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Saturday, September 9, 2023

An Alternative Creation Account (Satire Alert)

The Garden of Eden, as envisioned by Thomas Cole, 1928

And God said, "Let the earth be paved over with urban development, and include multiple convenience stores, McManna fast food outlets and supermarkets laden with all manner of processed food products according to their kind. And let there be large scale factory farms that produce, harvest and ship food from the far corners of the earth, such as beef fattened on massive feedlots, eggs mechanically gathered and packaged from caged laying hens, bacon and prime ribs from pigs confined to cramped individual stalls all their life, exotic fruit from as far away as China, and bananas and pineapples from corporation-owned plantations from all over the world.
And it was so.
Then God created suburbs with three car garages and with manicured, well fertilized and irrigated lawns, regularly sprayed to prevent native clovers and pollinator dandelions from adding any variant color or texture. These acres of unnatural turf created for Adam and Eve's enjoyment were interspersed with a variety of non-native trees, flowers and shrubs that were "pleasing to the eye" but usually not "good for food" for humans, bees, birds and other habitat.
And it was so.
The Lord also provided conveniences like riding mowers, leaf blowers and weed eaters to help keep all of the lawns neatly trimmed, and to separate the sterile paved areas from the sterile turf spaces. Gyms, fitness centers and pickle ball courts were provided for physical exercise so that well-to-do humans would not have to work the ground to produce vegetables, fruits, nuts or berries of any kind for their food. The Lord also offered employment at local McManna and supermarket outlets for their sons Cain and Abel to earn spending money and to keep them occupied in their spare time.
And it was so.
And God saw all that was made, and mused, "What ever made us think this was 'very good'?"

- selections of Genesis 1 and 2 from the "Reversed Standard Version" 

Satire aside, there are these more hopeful visions:

"Indeed, the Lord will comfort Zion;
God will restore all her waste places.
And her wilderness God will make like Eden,
And her desert like the garden of the Lord;
Joy and gladness will be found in her,
Thanksgiving and sound of a melody."
  Isaiah 51:3

"They will say, ‘This desolate land has become like the garden of Eden; and the waste, desolate and ruined cities are fortified and inhabited.’"   Ezekiel 36:35

"Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations."  Revelation 22:1-2

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