The Garden Of Eden

The Epic of Eden: A Christian Entry into the Old Testament. Sandra L. Richter, InterVarsity Press, 2008. ISBN: 978-0-8308-2577-6

The beginning of the Old Testament starts by explaining how God created everything within seven days. He creates night and day, the sky and the ocean, vegetation, the stars, sun and moon, sea creatures, land creatures, and for the seventh day he rests. The Garden of Eden was the paradise where man once lived until Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit thus creating the original sin. Eve listened to the serpent and gave into temptation leading to the fall of man.

Seized by Truth: Reading the Bible as Scripture is written by Joel Green, a New Testament scholar, and Professor of New Testament Interpretation at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. Prof. Green, has participated and contributed greatly on a wide range of topics related to both New Testament scholarship and theology.

How can there be similar themes in different books? Themes can be found in every story. If one says ignorance is bliss, or spirituality vs. science, these are all themes. Correspondingly, acceptance is a theme that has always been used. However, this word has not only been used for texts it has been used everywhere, from books to relations to even movies. To put it differently, ambition is getting what you want, this is seen often in stories. This word makes people think what their needs are and what their wants are. Furthermore, themes are generally made when you feel like you have seen the movie or read that book, however you have just watched the movie which has similar themes in it. There are many themes in one story. The themes of spirituality

Genesis and “The World on the Turtle’s Back”, two folklore myths, illustrate the contrasting universal archetypes of one supreme being and multiple god figures. Genesis depicts one male supreme being who created the entire universe, while “The World on the Turtle’s Back” shows numerous gods who created different things within the universe. God, from Genesis, created everything that exists; “the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1.1), day and night, and “every living creature that moveth” (Genesis 1:21). God made the Sun and the Moon (Genesis 1:16), and he made “man in his own image” (Genesis 1:27). He made “every herb-bearing seed” (Genesis 1:29), and the rain that waters them (Genesis 2:5). All of life and nature and creation was crafted by God. In contrast,

The Drama of Scripture written by Bartholomew and Goheen takes the reader on a journey through the entire Bible in six short “acts.” The first Act discusses creation and the establishment of God’s Kingdom. In the beginning was complete darkness. Then, God created light and divided the heavens and the earth. He then split the waters and the seas, creating dry ground on which the rest of creation could walk. He proceeded to make plants and flowers and the sun, moon, and stars. He created days and seasons and animals of all shapes and sizes. And then, to add the finishing touch, God created men and women, male and female, He created them. The book states that “the Genesis story is given so that we might have a true understanding of the world in which we live, its divine author, and our own place in it” (Bartholomew, 29). Genesis 1-3, the story of Creation, is prevalent because it introduces the author of creation, humanity, and the creation upon which humanity’s drama unfolds.

The Bible contains sixty-six books, written by approximately forty authors, over the course of two thousand years. God created and loves humans despite their rebellious attitude towards Him, and God wants to reunite humans to Himself (Poythress, 2008). The Bible is a record of the sinful rebellion of humans and it still declares God’s love for humanity through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ. This foundation prepares the way for Jesus Christ to fulfill God’s entire promised covenants.

In the story Adam and Eve were let to be living in the Garden of Eden, where God had created one of everything. He created many fruits and vegetables, animals, plants, and trees. It was first Adam’s job to take care and live in the Garden of Eden, till one day God saw that Adam was lonely so he took matters into his own hands. God created Eve out of Adam’s rib, that’s how Eve began to live in the Garden of Eden. The Garden of Eden was Adam and Eve’s home and it was beautiful. Till one day God and Jesus had come over to the garden to talk to Adam and Eve and what he was expecting for them to do while they lived there. There were many trees in the Garden of Eden that Adam and Eve could eat from and take care of. God had told Adam and Eve that they could eat fruit from all the trees but one. It was the tree of knowledge of good and evil, it was the center tree of the garden. God had said if they ate fruit from that tree that they would die and have to leave the Garden of Eden. If they didn’t eat fruit from that tree they would be able to live in the Garden of Eden forever.

The article titled The Open is translated into English for the sake of the readers to understand the philosophies of different scholars surrounding one particular issue and expanding on the thoughts that grew from the examinations of possible meanings. Studying the article we can see that the general thesis is derived from the abstract images illustrated in the reverend text of a Hebrew Bible. The illustration depicts a group of figures with bodies of people and heads of animals. We see that this image sparks the discussion as to the meaning behind using the animal heads in place of human. The author makes the general claim “Scholars who have addressed the question have not yet found a convincing explanation” (Agamben, 2004, p. 2). This statement

Vivid images, from visions, to detailed explanation and accounts of places and events, to symbolic imagery used to explain parables, or teach and encourage the first century churches are driving forces within the Biblical text. Metaphorical language, by virtue of the fact that it preserves the literal meaning of the symbol, while intending an analogical secondary meaning, is able to communicate profound truths about reality, mainly by creating an alternative, symbolic way of seeing and understanding the world. (Liubinskas, Susann. 404) Throughout the New Testament of the Bible the most commonly used images are the: body of Christ, and vine imagery. These images work together to create a powerful example of the necessity for unity among individual believers, and that unity tying them Christ.

When studying any piece of literature there are many different methods and techniques that can be used. The Bible, in specific, is often referred to as a source of moral code, hope, and answers to social, ethical, and political questions. However, this incredibly influential book can also be read as if it were any other novel. The events, settings, and characters can all be evaluated for what they are, forgetting the notion that they are from a religious text. This approach is called narrative criticism. When regarding to the Bible in this way, we do not need to know any historical information or focus on seeking a deeper theological meaning. Instead, the stories are evaluated in terms of how

Created by Johannes Gutenberg, The Gutenberg Bible was the first mass produced book through the use of a moveable printer. Known for its artistic Latin writing, the Bible only has forty-nine copies remaining, one residing at the Harry Ransom Center at The University of Texas at Austin. The Gutenberg Bible exhibits religious qualities from the message, directly from God, and the original purpose of the creation of the Bible.

Throughout the bible, and reading it once more by Marcus Borg, a common idea as it relates to a religious experience, is that the Bible is a human product. Throughout chapter two, Borg continuously describes the Bible as being a product of humans. He explains on page 22 that he sees scripture through the lens of the Bible being a human product, meaning that it is the “product of two ancient communities” (22). He believed that what the Bible explains things to be are words from the communities of ancient Israel and the early Christian movement. “We cannot talk about God (or anything else) except with the words, symbols, stories, concepts, and categories known to us, for they are the only language we have”, made me think about the idea that

Luke 1: This Gospel opens with a greeting. Luke is writing to Theophilus, a fellow follower of Christ, as confirmation that the things Theophilus is being taught are real and true. In the notes underneath the text, my Bible also states that this introduction is among the finest Greek which goes to show the intellect that Luke possesses as a physician and writer. Furthermore, a theme displayed within this first chapter is God’s desire to use the weak to make His kingdom known. For example, God chose the humble family of a priest to bring forth John the Baptist, who would go on to proclaim the message of God in many places. In addition to Zechariah and his wife, God chose to use the Virgin Mary, a woman destined to marry a carpenter, who courageously accepted God’s call without hesitation. I think this is why so many Pharisees and Sadducees neglected Christ’s proclamations of being the Messiah. They were expecting some glorious king to liberate them from the Romans, but when He came as a humble man who came to set them free from unearthly hardships they became upset. On a more comical note, one thing that I found intriguing is when Gabriel appeared to both Zechariah and Mary they were a little scared, and rightfully so; however, Gabriel seems to act as if they see stuff like this all the time and just says “Do not be afraid.” I believe that it would be quite odd if they were not afraid. Another point I saw was the importance of a fetus. In verses 39 through 45 it describes

The novel The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood takes the Biblical origin story of man and creates a Garden of Eden for the end of the world. The novel’s allusion to Genesis adds to the message that the hardships befalling humanity and the destruction of the earth are due to man’s sinful nature just as Adam and Eve’s punishments and expulsion from paradise were a direct result of their sin. Adam and Eve, the first to live immorally on earth, are now recreated into a group of people that will witness the world’s end in a reflection of its beginning. The new Garden of Eden is created and lost in a time when new intelligence is created by man and evil fights for the hold of man once more. However, just as the expulsion from the original Garden led to the beginning of the world known today, the expulsion from the second Garden leads to the creation of a new world where humanity is largely absent.