We will be convening here at the ZigZag café, Suisse, on Thursdays for conversation and dialogue. I invite you to stop by every Thursday for the question of the day. Your thoughts and participation are most welcome. Pull up a stool, avec un café, un thé, ou un chocolat chaud, et un croissant, and join in here on Thursday at the ZZ café.
For today:
What kind of place or space was the Garden of Eden?
11 comments:
Some perfect place. Oh wait - the devil sneaked in there, too!
In Romans 8 we find some things, where creation changed compared to before the fall.
And also there is the "fountain of youth" i.e. the tree of life. And main difference from today: God was present there. (He is today, but not physically.)
Will the earth be restored to this state? (Or lets say a better state since it is redeemed now!)
Lukas,
Thanks. Yes, I like your "Oh wait." And this seems a place where God and humanity might dwell together - something like our world, but not like it.
I believe that the earth will be renewed to a better state for this one reason among others: we will be transformed into the image of Christ and therefore come into deeper community with God and the earth.
A place of perfect well being where climate, weather and food created ultimate health for mind, body and soul. A space of purpose where work was enjoyed and creating and imagination was fully present and celebrated. A space where desire and longings came out of perfecting God's goodness. As in a companion for Adam. A space where nakedness in all it's forms ie; the inner life of thought, the emotional life of the heart, consequential life of the mind, etc. are free to express who they are in the image of God with out shame. To enjoy the beauty of another human being. To recevie God's love and human love and to give love, great space would be their for this in the garden. The joy of learning and discovery. Would not knowing of good and evil being present together be perfect? Not doubting God's goodness when we see marred human life everywhere. Definition of mar. to detract from the perfection of wholeness. Wholeness! Oh a space to be whole, how wonderful that must of been. NO death!!! So much to think about what it might of been like and knowing I may not have the insight to see it.
In thinking over the words "perfecting God's goodness" I prefer , God's perfecting goodness instead.
Jeannie,
Thanks. Beautiful representation.
Do you really believe that Eden physically existed as described? Considering the chronology of creation as described in Genesis, the conditions of the expulsion, and the description of the geographical locus, I think it is allegorical only.
Carter,
Thanks. Good question. I'm not sure about the chronology, etc, but I think it was a possible world. True, not a world like an everyday world in all senses, but a possible world of divine and human habitation. Allegory is an option, but to find a hidden meaning behind all the details of the text, as the sole explanation may be too reductionistic. The text is more complex and invites a polyphony of options; literary, historical, and theological, in an ancient Near Eastern context that has to be considered as influencing the creation story of the Hebrews.
The garden Eden is a projection of mankind suffering and asking the question: Why? In the story itself there is hope because it portrays the existence of a perfect, good wholly Other who might be able to break into the dark forests of human suffering and outcries and trembling. The place or space of Eden is in the minds of every human being. Eden is a projection of mankind, an outburst of human despair: nothing less, it may be more
Sisyphos,
Thanks. There's a couple of pretty bold knowledge statements here: Eden as a projection and Eden in the mind of every human being. Maybe - maybe not. I guess it depends on the source of the knowledge.
I do like the "it may be more."
Hi Greg
I didnt mean that exactly Eden is in every mind of every human being but in similar refuges and projections we all hide and hope.
Sisyphos,
Yes, maybe not less than this, but having a referent that could pertain to more.
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