[hellbender]

Your mind and mine seem to be in perfect synch! I hesitated to refer to things like the Garden of Eden as mythical, because many people react emotionally, thinking that myths are false by definition, and can't express truth. Also, Biblical stories are obviously far more profound than the silly folklore of American Indians and other primitive peoples, or the Greco-Roman gods, for that matter. I used to know an English major who pointed out that Genesis was far greater as literature than the Iliad or the Odyssey. The classical gods, or the pagan Germanic ones, were just big, evil, selfish people, basically. They never made moral commandments to people or to themselves.

Like you, I believe that Jesus and the disciples did perform actual miracles. I think the Bible shows that God does not perform or authorize miracles on a routine basis (otherwise, they wouldn't be miraculous), nor does He bail out every believer in trouble. Miracles are mainly used to advance the Gospel and the church at critical moments, when it might otherwise have been extinguished.

I think whenever one reads the Bible, esp. the Old Testament, one should always think: What is the moral of this story? What is the real point?

[DallasMike]

Your mind and mine seem to be in perfect synch! I hesitated to refer to things like the Garden of Eden as mythical, because many people react emotionally, thinking that myths are false by definition, and can't express truth.

Thanks. I believe with absolute certainty that the Garden of Eden was -- and still may be -- a literal place on planet earth. I believe that God placed Adam there and created Eve there.

Like you, I also believe that the significance of the Garden of Eden is far greater than just 'Latitude X, Longitude Y.' It was a special place, quite likely with physical laws somewhat different from the rest of the planet. It's a myth, but a myth made real. You're probably a fan of C.S. Lewis and understand that.

You're so right that there is a huge difference between petty pagan Gods and the God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob. In God, "we live, and move, and have our being." How interesting that Paul quoted an Athenian poet to reach the Athenians. It's also interesting that, in Ephesians 2:10, God actually calls us poetry (ποίημα poiēma)! What a wonderful expresion of love!