Parables in the creation story?

[Sakarja]

Genesis 2:8 ¶ And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.
2:9 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 3:1
Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

Hi everyone,

this is my first post in Cosmogony. I was wondering what you all (especially those of us who take Genesis historically) think about these passages. They are saying there was a literal tree of life and also a tree of knowledge in the garden. That sounds sort of weird to me. I mean what would have happened when one ate of the tree of life? Did the fruits somehow have the ability to give eternal life or wisdom to a person? After all, later on God had to put angels to guard the tree so man would not eat it and thus have eternal life. Isn't God the only one who can give life?
And then the serpent, was it a literal serpent that spoke to Eve, or is this just a picture of the devil (as in later in the bible)?
Would it make more sense to interpret these particular passaged as parables?

I'm just interested in your opinions. I am an YEC myself and I do think this can make sense in a YEC perspective, I even have some ideas about how myself. But I'd like to hear your thoughts.

[brett]

Interesting topic Sakarja. Though I can’t see any reason for not taking the trees and serpent literally, especially if I'm going to take the rest of the story literally.


Hi everyone,

this is my first post in Cosmogony. I was wondering what you all (especially those of us who take Genesis historically) think about these passages. They are saying there was a literal tree of life and also a tree of knowledge in the garden. That sounds sort of weird to me. I mean what would have happened when one ate of the tree of life? Did the fruits somehow have the ability to give eternal life or wisdom to a person? After all, later on God had to put angels to guard the tree so man would not eat it and thus have eternal life. Isn't God the only one who can give life?

If God gives the means than it is God who is giving the life. For instance in the Proverbs "tree of life" is used metaphorically to represent the fruits of wisdom, righteousness, provision and kind words. Yet this in no way implies that God is not the true source of life.

Proverbs 3:18 She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, And happy are all who hold her fast.

Proverbs 11:30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, And he who is wise wins souls.

Proverbs 13:12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But desire fulfilled is a tree of life.

Proverbs 15:4 A soothing tongue is a tree of life, But perversion in it crushes the spirit.


And then the serpent, was it a literal serpent that spoke to Eve, or is this just a picture of the devil (as in later in the bible)?
Would it make more sense to interpret these particular passaged as parables?

I’m actually open on this as well as open on the trees. But at this point I don’t see a reason to figurize the snake, especially if we’re not going to figurize Adam and Eve with whom he was speaking (yes I know figurize is not a word). In fact I even lean toward talking animals in the Garden before the fall, a physical feature that was then modified immediately after the fall (that kind of ties into my thread, “post-creation modifications,” though not specifically mentioned).


I'm just interested in your opinions. I am an YEC myself and I do think this can make sense in a YEC perspective, I even have some ideas about how myself. But I'd like to hear your thoughts.

Like I said, I’m open. I’d like the hear your theory.

[Mr. Tinkles]

I tend to think that many things in the early part of Genesis (pre-Fall) are very difficult to understand for us post-Fall creatures, in the same way that Revelation is difficult - symbols and pictures and confusing metaphysical imagery are used to describe things that we are incapable of grasping.

I don't necessarily agree that the descriptions of the pre-Fall world after creation are literal in the sense of they were really there as described. However, I believe they communicate theological truth. I would put the Trees into this category.

The Serpent is a different issue. Remember we have only seen the post-Fall serpent, we have no idea of what it looked like in the Garden (other than Eve was taken in by it, so it obviously wasn't in the yuk category). My own view, not backed up by Scripture, is that the serpent was a beautiful creature who Eve listened to.

[DanN1]

It would not make more sense to interpret these as parables, because the major difference between the Genesis account and parables and visions is that parables and visions are always very clearly and explicitly stated as such, and Genesis is written and worded very clearly as a historic account.