[mysterio]

I think the Eden passages of the Bible describe the development of intellect as humans evolved. We are given the gift of knowledge and self realization (the only animal on earth that can say 'I am alive and someday I will die'), and earlier more apelike ancestors did not have this brain capacity.

The fact that this story is included in the Bible helps me to believe more strongly that the Bible was truly inspired by God and written by man, as ancient man could not have known nor constructed a perfect parable for the development and evolution of the intellect.

[AnalogReigns]

The only thing is, the Hebrew language of Genesis is narrative prose...not that of a parable or a poem. The rest of scripture too, Old Testament and New, treat the Genesis stories as literal history, not a parable of the "evolution of the intellect."