The Earth’s Story[1]
The myth of original sin of a primal couple is always read from a strictly an anthropocentric context. What if we shift the reading perspective to an Earth-centered context?
On the day that God made me the Earth, I was born, and no plant or herbs of the fields had yet sprung up, for God had not caused it to rain upon myself. There was no one to till my soil, but waters would rise from the ground and water the soil. Then God took some humus soil from myself and formed an earth-creature (adamah). God breathed into the nostrils of the earthling, and the earthling became alive. I was so happy that a part of my earth body now walked upright and imagine that this earthling could till my soil.
God planted a garden called in place named Eden. Trees and plants arouse from the womb of the Earth. And I marveled at what God was doing to my body. God is a gardener, for God planted spring every type of tree: figs, pomegranates, bananas, olives, almond and various nut trees, numerous fruit and berry trees, grape vines, and ornamental and flowering trees adorned the grove of Eden. Communities of trees are wonderful form of life, for they stabilize the weather and are useful for cycling water. They are intelligent and have been stable children. God loved planting trees and delighted in the garden. Then God brought streams of waters called rivers to water the garden. The sun provided energy and nourishment to the plants and trees. God placed the earthling, Adam in the garden. Each new occasion of creation God gifted myself, as God called forth new creations for the garden. We were embodied together as the soil community, all interrelated. God commissioned the walking earthling to care and serve the garden. And the walking earthlings followed God in gardening, caring and tending the community of the soil. They learned to work the abundance of life in the garden and preserved the community of trees, plants and vegetative life, and other life. One instruction was given: “You may eat from freely from every tree in the garden except from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.”
But the trees made from my body were not enough companionship for the earthling, so God fashioned from body once more every animal of the field and birds of the air. They were siblings who walked over the ground and flied in the skies. They were kin to accompany the earthling, for they shared my earth body. Plants, trees, non human animals and birds, and the earthling are all my children, they were part of the soil community. The earth creature named all the nonhuman animals, but he did not find the companionship he sought. So God caused a deep sleep and took one of his ribs, and God fashioned the rib into companion mate. Thus, God created them male and female. And they were given the responsibility to care for God’s garden community.
A wise serpent asks the woman, “Did God say, ‘you may eat the fruit of any tree in the garden.’” The woman answered, “God say, you may not eat the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch, or you will die.” The serpent replies, “You will not die, for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God.” The woman saw that the tree was for eating and delightful and desired the fruit.” She ate. And gave some to the man who was with her, and he ate as well. Their eyes were opened and knew they were naked. They separated themselves from the nonhuman animals and fashioned coverings from fig leaves.
At the time of the evening breeze, they listened to God’s coming presence and hid themselves. God say, “Where are you?” And the man said, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, and hid myself.” God said, “Who told you were naked? Did you eat of the fruit of the tree which I instructed you not to eat?” The man blamed the woman, and the woman blamed the serpent. Since they ate the fruit from the forbidden tree, they lost all community with the plants and the animals. And the Earth lamented, “Sadly, they lost all connectedness to myself and their siblings. They forgot their humus origins.” God placed them outside of Eden to learn how to connect to the Earth community once more. Humans forgot a deep truth of the soil that all life shares a common ancestry from the humus or soil and are a part of the community of my body. As I wept at the loss of my earth children, God comforted me with hope. One day there will be a new earth creature (adamah) born again from the soil. He will be born from a cave tomb in a garden and become a great gardener, carrying on the mission of his parent who loves gardening. He will instruct humanity on gardening once more, and they will return to the community of the soil and once again learn all life forms an interdependent community of the soil. Hope was born once more in my dreams
[1] Reading Genesis 2-3 from an Earth perspective, see; Shirley Wurst, “’Beloved, Come back to Me,’ Ground’s Theme Song in Genesis 3?,” The Earth’s Story in Genesis, ed. by Norman Habel & Shirley Wurst, Sheffield, Sheffield Academic Press/The Pilgrim Press, 2001, 87-