The Return to Neverland
The Lord God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed. Genesis 2:8 NASB
Eden – Eliade’s summary makes us pause. He describes our cultural mythology about the God’s garden as “the ‘nostalgia for Eden,’” a place where there is “no conflict between the pleasures of the flesh and conscience.”[1] Unfortunately, he’s right. When we think of the Garden of Eden, we think of a “perfect” place; a place where whatever I wish to do can be done and is celebrated. Eden, that mystical paradise where there are no real problems, no hunger, no need for shelter, no sickness, no enemies, where the world works the way it is supposed to work and I benefit from it all. Conjure up your imagery and see if it isn’t filled with beautiful flora, amazing fauna and wonderful human beings who don’t need clothes. Why, it’s an invitation to liberation, an offer of sensory delight! And not having to wear anything is a bonus.
But this Eden is really Neverland. It certainly isn’t the Eden of the Bible. Ancient mythology of the Near East includes ideas that belong to the primeval paradise. It is a place of eternal health, without death, of harmony between all the animals, filled with the best horticulture that produces continually. In a Sumerian myth, it is the place of the copulation of the goddess of earth and the god of water. Certainly sexual activity is part of this mythological paradise. But it is the place of the gods, not of human beings. The biblical account is not only striking because God dwells in the Garden, but it is also the home of humans. And it has some disturbingly unusual occupants. Rather than a place of pleasure and bliss, the biblical gan be-‘eden is the scene of moral requirements and testing. It is the place of responsibility, even in the man’s task within the garden. And it is the explanation of our experience of defilement. Not exactly the blissful paradise of unconcerned pleasure, is it? So why do you suppose our images of the Garden are so skewed. Do you suppose that we project pagan wish-fulfillment back into the text, imagining that everything we have ever wanted will be found in a return to Paradise?
Maybe we’re just myopic enough to not notice how quickly our ancestors turned God’s garden into a forbidden zone. Maybe we are really hanging on to an ancient fairy tale instead of recognizing the explanation of our suffering. Maybe all those paintings of blissful, naked innocence are misconstructions. Maybe there really isn’t a “Neverland.”
But there is the world we live in, and it is in the process of being restored. I’m not so sure we really want to get back to the Garden, but I am very sure we are waiting for the full manifestation of the Kingdom. Maybe we really need to leave the Garden behind.
Topical Index: gan be-‘eden, Garden of Eden, Genesis 2:8
[1] Mircea Eliade, The Sacred and the Profane, p. 207.
Adam and Eve did not ‘plant’ (design) the first garden. That garden was never a fulfillment of their wishes and desires. Rather, it was a place where they fulfilled their design to accomplish the will (wishes and desires) of the Designer of that garden, and they got kicked out when they failed to follow their one-verse Torah: “don’t eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil”. They chose to forsake innocence, and so there will never be a garden again where innocence reigns. BUT, the great Story that I read not only begins with a garden: it also ends with one. I have noticed that the last setting is within a garden again, with Paradise restored. Oh, there is a Kingdom revealed, too, this time around, but wasn’t there the same Kingdom, even if it may have been hidden in the last one? Innocence might not have been able to detect it, but that does not mean it wasn’t there, does it? There was the King walking there, face to face with the pair, even though they might not have been able to see a crown. In the next garden, however, there will be an extremely public coronation (establishment of the Kingdom) of that King in the middle of Paradise. There will be no mistake who the Owner of it is, and “His servants shall serve Him, and they shall see His face”.
In the new garden, the naked (transparent) will (Kingdom) of the Designer will be in the center, in the form of an occupied Throne “of God and of the Lamb”. It is rather hard to ignore the fact that it is prominently situated (sourced) over the River of Life (which I notice was not in the last garden). Also, in this one, the Tree of Life is now planted on both banks of that river. It is a split trunk that rejoins above the water, and it bears “twelve manner of fruits, and yield(s) her fruit every month: and the leaves (are) for the healing of the nations” (obviously a post-disaster situation). Further, this garden, unlike the last one, has no sun (and, noticeably, no night, either). In this garden there is only full light and revelation of its King. There are no more tests; so therefore no more Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. At that point, everyone will be licking their wounds from the gaining of that knowledge – no tree necessary! I have noticed the final garden encloses not only Paradise regained: it also is the setting of the new (revealed) Kingdom (the “Kingdom without end” – halleluah!) where the means of that forever is prominently displayed and employed: namely, life. (It would be rather hard to have an everlasting kingdom, after all, if the subjects of that kingdom were not likewise lasting, too!) Hurray for life in the new Kingdom – both to be forever found in the midst of a garden!
Hi Laurita, Skip and others,
I like your addition to Skip’s reflection – and pointing out that the King of the universe, not the conditions of the universe, will be the center of paradise restored. Thanks and the Lord be with you and yours!
So why do you think the writer of Genesis tells this story? What is really going on in the interface between God and his ‘first’ human creatures? Try to set aside, at least for a moment, any preconceptions taught and glued in your mind. What if God is communicating to us, that we were never meant to live in this place called Eden. What if His intentions were for us to get out of there, as quickly as possible. What if that was the only way we could become ‘fully human’, reaching for His purpose in creating us. I supposed God could have designed us to be a ‘Koala’ like creature, cuddly and soft. That is a good creature to habitat in Eden. But the scriptures are quite clear that we are to partner with God in this good creation in the work He has for us. We are to use our reason, abilities and potentials, to steward His good Earth. To grow in knowledge and understanding, in ways that are not now even visible to us. Conservative estimates are that there are 40 billion Earth-Like planets orbiting suns in what scientist call the “habitable zone”, i.e., the zone where life as we know it, could flourish, as life does on Earth. Oh, and that is just in our Milky Way galaxy! Oh,and there are 100 billion galaxies in our universe! The Garden was never meant as our ‘habitable zone’. God has groomed the species for a lot more then that. In some sense, we are not unlike electrical energy. We are a mass of potential, but as in electricity, nothing happens until the ‘grounding’ process. Grounding, sets in motion, what was only electrical potential. And so our lights come on. Our ‘grounding’ was never meant for Eden, but rather the adventure and journey laying past Eden’s boundary marker. And so, we should continue that journey by doing justice, loving kindness and walking humbly with God, as we jointly partner in building what ever God has finally in mind. God is the creator and infinitely creative. We were created in His image. We were created for a lot more then Eden. Time to get to work.
David, my thoughts on the subject as well. I have nothing else to add to your observation. Right on!
“The biblical account is not only striking because God dwells in the Garden, but it is also the home of humans.” That is where I would desire to be, where HE dwells, and mankind are humans.
I love beautiful gardens, no place can compare with a place rich with varieties of flora and their perfumes, where there are no real problems, no hunger, no need for shelter, no sickness, no enemies!
Definitely not without responsibility though, that would be soooo boring and unfulfilling.
I want to return to a renewed, restored Garden. Why shouldn’t there be one?
It will be a perfect place to escape to.
I am also, above all else, waiting for the full manifestation of the Kingdom, and of His Sons and Daughters! Amein!