In which an alternative view is offered regarding the exit of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, the action of women and the relationship of men and women are explored and the story of Cain and Abel is reinterpreted in light of the actions taken during the Garden of Eden Story.

 

In order to fully appreciate this discussion, it is recommended that the posts comprising the series “In God’s Image” and “Imagination and the Mind of Man” be read before reading the posts in this series.

 

Another Interpretation of the Garden of Eden Story

 

Review of the previous post.

 

The previous post, post number 9 of 19, proposed that the story of the Garden of Eden is actually a story of evolution and the evolution of humans

 

 

Preview of this post.

 

This post, post number 10 of 19, continues the discussion of how the Garden of Eden story is the story of human evolution by discussing the anthropologic theory of the sapient paradox .

 

 

In this, the Garden of Eden story could be considered as being incredibly prescient. There is a theory in anthropology known as the “sapient paradox” which is directed to a time lag between the emergence of anatomically modern human beings and the advent of the cultural behaviors that we use to define humanity. That is, anthropologists have discovered evidence of a being that closely resembles what we would consider a human being long before beings which would be considered as culturally resembling human beings existed according to the same evidence. Thus, the Garden of Eden story follows this pattern: Adam and Eve “existed” in some state long before they developed imagination (or some brain power that permitted imagination), and when they showed evidence of such brain power, they become humans in the manner envisioned by God, and were thus allowed to leave the protection, and perhaps the incubator, of the Garden of Eden where all decisions were made for them, and follow their own destiny under their own free will which they were now capable of exercising. It should also be noted that after eating the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, the first thing that Adam and Eve did was to notice that they were naked and covered themselves. This implies that their bodies had developed, but their minds had not caught up to that stage or level of development prior to this time. This seems to follow the sapient paradox theory of having anatomical development precede mental and cultural development.

Still further, the recognition of nakedness by Adam and Eve may indicate that the humans had lost their fur covering. Adam and Eve had been evolving physically as well as mentally as discussed above, and during that evolution, they had lost the fur that covers the skin of all human cousins. Among primates, humans are unique in having naked skin; all of our primate family has fur covering most of their body while we humans have only limited hair. Thus, Adam and Eve covering themselves after eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge may be yet another indicator that the Garden of Eden Story is really about the evolution of man into who we are today^[1].

The theory that the Garden of Eden story is the story of human development seems to find further support in the studies done on the development of the brain of teenage humans. In the June, 2015 issue of Scientific American (Volume 312, Number 6, “The Amazing Teen Brain”), at pages 32-37, Jay N. Giedd concludes that the human brain develops in a manner which has that portion of the brain which drives emotions (the hormone-fueled limbic system, beginning as puberty begins between the ages of 10 and 12) developing and maturing prior to the impulsive action controlling system (the prefrontal cortex, which is not fully developed until around age 25) whereby there actually is a physical disconnect in the brain:

 

What most determines teen behavior, then, is not so much the late development of executive functioning or the early onset of emotional behavior but a mismatch in the timing of the two developments. If young teens are emotionally propelled by the limbic system until, say age 25, that leaves a decade of time during which imbalances between emotional and contemplative thinking can reign.

 

Geidd further states:

 

Adolescence, which society defines as the transition from childhood to adulthood, begins in biology with the onset of puberty but ends in a social construct when a person achieves independence and assumes adult roles.

 

Geidd concludes: “ The teen brain is not defective. It has been forged by evolution to function differently from that of a child or an adult.”

The findings in this article seem to support the thesis of this essay that the human brain develops from one that, in a child, needs total guidance, to one that, in a teenager, has some parts developed and other parts developing and hence is prone to behavior that does not contemplate consequences, to one that, in an adult, has checks and balances. In the Garden of Eden, the brains of the humans went from childlike where they needed constant supervision and could not think or make decisions on their own, to a brain that could make such decisions. Thus, Adam and Eve were fine as children, but once their brains had matured and evolved to the point where their prefrontal cortex had connected to their limbic system, they could be trusted to leave the controlled environment of the Garden and fulfill the destiny of exercising dominion over the entities created in Genesis – like an adult entering society.

This view brings up several interesting questions. One: could Eve’s actions in eating the forbidden fruit have been the consequence of her hormone-fueled limbic system making the decision without benefit of the brake applied by the prefrontal cortex which had not yet developed sufficiently to stop her from taking a step that would have significant consequences (forcing her and Adam to leave the Garden) – much like a teenage girl dying her hair purple when her parents are very conservative. And two, could the disconnect in her brain have caused her to take behavior that deliberately seeks separation from her family (God)? As stated by Giedd;

 

“These behaviors, deeply rooted in biology and found in all social mammals encourage tweens and young teens to separate from the comfort and safety of their families to explore new environments and seek outside relationships. These behaviors diminish the likelihood of inbreeding, creating a healthier genetic population.

 

Still further, the recognition of nakedness by Adam and Eve may indicate that the humans had lost their fur covering. Adam and Eve had been evolving physically as well as mentally as discussed above, and during that evolution, they had lost the fur that covers the skin of all human cousins. Among primates, humans are unique in having naked skin; all of our primate family has fur covering most of their body while we humans have only limited hair. Thus, Adam and Eve covering themselves after eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge may be yet another indicator that the Garden of Eden Story is really about the evolution of man into who we are today^[2].

 

Preview of the next post.

The next post, post number 11 of 19, discusses how human love is introduced in the Garden of Eden story.

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^[1] This discussion may raise a question: does evolution shape our reasoning? A related question is: does evolution shape our morality?

^[2] This discussion may raise a question: does evolution shape our reasoning? A related question is: does evolution shape our morality?

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