Are you reading the bible? And if so.....

[David Walton]

Another angle to consider: In Genesis 3:22, God says-

“Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—”

If you look at the grammar, there, God doesn't finish the sentence. It's like the outcome was too horrible to contemplate. Prior to the Fall, Adam and Eve were not forbidden to eat from the Tree of Life, but attaining immortality in their fallen, sinful state was literally a fate worse than death. And this is what necessitated their eviction from Eden. God was protecting them from having to live with their sin forever. Think about every sci-fi/fantasy book or film or media where the subject is immortality. The immortal person is almost always trying to figure out how to die. They're looking for a release. Why is that? Because there's only so much garbage we can take. That is why our resurrection into new eternal bodies that are free from the defect of sin coincide with the new heaven and new earth (1 Corinthians 15:12-58; Revelation 21-22). Our eternality is tied to God finally purging sin and evil and death from our existence.

So, first off, the usual disclaimer. I'm a Christian but not a fundamentalist. I don't take the creation account or that of the fall literally.

I do believe the myth speaks to us on various levels. It is the foundation of our faith, warts and all, so to speak.

At the first level, I think it's about personal ego, the moment when you realize that you're, well, you. And this is followed shortly by the realization that you can and will die one day. The thing I call "I" will cease to be, at least in the sense that I currently understand myself.

As far as the fall goes, I think it goes without saying that you can't break a commandment you can't comprehend. So it's a potentially dangerous line of thought to take the account literally. What I think the story does, though, is retroactively apply a more mature understanding of 'love your neighbor' to the beginning of personal ego. Understanding myself as 'a' self opens me up to the possibility of understanding others and working for their good as well as mine. But the author frames this revelation as a tragedy, because it also means understanding that we are incapable of doing everything we can and should for our fellow human being. From the moment we understand 'self,' we will always feel trapped by it. Torn between what we want and what we ought. As Paul says, "Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me."

At any rate, I think you're right about why immortality can never be seen as a gift until we are transformed inside as well as out.

It seems to me that you are right, God's purpose was to save us from being immortally mundane beings.

"Immortally mundane beings"--I love how you've phrased that!

The Tree of Life was not forbidden before the fall, right? Not expressly. It was the eating of the Tree of Knowledge that linked Adam and Eve to death (Genesis 2:16-17) - "when you eat from it, you shall die." This tells me that Adam and Eve could have been eating from the Tree of Life in the Eden days. They no longer had access to the Tree of Life, though, after getting exiled from Eden. But they were still immortal beings, just not physically:

"There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations - these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit - immortal horrors or everlasting splendors. This does not mean that we are to be perpetually solemn. We must play. But our merriment must be of that kind (and it is, in fact, the merriest kind) which exists between people who have, from the outset, taken each other seriously - no flippancy, no superiority, no presumption.” -CS Lewis, The Weight of Glory

God could have made them immortal in the first place, too. I wonder if that, in part, is what is meant by "image of God."

That is a great C.S. Lewis quote that puts our relationships in perspective.

So you are parsing the English words of a story taken from an earlier Babylonian myth and then translated into several dead languages over a few millennia before we get it in it's current form?
I am amazed at people who know it's exact meaning and what God actually wanted.

I'm agreed that can be problematic. On the flip side, not being a literalist, I believe even flawed texts can be used by God to speak truth, sometimes more personal than universal.

A corrupted Shakespeare folio still tells us more about his work than nothing--though it would be dangerous to pin our entire understanding of him on a single passage!

[The Whovian]

Today's devotion:

FAILURE AND GOD’S TIMING
https://www.todayintheword.org/issue.../devotions/09/

[The Whovian]

Today's devotion:

THE PROPHET WHO DISOBEYED
https://www.todayintheword.org/issue.../devotions/10/

[The Whovian]

Today's devotion:

FAILURE AND REVIVAL
https://www.todayintheword.org/issue.../devotions/11/

[CTTT]

Fellow Christian here. I'm currently reading a chronological Bible and it's really neat to read biblical history in the order, or as close to the order, as it happened. So, it jumps around a bit but it's fun. I'm currently up to just past the life of Solomon.

[David Walton]

Fellow Christian here. I'm currently reading a chronological Bible and it's really neat to read biblical history in the order, or as close to the order, as it happened. So, it jumps around a bit but it's fun. I'm currently up to just past the life of Solomon.

That's cool! I've never had a chronological Bible. To be honest, I often find the timelines confusing when you get into the era of the kings, as to where each book of prophecy falls.

[The Whovian]

Fellow Christian here. I'm currently reading a chronological Bible and it's really neat to read biblical history in the order, or as close to the order, as it happened. So, it jumps around a bit but it's fun. I'm currently up to just past the life of Solomon.

I have never done it this way but it sure sounds interesting. I'll have to try to find a reading order for this or a bible like this. I'm almost on Revelation and then I want to start over again, so this might be the way to go.

[The Whovian]

Today's devotion:

NO ONE LISTENED
https://www.todayintheword.org/issue.../devotions/12/

[The Whovian]

Today's devotion:

THE SUCCESSFUL TRAP
https://www.todayintheword.org/issue.../devotions/13/

[CTTT]

And I want to put it out there that things in the U.S. and elsewhere seems pretty bad with the protesting/violence and the coronavirus but God will see us through this. For me, I'm glad to know he's always with me.

[The Whovian]

And I want to put it out there that things in the U.S. and elsewhere seems pretty bad with the protesting/violence and the coronavirus but God will see us through this. For me, I'm glad to know he's always with me.

Amen brother! And welcome to the boards and this thread!

[The Whovian]

Today's devotion:

THE FREEDOM OF IMPRISONMENT
https://www.todayintheword.org/issue.../devotions/14/

[The Whovian]

Today's devotion:

THE TRIUMPH OF THE CROSS
https://www.todayintheword.org/issue.../devotions/15/

[The Whovian]

Today's devotion:

GOD’S STEADFAST MERCY
https://www.todayintheword.org/issue.../devotions/16/

[Scott Taylor]

Fellow Christian here. I'm currently reading a chronological Bible and it's really neat to read biblical history in the order, or as close to the order, as it happened. So, it jumps around a bit but it's fun. I'm currently up to just past the life of Solomon.

At my church we got finished reading "The Story" which takes the Bible and presents it chronologically but only hitting the highlights and broad sweeps. It was pretty good and I'd recommend it if you want to get an overview as well as the detailed version.

Here is a plan I found for a chronological reading of the Bible. Interesting:

Day Today's Scripture Reading Description
Day 1 Genesis 1-3 Creation and Fall
Day 2 Genesis 12, 15, and 22 Abraham, Isaac
Day 3 Job 1-3 and 38-42 Story of Job
Day 4 Exodus 1-5, 12-14, and 20 Moses and the Law
Day 5 Leviticus 1, 10-11, 16, and 25-26 Instructions
Day 6 Numbers 3-4, 6, and 11-14 Journey to the Promised Land
Day 7 Deuteronomy 5-8, 28-31, and 34 Moses' last message to the Israelites
Day 8 Joshua 1-6 and 23-24 Joshua, Israelites enter the Promised Land
Day 9 Judges 1-4 and 13-16 Period of the Judges
Day 10 Ruth 1-4 Story of Ruth
Day 11 1 Samuel 7-10, 12 King Saul
Day 12 1 Samuel 15-20, 28, and 31 King Saul
Day 13 2 Samuel 5-8, 1 Chronicles 15-17 King David
Day 14 2 Samuel 11-13, 15, and 18 King David
Day 15 1 Chronicles 21-22, and 28-29 King David
Day 16 Psalms 1, 8, 19, 23, 51, 100, 103 and 139 Psalms of King David
Day 17 1 Kings 3, 6-12 King Solomon
Day 18 2 Chronicles 5-10 King Solomon
Day 19 Ecclesiastes 1-5 and 12 King Solomon
Day 20 Song of Songs 1-2, Proverbs 1-3 King Solomon
Day 21 2 Chronicles 14-16 King Asa
Day 22 1 Kings 17-19, and 21 Elijah
Day 23 2 Kings 1-2, 6-7, 11-12 Elijah, Elisha, Kings
Day 24 2 Chronicles 24-26 Kings
Day 25 Joel 2, Jonah 1, Amos 3, Micah 1-2 Prophecies
Day 26 Isaiah 1-2, 6, Hosea 1-4 Prophecies
Day 27 2 Kings 17-20, 2 Chronicles 29-32 Hezekiah
Day 28 Isaiah 40 and 52-55 Consolation of Israel
Day 29 2 Kings 21-23, 2 Chronicles 33-35 Manasseh, Josiah
Day 30 Nahum 1, Zephaniah 3, Jeremiah 1-5, Habakkuk 1 Prophecies
Day 31 Ezekiel 1-3, 18, and 33, Lamentations 3, Obadiah Fall of Jerusalem
Day 32 Daniel 1-2, 4-6 Daniel
Day 33 Ezra 3, 6-7, Haggai, Zechariah 1-2 Return, rebuilding of Jerusalem
Day 34 Esther 1-4, 7-8 Story of Esther
Day 35 Nehemiah 1-2, 4, and 6 Rebuilding the wall
Day 36 Malachi Last Old Testament prophecies
Day 37 Matthew 1-2, Luke 1-2 Birth of Jesus
Day 38 John 1, Mark 1, John 3-4 Early ministry of Jesus
Day 39 Luke 4-6, Mark 2-4 Teachings of Jesus
Day 40 Matthew 5-7 Sermon on the Mount
Day 41 Mark 10, Luke 8-12, Matthew 17-18 More teachings of Jesus
Day 42 John 13-17 Jesus' upper room discourse
Day 43 Matthew 26-28, Mark 15-16 Death and resurrection of Jesus
Day 44 Luke 22-24, John 19-21 Death and resurrection of Jesus
Day 45 Acts 1-4, 8-10, 12-14 The Church starts, scatters, expands
Day 46 Galatians 3-6 Paul's warnings about true vs. false religion
Day 47 James 1-3, Acts 15 Teachings and ministry of James
Day 48 1 Thessalonians 2 and 4; 2 Thessalonians 3 Paul's letters on adversity and persecution
Day 49 1 Corinthians 1-2 and 13 Paul's writings on living, loving like Jesus
Day 50 2 Corinthians 4-5 and 8-9 Paul's writings on authentic Christianity
Day 51 Romans 5-8 and 12 Paul's letter on Christian doctrine, practice
Day 52 Philemon; Ephesians 4-6 Paul's writings on practical Christian living
Day 53 Colossians 1 and 3; Philippians 2 and 4 Paul's writings on growing in Christ
Day 54 1 Peter 1 and 4-5 Peter's first letter to the Church
Day 55 1 Timothy 1-3; Titus 2 Paul's teaching on Church leadership
Day 56 Jude; 2 Peter 1 Jude and Peter's writings on true vs. false religion
Day 57 2 Timothy 3-4 Paul's example, encouragement to Timothy
Day 58 Hebrews 10-13 Teachings about living for Jesus Christ
Day 59 1 John 1-3 John's letter on loving Christ, each other
Day 60 2 John; 3 John John's postcard letters to friends
Day 61 Revelation 1-4, 19-22 Jesus Christ's revelation to John