Exploring the Spirit Origins of Eden, Part I

Exploring the Spirit Origins of Eden

Part I

by R.E. Slater

Genesis 2:8-9 NIV

8 And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.

9 And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

10 And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.

11 The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;

12 And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone.

13 And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia.

14 And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.

A Process-based Exposition

In the bible the Garden of Eden was created by God for humanity (= man). Broadly interpreted, Eden itself bespeaks pleasure, abundance, nourishment (= pleasant, good, life). Within it was a place of temptation (= tree of knowledge of good and evil) to which humanity eventually failed. In 2:15 humanity was called to cultivate and care for Eden's environs.

Essentially, humanity, like nature itself, was given identity, purpose, meaning, community, and structure in which to build community.

That is, man was neither flora nor fauna... man was different from the animals and plants. This does not mean that there was no evolution but simply, the idea was not part of man's psyche.

Further, man's purpose was to care for things. Nourish, cultivate, grow, protect his surroundings... and by assumption, since God is loving, in a loving, redeeming, salvific manner.

As to man's meaning, it was uncovered through man's relations and actions with other humans as well as with nature. This is the idea of a processual creation evolving under humanity's loving care and nourishment. If humanity treated one another unlovingly there would be consequences. Similarly when communities and individuals gave loving thought, acceptance, liberty, and respect to one another. 

Eden then was a mythic place in the Hebrew mindset of national thrival given by God for their benefit. We might call such a place a Utopia or Nirvana or even Camelot. It was an ideal place generated under ideal conditions when agency or freedom was used aright as God intended.

Moreover, in God's image came the ability to live kindly and thoughtfully with one another. However, as time and event, history and narrative have shown, the agency given to nature and to mankind of God's Self was the temptation we could not conquer. In fact, agency is uncontrollable, willful, and wise unto itself. God's greatest gift to creation was also it's greatest downfall.

Not surprisingly, when we use our agency unlovingly we thereby will shut ourselves out from the creaturely-like heaven God provided through God's Expression of God's Self as will as lose our identity, purpose, meaning, community and the structures around which all these elements might occur and thrive.

Finally, God provided sustenance and salvation to creation knowing that divine agency given in love and not by divine fiat would fail. Firstly, God is love and all that God does is in love. Secondly, God does not "order" things in the Protestant sense of ordering but in love persuades, urges, nudges creation forwards towards goodness and love. Still God's immanent interaction with creation understood that agency, like Pandora's Box, was too great a gift to be beheld in. Hence, when removing ourselves from our identity in God we remove ourselves from ourselves.

As in the cosmos, so too in creation and in the human soul, there is no there there without God's presence. As creation was ever in existance (creatio continua as versus the Protestant teaching of creatio ex nihilo) the universe was a hot thermic blob until God "came into relationship with it" to give to the universe it's "being" whereupon it might "become." Similarly with creation and humanity.

Our being is found in God and in becoming more of who we are we may only "become" in yielding to God's ever-present presence. We are not alone, nor does God leave us alone. We are ever in the heart of God who nourishes and provides and protects as God can in an agency-filled world (sic, Arminianism v Calvinism; and Arminianism's updated form known as Open Theology and Relational Theology brought together).

Salvation then becomes known as creation in acknowledged, abiding presence with God (it cannot be otherwise but requires acknowledgement, which Protestantism defines as "faith" in various convoluted descriptions). And further by salvation comes divine help to act in one's agency not perfectly but redemptively.

This means that in the grand scheme of Eden is bourne the narratival concepts of Israel's Creation Story of salvation and redemption. Centuries later the Jewish religion found this narrative centered into the person and divinity of Jesus, known as Christ the Savior, Immanuel who comes incarnately, the sacrificial Lamb of God, and High Priest of creation and humanity's salvation.

And with salvation comes the work - not of necessity but of identity - to redeem all around us. Not by monastic escapism, nor by religious legalism in vain attempts to turn rags to holiness, but by abiding in God's acknowledged presence (= faith) and doing the works of divine relationalism (= works of love).

When redeemed, the redeem then redeem. Tradition may call this "The Roman's Road" or the "Gospel of Salvation" or the "Four Spiritual Laws." But salvific redemption is no more than learning to love and to be love. Not to add to our salvation or to wear brighter robes of white than those around us... but because in our soul we must give the cup or cold water, lose the shirt off our back, and aide and assist those lost to a world of destruction and ruin.

Whether ministers, priest, worker bees, community leaders, or moms and dads... we, who wear the relationship of God's presence within, about, or  around us, are urged forward in our daily lives by the Loving Spirit of God (I prefer this as versus the standard ascription of "Holy Spirit of God" as I wish to underline not legalism but kindness and goodness).

We will fail. This is the way of humility. We will act unlovingly. This is the way of restoring blown relationship as they can be restored. We will withdraw from some elements in our lives which create toxic need, dependence, our enablement within us be these drugs, alcohol, sex addictions, or people. In themselves these are not sin. But in our misuse or abuse of such elements, including those unhealthy to our faith walk to love, they may require abandonment.

And this, in a nutshell is the process theology and story of the Garden of Eden where being is acknowledged and becoming is the goal. How? Through relationships, experience and sensitivity to the presence of God. (Aka, process and processual event is panrelational, panexperiential, and panpsychic, but not in a weird way, but in a lovingly constructive way). Without even there can be no becoming; and without relationship back to God our being-ness is confused and muddled. Like the cosmic process around is ever in a tumult to become so we ourselves as spirit beings boundless to time but held within it's cosmic grip.

My next post will focus on the geographic origins of Eden,

Peace,

R.E. Slater

February 12, 2024

 

I am working on a Westernized description of Whitehead's process philosophy and theology. However, it is a pervasive concept as old as the world itself and in the East, such as in China, the religion of Buddhism also has this center of being-ness and becoming-ness. I wish then to use it as a common ground of understanding  with Asia and to build upon it Christ and His Salvation known. - re slater

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Source  - click here

1) The Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:10-14)

God did not create a garden but ‘planted’ one. But note, the garden is not Eden. The garden was in in the eastern section of Eden (towards the rising sun). Eden was not itself a garden but a fairly large district. The Hebrew word ‘Eden’ means pleasure or delicacy. If Eden was pleasurable, the garden must have been exquisite. Where are those people who talk about the Old Testament God being fierce?! God has never changed from His goodness.

We are surprised at the space taken to describe the rivers. Only one verse is used to describe man’s creation (2:7), but five are used to describe the river. There is a hidden message here.

One river flowed out from Eden. Either it was a spring that came from the ground or a tall mountain stream that flowed down to the garden. Once the river reached the center of the garden, it divided itself into what would become four huge rivers. This would necessitate a huge garden. The names of some of the rivers are familiar to us; others are not. We suspect they are the same but necessary.

• River #1 was Pishon: flows around Havilah where there is good gold, bedllium and onyx stone.

• River #2 was Gihon: Flows around Cush (Ethiopia)

• River #3 was Tigris: Flows east of Assyria

• River #4 was Euphrates.

There are two Chinese characters for garden. One describes the garden above with its four rivers. The other describes the garden’s occupants.

Enclosure		The enclosure has a center from where the river flowed and divided into four rivers.		Garden, Field
This Chinese word for garden or field describes what the garden was like. The Hebrew word for garden comes from the word to 'enclose' or 'protect.'
Enclosure	Dirt	Mouth, breath	Two people		Garden
A second Chinese word for garden describes who lived there. Only two people. God spoke and formed man from the ground. Eve, the second person, came from the side.

So perhaps the whole of Eden was in a lofty place, but the garden was at a lower plateau where the rivers would gain more momentum as they flowed on out of Eden to the other parts of the world. Because of the identity of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, we suppose this land was near the present day rivers. The whole land of Eden seemed central and all the known world was centered around it. We see one river flowing from God’s new paradise.

The river stood for the blessing that came from God and would bring enriching provisions to the world. One could easily see how the Garden would seem like the throne of the world subjected to a higher throne in heaven. This thought of God’s divine blessing flowing to earth from His above throne is very common in scripture (see Psalm 65:9-13).

And he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, (Revelation 22:1).

Chinese description of Eden

Emergent Church Leaders: Who Are Alan Jones vs Tony Jones?

Emergent Church Leaders:

Who Are Alan Jones vs Tony Jones

Amazon Books by Alan Jones - click here for list

Died January 14, 2024

Amazon Books by Tony Jones - click here for list

Official Website - The Reverend Hunter

Patheos Website - Theolblogy

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Obit from the Diocese of California

Georgetown University

The Berkley Center

for Religion, Peace & World Affairs

Profile of Alan Jones

This individual is not a direct affiliate of the Berkley Center. They have contributed to one or more of our events, publications, or projects. Please contact the individual at their home institution.

The Very Rev. Alan W. Jones is a minster ordained in the Episcopal Church. From 1985 until his January 2009 retirement, he was dean of Grace Cathedral Episcopal Church in San Francisco, where he helped launch and moderate the Forum at Grace Cathedral, a series of conversations on the role of faith and ethics in contemporary life. Prior to that, Jones was the Stephen F. Bayne Professor of Ascetical Theology and director and founder of the Center for Christian Spirituality at General Theological Seminary. He has also served on the staff of Trinity Institute of Wall Street's Trinity Church. His publications include Reimagining Christianity: Reconnect Your Spirit without Disconnecting Your Mind (2004), Seasons of Grace: The Life-Giving Practice of Gratitude (2003, with John O'Neil), and Soul-Making: The Desert Way of Spirituality (1989). Jones earned a Ph.D. from the University of Nottingham.

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Grace Cathedral

Obit of Dean Emeritus, The Very Rev. Alan William Jones

March 5, 1940 – January 14, 2024

Dear Cathedral Friends,

I am writing with sad news. Dean Emeritus, The Very Rev. Alan William Jones, died peacefully on Sunday morning in his room at a retirement community in San Francisco. His wife, Cricket, spent the morning with him and stepped out of the room to visit with a friend. When she came back to his bedside, she discovered that his spirit had just departed. Early in the afternoon, we anointed Alan with oil and prayed for him.

Alan participated in various staff gatherings and faithfully attended services at the cathedral for many years until his health declined precipitously at the end of last summer. During our visits over the last few weeks, he stopped talking and became more withdrawn.

For nearly a quarter of a century, Alan served as Dean of Grace Cathedral. He was one of the most powerful preachers of his generation and helped make the cathedral one of the global centers of Christianity. During his tenure, we constructed Chapter House, the Great Steps, and our parking garage. With Lauren Artress, Alan helped to make walking the labyrinth into a religious practice observed by millions of people. Alan inaugurated our Forum series and represented the cathedral admirably in the community.

We feel deeply grateful to Cricket for the wise and compassionate care she provided Alan, especially as his health worsened.

This week, we will be reviewing the instructions Alan left for his burial service and will notify the community when we have set a time and date.

Alan Jones was deeply steeped in Benedictine spirituality. We will never forget his generous vision for reimagining the church and for a Christianity whose primary message is that God loves everyone without exception.

Love,

Malcolm

The Very Rev. Dr. Malcolm Clemens Young
Dean of Grace Cathedral

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Alan Jones (priest)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Alan William Jones OBE (March 5, 1940 – January 14, 2024) was a British-American Episcopal priest and dean emeritus of Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. A prominent lecturer in Episcopal and academic circles both nationally and internationally, he was a prolific writer of books, articles, and editorial opinions.

Early life

Born in London, England, Jones was the son of Edward Augustus and Blanche Hilda (Hunt) Jones. A naturalized U.S. citizen, Jones received both his MA and PhD from the University of Nottingham. His PhD thesis explored the Catholicism of Herbert Kelly, founder of the Society of the Sacred Mission.^[1]

Ordained ministry

Jones was a faculty member of Lincoln Theological College from 1968 to 1971. He subsequently served as the Stephen F. Bayne Professor of Ascetical Theology at the General Theological Seminary in New York City from 1972 to 1982. During his tenure, he founded and was the first director of the Center for Christian Spirituality. Jones was the dean of the Episcopal Grace Cathedral in San Francisco from 1985 until January 2009.^[2] He also moderated The Forum at Grace Cathedral.^[3]

Personal life and death

Jones' first marriage was to Josephine Franklin Jones, the daughter of Newbery Award-winning author Madeleine L'Engle. They had two daughters and a son. They divorced in 1997. He married Virginia "Cricket" Franche Jones, an interior designer, in 1999.

Alan Jones died at a retirement community in San Francisco, on January 14, 2024. He was 83.^[4]

References

1. ^ Jones, Alan (1971). Herbert Hamilton Kelly S.S.M. 1860 - 1950: A Study in Failure (PDF). University of Nottingham.
2. ^ Grace Cathedral, San Francisco - Episcopal Church for the Episcopalian Online Community
3. ^ Grace Cathedral: The Forum
4. ^ LeBlanc, Douglas (16 January 2024). "Dean Alan W. Jones of San Francisco, 1940–2024". The Living Church. Retrieved 18 January 2024.

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Bio of Tony Jones

Tony Jones (theologian)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tony Jones
Jones in December 2012
Alma mater	Dartmouth College
Occupations	Author religious leader
Spouses	Julie McMahon   ​ (div. 2009)​ Courtney Perry   ​ (m. 2013)​

Tony Jones is a leader in the Christian emerging church movement, a theologian, and an author.

Personal life

Jones grew up near Edina, Minnesota, and graduated from Edina High School in 1990. He later graduated from Dartmouth College and attended both Fuller Theological Seminary and Princeton University, pursuing a doctorate from the latter.^[1] Jones divorced his first wife, Julie McMahon, in 2009. In July 2011,^[2] Jones wedded Courtney Perry in a religious marriage, but not legally by the laws of Minnesota or the United States in solidarity with non-heterosexual couples who could not wed: "It was for this reason that Courtney and I decided to forego legal marriage until such time as our GLBT friends were afforded all of the benefits that accrue with a legal marriage." Twenty-eight months later, they were scheduled to legally wed at the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden on November 11, 2013.^[3]

Career

While attending Fuller Theological, Jones returned to his childhood church—Colonial Church in Edina—and worked there as a youth pastor for seven years before leaving for his doctoral work at Princeton.^[1] As a spokesperson with the emerging church movement, Jones was invited by a similar Jewish organization, Synagogue 3000, to speak at their 2006 meeting.^[4] On October 31, 2008, Jones's leadership position of the emerging-church organization Emergent Village was eliminated.^[5] Jones began attending Solomon's Porch in 2005—a church in South Minneapolis, and by April 2012, he was the group's "theologian-in-residence" and helped run workshops about connecting with congregants with 21st-century means. At the same time, Jones was an adjunct professor with Fuller.^[1]

In 2006, Jones was a contributor to Christianity Today magazine.^[6] Jones is the author of the non-fiction book, The New Christians (2008).^[7] Religion Dispatches' Peter Laarman was pleasantly surprised by Jones' 2012 non-fiction book A Better Atonement; Laarman called Jones a celebrity in the emerging church movement, and recommended the book for "anyone who’s even considering whether 'that old-time religion' isn’t quite good enough any more."^[8] Jones also turned his doctoral dissertation into a book—The Church Is Flat—about the emerging church movement.^[1] In 2012, Jones also published the controversial mobile app Ordain Thyself, which offers a variety of religions in which the user can virtually ordain themselves; the app has options for Catholicism, Hasidic Judaism, Hinduism, and Klingon religions, each of which instructs the user on their new belief system and provides photo filters to apply the appropriate vestments to personal photos.^[9][10] Ordain Thyself retailed for US$0.99 (equivalent to $1.26 in 2022).^[11] In 2020, Associated Press Sports Editors named a Star Tribune publication—"Odyssey ahead in the BWCA", co-authored by Jones—the organization's number-one sports "project" of 2019.^[12]

Tony Jones: Affliliate Asst. Prof @ Fuller Seminary

Publications

• The New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier. Minneapolis: Fortress Press. 2008. ISBN 978-1-5064-5495-5.
• The Church Is Flat: The Relational Ecclesiology of the Emerging Church Movement. The JoPa Group. 2011. ISBN 9780615524313.
• A Better Atonement: Beyond the Depraved Doctrine of Original Sin (Kindle). Minneapolis: The JoPa Group. 2012.
• With Timmons, Bob; Lavinsky, Aaron (July 12, 2019). "Odyssey ahead in the BWCA". Star Tribune. OCLC 43369847. Archived from the original on September 19, 2020. Retrieved October 13, 2020. Tracing a North Woods border route of water and land that has transported people of every ilk for centuries, a group's canoe trip in early June through the eastern lakes of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness was every bit a trip into the past. It also informed the present and was classic adventure. Over the next five weeks, we'll tell of the trip on a historic water trail, of its joys and challenges, and of a new appreciation, for a father and son, of the BWCA's diverse beauty. Join the adventure.

References

1. ^ Jump up to:^a b c d Aamot, Gregg (August 27, 2012). "Theologian Tony Jones helps churches reach their young, restless and wired flocks". MinnPost. OCLC 191956532. Archived from the original on December 7, 2018. Retrieved May 1, 2020. Besides his work in social media, Jones is the theologian-in-residence at Solomon's Porch, an author, and the former national coordinator of Emergent Village.
2. ^ Miller, Lisa (September 15, 2011). "Separation of church and state in marriage?". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. OCLC 2269358. Archived from the original on January 20, 2015. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
3. ^ Jones, Tony (November 11, 2013). "I'm Getting Married Again". Patheos. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
4. ^ "The Emerging Synagogue?". Out of Ur. Christianity Today. May 9, 2008. ISSN 0009-5753. Archived from the original on February 3, 2012. Retrieved May 1, 2020. Apparently Christians aren't the only ones feeling the urge to emerge.
5. ^ O'Brien, Brandon (December 18, 2008). "Emergent's Divergence". Christianity Today. ISSN 0009-5753. Archived from the original on February 25, 2018. Retrieved May 1, 2020. Leaders hope decentralizing power will revitalize the movement.
6. ^ Jones, Tony (May 25, 2006). "Is Emergent the New Christian Left 2: Tony Jones takes on Chuck Colson and 'true truth'". Out of Ur. Christianity Today. ISSN 0009-5753. Archived from the original on October 16, 2013. Retrieved May 1, 2020. In part 2 of his post, Tony Jones addresses emerging church critic extraordinaire Chuck Colson. Colson sees the Emergent conversation as a threat to traditional Christian understandings of the 'truth.' Jones responds by discussing the interdependence of truth and community - the essence of the Emergent Village conversation.
7. ^ "Tony Jones Blesses Gay Marriage & Ordination". Out of Ur. Christianity Today. November 26, 2008. ISSN 0009-5753. Archived from the original on August 16, 2013. Retrieved May 1, 2020. The former Emergent coordinator blogs about his views on faith and sexuality.
8. ^ Laarman, Peter (April 5, 2012). "Rejecting Blood Sacrifice Theology, Again". Religion Dispatches. Archived from the original on April 16, 2015. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
9. ^ rosefrench (May 22, 2012). "Edina pastor develops new app to 'Ordain Thyself'". Star Tribune. OCLC 43369847. Archived from the original on March 8, 2016. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
10. ^ Tesh, John. "Find Out What It's Like To Be Ordained With The App Ordain Thyself". Intelligence for Your Life. Archived from the original on May 18, 2015. Retrieved May 2, 2020. Ever wonder what it's like to become an ordained priest, rabbi, or swami?
11. ^ "Ordain Thyself App: Become A Religious Leader With The Swipe Of A Finger". The Huffington Post. September 11, 2012. Archived from the original on May 2, 2020. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
12. ^ Adams, Todd (February 16, 2020). "FINAL RESULTS: 2019 APSE contest for writing/photo/video". Associated Press Sports Editors. Archived from the original on August 5, 2020. Retrieved October 13, 2020.

External links

• Official website
• The Tony Jones Blog at Patheos