Few things are so surrounded by ignorance and misunderstanding as the remarkable biblical account of the Garden of Eden.
In this booklet the meaning and application of Eden is movingly unfolded for the help of those enquiring into faith. The author seeks to bring out the amazing ‘psychology’ of these verses and the uncanny accuracy of this alleged ‘fairy tale’.
Available from the Tabernacle Bookshop.
Extract
‘And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.’ (Genesis 2:8-9)
Earth’s morning – and the Lord God plants a little paradise on earth for the parents of the human race. The world knows nothing yet of teeming millions; of violence, greed, politics, famine or pestilence. Everything is amazingly fresh and vibrant with life, the air indescribably clear and pure. Colours, textures and sounds blend in a symphony of such magnificence that we cannot now conceive. The record of Genesis says that God planted a garden, a paradise, not designed and cultivated by the hand of man, but a masterpiece created by the hand of God himself.
We are only too well aware that many people dismiss the paradise garden as a myth. They think evolution has proved that the human race started up in a very different way. All that can be said here is this: if the masses of people who believe in evolution only knew about the scientific battle which rages around this subject, they would be stunned. If the average student were to be exposed to the powerful works written against evolution by accomplished scientsts (including atheists) they would be intellectually liberated. Increasingly, research has produced unanswerable problems for the theory of evolution. It is a worn out relic from days of biological ignorance and survives by prejudice alone.
As we turn our thoughts to this God-given account of the Garden of Eden we must tread with reverence, surprised and even enthralled by the way in which timeless Eden mirrors our own attitude to Almighty God. It is a narrative that both searches and teaches us.
