existed. 

So if the Garden of Eden is unrealistic, why does it remain within Christianity? I think one reason is that the story put men in the driver's seat of the religion and keeps women as only passengers along for the ride. The tale begins with Eve being created from a rib of Adam, not the other way around. A rather contemporary preacher in the Lutheran Missouri Synod used this as a reason there are only male preachers in that denomination. "Men came first." he said. 

Then the talking snake came into the story and warned Adam and Eve not to eat the fruit. Who sinned first? Eve, of course. The message is that men need to run the family. Women wrecked everything. 

The Garden of Eden also serves to establish there is a pecking order with God having the biggest pecking beak. If humans just evolved by themselves the concept of a "powerful God" is watered down. Clever operators in the faith try to keep God in play as science puts him on the bench. Remember "Intelligent Design?" It was an effort to work science into creationism. It was laughed out of court in Ohio. 

Ridiculous the Garden of Eden is the faith must hang onto it. The rest of us can just roll our eyes. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ancient God, Bel (Baal), the Main Character in an Ancient Play

Image
In a British museum is a preserved stone tablet from Babylon. It dates to about 2,000 BCE. Someone labored patiently to inscribe an entire passion play featuring the god Bel. I reiterate this is a stone tablet, not a recopied papyrus. The play begins with the god Bel arrested by soldiers and taken off the stage. He reappears at a trial in the Hall of Judgement. Bel is innocent but is sentenced to death. In the next scene Bel is accosted by a mob. He is despised and rejected. The actor playing Bel is then taken by guard to a hilltop in a sacred grove. Two criminals are taken with him. One of these is released. The the audience then leaves the theater and follows the actor Bel and his guards to the top of a hill where the death scene is enacted by hanging from a tree. The audience returns to the theater for the dramatic final scenes. The dead Bel is stripped and prepared for burial. On a theatrical hill to the side of the stage is a tomb where the body is placed. A stone is rolle...
Read more

What Was the "Argument" in the Election

Image
I hate to add my blog to the piles of blogs and pundits analyzing and pondering the meaning of the just passed election. But that's what I feel like doing today. I've always like Senator Ted Cruz's summary of politics. He once said, "First, win the argument. Then, win the election." I think there is a way of applying that to anti abortion Catholics and Protestants. The link talks of Catholics who now feel they have no political home because Republicans let them down with Trump but they remain against abortion rights. Taking Cruz's win-the-argument thesis, I'd call the past election about an argument between two groups. One group's argument was, "Trump's a jerk." The other's argument was, "Abortion is wrong." The group, "Trump's a jerk," won the argument and then the election.  While one can argue the election, or any election, it about more complex issues, I believe in the end elections hinge on very simple ar...
Read more

Time to Forget the Christian Nation Thing

Image
While women are forbidden from being priests/preachers in some branches of Christianity thank goodness they are not forbidden from writing and lecturing about Christianity. A great article about the "Christian nation" notion shows us the U.S. is not a Christian nation and hopefully never will be. It is written by a woman with nerve and was published on a very Christian site, Christian Post.  Among the pilgrims were a few that wanted to establish a utopian Christian society. Some of their brethren stayed behind in Europe hoping the push aside worldly forces there and bring sinners to God. Today, whether it is the anti abortion, anti gay/trans, anti immigration or the put prayer back in schools branch there are those who want a version of what some pilgrims wanted, a utopian Christian society. The pilgrims were disappointed. Today's Christian utopians will be also. Here is why. The children of pilgrims did not believe the same things as their parents. Parents were roundly d...
Read more