Who was Adam? Was there an Adam? Who was Eve? Was there an Eve? Was there a talking snake in an apple tree in a lush garden? AND - since no one from CNN, or the New York Times or the Calgary Herald was present, how do we ‘know’ what actually took place in the Garden of Eden or “In the beginning…” for that matter?
One would have thought that Indianna Jones would have included such a search along with his quest for the Holy Grail and Ark of the Covenant. However, since that didn’t happen - though I don’t have his trusty whip or stylish hat - I decided to explore…
Curiosity has ‘sent’ me off into wide open spaces before, but last week when I began this research, I foolishly thought it might be quite straight forward. At my age I really, really, really should have known better.
So where to start my search? First, how did evolution leap from the single cell protozoan to Adam and Eve?
Darwin’s “Origin of the Species” aside, there seems to be some puzzlement over timing. If all of ‘this’ was completed in 6 days, then what was considered a ‘day’? Modern humans measure one-year in 365[ish] days -so- was one-day, 4 billion geologic years ago a different measure of ‘time’? Actually, I found it was. The word ‘day’ from the Old English ‘daeg’ meant lifetime or time of existence. And the Hebrew word ‘yom’ which has a number of meanings, also includes ‘long-age’.
Okay then…Now that I feel comfortable establishing that basic Creation took much longer than from Monday to Saturday - with Adam and Eve settled, where on the map were they?
I found that pesky apple tree [Tree of Knowledge] intriguing, so naturally I went searching for other fruit trees that may have been in that garden. There are 391,000 species of plants [identified] half of which we can eat. Common fruit bearing trees we harvest routinely number at 17 with 139 nut bearing trees. As well, there are 1,097 vegetables and about 850 species of seed plants like corn and oats and wheat etc. So, was this salad also available for Adam and Eve? [Not sure about kale.]
Since fire wouldn’t show up until the Early Stone Age in Kenya and the wheel wouldn’t show up until 3,500 years BC in Mesopotamia - I was curious about other diet sources and transportation. Did Adam and Eve get around the garden on horses or burrows? Without fire did they eat fish, or chicken or beef?
The naughty reptile that made the slick sales pitch to Eve went on to propagate as well to become a member of 10,700 species of reptile, including amphibians. There are about 10,000 types of birds and 6,495 recognized species of mammals. [The 7.7 billion, humans - generally causing regular global disruption - are a subtype in the mammal family.] And let us not forget mosquitos, cockroaches and the other 100 million other insects that grace our homes and gardens.
Stay with me, don’t leave just yet.
While ploughing my way through all those fun statistics I came across an extremely interesting graph from the American Museum of Natural History. Of 31,000 plant species with documented use - 18,000 of them have either been used directly or their chemistry has been copied for medical use. The yew tree bark and other elements have been used to treat various cancers. Caffeine, nicotine, the poppy and pot all have numerous medicinal properties. Toxic plants and reptile venom regularly undergo research for medical benefits. Ohhh, and don’t discount those leeches they seem to have blood thinning properties.
Where then is Eden? The Garden of Eden is ‘Here’ - it’s Earth - all of it! Our entire planet is packed with every mineral, plant, animal, insect and herb we need to live and thrive and stay healthy. As well, all of the right people are here to develop medicines, building material for shelter, scientists to teach and all the right people from every culture for music and art!
It’s right here! We live and have been living in the Garden of Eden all along - from the Beginning…
Working Without A Net: "GREEN" & "CLEAN" IN AMERICA (workingwithnonet.blogspot.com)
Working Without A Net: FOSSIL FUELS IN AMERICA (workingwithnonet.blogspot.com)
Amen...and remember CO2 is plant food - CO2 is plant food, don't let a few selfish and greedy people ruin Eden