Enchanting Eden

Every now and then, as I ramble about our pleasant little homestead here in the Shenandoah Valley, I pause to reflect on how beautiful it all is. We moved out to these woods 35 years ago, built a house, and set up a simple lifestyle, living as close to the land as we can. The grounds have gotten prettier each year and we feel blessed to live in such wonderful surroundings.

At times when I'm appreciating the beauty of the place, the thought comes to my mind that we're living in our own little Eden. That may seem a bit of an overstatement, since the biblical Eden is described as a perfectly idyllic place; a sort of Heaven on Earth. Well, maybe our homestead is not quite such a paradise, but it's about the closest I'm ever likely to come.

As I pondered whether or not it was appropriate to equate our surroundings with Eden, I found myself once again pondering the myth of that biblical garden paradise, and what the story means to the human species. I don't think that the biblical tale of our banishment from Eden should be taken literally; that's why I use the term “myth.” I don't use the word to indicate that the Genesis story is false or make believe; just that it is an allegory—a story that contains truths, though it probably did not happen exactly as written. George Washington did not chop down a cherry tree as a kid and then confess his foul deed to his dad, but the story does kind of capture the honesty and integrity of the man.

So, if Eden was that wonderful, why did those ancients leave, many thousands of years ago? Sure, the story is that they were evicted for bad behavior, but I doubt that is the case. I can't ever conceive of leaving my own Eden, and I sure as hell would never do anything to get kicked out, no matter how good the apples taste. It is written that Eve and Adam disobeyed the landlord, but I'm not sure that's true either, and I very much rebel at the idea of their committing some kind “original sin” for which we all are still trying to recover. So I wonder if there might be an alternative explanation for Genesis Eden myth.

The Garden of Eden was likely situated in the Fertile Crescent of the Middle East—also known as the Cradle of Civilization—roughly in modern-day Iraq, where the Tigris and Euphrates rivers flow. The region saw the rise of some of the earliest human civilizations, as people transitioned from hunter-gatherer bands into settled communities, when agriculture allowed humans to settle down and permanently reside in the region, around 10-12 thousand years ago. The Fertile Crescent was indeed fecund. Crops grew exceedingly well in the rich soil, well-watered by these two rivers. The population grew rapidly.

As humans tend to do, however, the Fertile Crescent soon was transformed into the arid land it is today, when farming techniques exhausted the top soil and the trees that were previously cut down no longer could hold soil in place. Human activity literally altered the Garden of Eden into the Desert of Eden. Inhabitants of the region came upon hard times, as the once-abundant agriculture faltered.

Might this human-caused deterioration of the land be the source of the biblical myth of Adam and Eve's banishment from Eden? This was long before written history, so it's easy to conceive of the Semitic peoples of the area describing in their oral history an easier ancient time when farming was rewarding, but then hard times came. They no longer lived in a fertile and productive garden, but had to struggle with depleted land. These people were not evicted from the Garden of Eden—they destroyed it and were forced to move on.

This is a story that humanity has repeated several times. The Maya in Central America caused their civilization to collapse, when their depleted lands could no longer support the growing population. Americans did it in the 1930s in southwestern USA, as they watched the winds blow away their dry dusty land that they had depleted through poor agricultural practices. The world today faces similar soil exhaustion in many locations, as modern agricultural methods destroy topsoil at increasing speeds. Humanity is plundering many more Edens; planet-wide. It makes me wonder if the biblical story of Eve and Adam is, instead of a historical description, maybe a prophecy.

In the meantime, humans have also learned good farming techniques. We now know how to care for the soil, and even improve it. Unfortunately, our greed destroys far more land than we heal.

Meanwhile, I rejoice in the little Eden where I live. This land had not been disturbed much, before we arrived 35 years ago. The top soil is naturally thin and not very productive, but we've improved it over the years. I hope we can be fortunate enough to remain here—working with our Eden—until we depart this world. I hope that we also may avoid any kind of eviction from this beautiful place. I have no interest in becoming a modern Adam.