Pope sends direct message to Ben

[Berzerker]

Uh, no. That's not what the sentence says. At all. The sentence says that Eden itself was 'to the east'. Which makes me wonder is it because he saw something which said, "the Garden is here", or how the writer knew that Eden was to the east of him. It's an intriguing statement, really.

Yes, it is an intriguing statement. But the sentence does say Eden was eastward of where the man was made. Even if you disagree with that, fair enough, but it does say the man was made elsewhere and taken to the Garden and Eve was made later. They were not made in the same place or on the same day and that disqualifies them as the 6th Day male and female in Gen 1:27.

Where does the bible actually say this?

When they didn't have children until they were kicked out of the Garden... If they were among the 6th Day people they would have been out there being fruitful and filling the Earth. They weren't doing that, once they did God got mad and evicted them from the Garden.

[Kidlicious]

Berz, why are you reading it so literally, but you say eating the fruit represents procreation? Their punishment is having children. Their sin was disobeying God.

[Ben Kenobi]

But the sentence does say Eden was eastward of where the man was made

Where? All it says is that Eden was "to the east". You're assuming it is written in first person, but it is not.

[Ben Kenobi]

When they didn't have children until they were kicked out of the Garden

Show me in Genesis 2 where God says this.

If they were among the 6th Day people they would have been out there being fruitful and filling the Earth.

You're assuming that there are 6th day people outside of the garden. Something, again, that scripture does not say. .

Until you drop this, everything you interpret in Genesis will be 100 percent wrong.

[Nikolai]

Berz, Adam was the first man. It's right there in the Bible, and you argue out of the Bible. Even if you disregard Genesis: Take 1st Corinthians 15.45: "Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit."

[Berzerker]

Berz, why are you reading it so literally, but you say eating the fruit represents procreation? Their punishment is having children. Their sin was disobeying God.

The story of the Garden doesn't speak of sin and dis-obedience, these are later commentaries trying to make sense of the story. And they are wrong... The reason God evicted Adam and Eve was fear of what they'd become, same reason for the Towel of Babel. Its the Prometheus angle, man was being given powers by dissenting gods and other gods didn't like it, even sent a flood to wipe us out.

Where? All it says is that Eden was "to the east". You're assuming it is written in first person, but it is not.

I'm just reading the text, it says God took the man he formed to a Garden he planted in the east. That means God formed the man west of the Garden. But thats all irrelevant, Eve was not made with Adam. She was not taken with the man to the Garden in the east. She was made in the Garden at a later point in time. That means Eve was not the female from the 6th Day and that casts doubt on Adam being the 6th Day male. Add to this problem the fact God told those 6th Day people to have kids and fill the Earth but took Adam away from that possibility to make him work in the Garden. Huh? Dont you see the disconnect between the instruction to the 6th Day people and Adam's story? Being fruitful and filling the Earth was not Adam's job in the Garden. His companion Eve was an after thought, not the role of the female in Gen 1:27

Show me in Genesis 2 where God says this.

Show you what? Cain and Abel were their first kids and they were conceived right after God decided to kick them out of the Garden. There is no other indication of what the "sin" was, they had kids and that was the consequence of the "fruit".

[Kidlicious]

Adam's punishment is work. Eve's punishment is child birth. How is those powers that God doesn't want us to have?

[Ben Kenobi]

it says God took the man he formed to a Garden he planted in the east

It says he took them to a garden, which is then described as being "eastward". Of what? Israel? Better question, how would the author of Genesis know that the garden was in fact Eastward?

[kentonio]

What with all these contraditions and all, you'd almost think the whole thing was just made up..

[Kidlicious]

What with all these contraditions and all, you'd almost think the whole thing was just made up..

It's not a historical account of the events. The point is that human beings need God. God is the creator. He is the provider of the Law. That said, He doesn't want to be loved for just creating and providing. He wants to be loved for Hus glory.

Now none of Berzerkers "interpretation has anything to do with that. So it's wrong. Whenever an interpretation of the Bible has nothing to do with that it's wrong. You get alot of bad interpretations from political types.

[Nikolai]

What with all these contraditions and all, you'd almost think the whole thing was just made up..

When did different interpretations equal contradictions?

[rah]

So it's wrong. Whenever an interpretation of the Bible doesn't agree with what I believe then it's wrong.

Fixed that for you.

Since christian scholars debate the Bible all the time, I find it hard to believe that there is only one absolute truth.
And find it even harder to believe that our resident morons are the keepers of this non-existent absolute truth.

[Nikolai]

There is absolute truth. But I doubt anyone has the full understanding of said truth.

[kentonio]

When did different interpretations equal contradictions?

You have basically two different creation stories in the 7 day and the Garden of Eden versions. As the discussion above shows, they don't actually make any sense when considered the same story. The only way they make any sense as a single version is if you make some really strange and wild leaps of faith.

Also as we've pointed out before, if you consider any of it to be literal then we're all descended from some pretty intense incest.

[rah]

There is absolute truth. But I doubt anyone has the full understanding of said truth.

I would think that but there are a few people here that seem to be claiming that authority.