In regards to the issue about truth in the Bible,
I am wondering....
It seems like the major issue in Adam and Eve and the
Garden of Eden is their (Adam and Eve's) rebellion
against God. A close second (by example) is the
responsibility and accountability that is needed in
any close relationship with another person.
I don't think anyone would disagree that
sin is a clear fact of the human condition. Regardless
of who the first sinner was --- be it homo erectus, homo
neandertalsus (sp?), or homo sapiens --- the fact is
that someone somewhere in the past had a relationship
with God, and they rebelled: just as we rebel today.
So without reading much into the account on Adam and Eve,
I don't see any reason to dispute that some
spiritual being (call it "homo something") existed who
had a relationship with God, and through a variety of
foolish decisions, they managed to sully up their
relationship with God.
In light of this view, the point of the Garden of
Eden would seem more to do with that fact that
there are usually far reaching consequences that
come with sins we commit.
Would there actually have to be a "Garden of Eden"
or could it represent that idyllic memory about how
things were before we so thoroughly mucked them up.
by Grace alone do we proceed,
Wayne
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