Roots Of Eden

When we tell the story of God, where do we start? As the pandemic disrupted the ways we worship and practice our faith, we've been given an opportunity to reevaluate everything. Perhaps the better question now is this: Where do we restart? Whatever a church or a community of faith will be, we will always be telling the story of God. But how do we tell it best in a post-pandemic world? How would you tell it to a child? Or to someone who has never heard it before? Maybe the best place to begin is still here: "In the beginning..." The things we want to believe most about God are often present in the story's first truths from the Garden of Eden. And in those first truths, we also find the most important things to believe about ourselves. In a season of renewal for people and for churches, the opening story of Genesis reminds us of who God is, who we are, and the call of creation. It's a story about so much more than sin. And it's a good place to begin, again. Roots of Eden explores the first truths of scripture. What's the first thing the story tells us about God? About ourselves? What's the first thing God says to human beings? What is the first truth of the relationship between Adam and Eve? How can we see the events of Genesis 3 through the first truths of Genesis 1? And what does all of this mean for life outside the garden? The roots of Eden still run deep into the world we've made. And from the beginning, it's a world that can be good.

“A poignant, necessary entry into the children’s literary canon, Root Magic brings to life the history and culture of Gullah people while highlighting the timeless plight of Black Americans. Add in a fun, magical adventure and you get everything I want in a book!”—Justina Ireland, New York Times bestselling author of Dread Nation Debut author Eden Royce arrives with a wondrous story of love, bravery, friendship, and family, filled to the brim with magic great and small. It’s 1963, and things are changing for Jezebel Turner. Her beloved grandmother has just passed away. The local police deputy won’t stop harassing her family. With school integration arriving in South Carolina, Jez and her twin brother, Jay, are about to begin the school year with a bunch of new kids. But the biggest change comes when Jez and Jay turn eleven— and their uncle, Doc, tells them he’s going to train them in rootwork. Jez and Jay have always been fascinated by the African American folk magic that has been the legacy of their family for generations—especially the curious potions and powders Doc and Gran would make for the people on their island. But Jez soon finds out that her family’s true power goes far beyond small charms and elixirs…and not a moment too soon. Because when evil both natural and supernatural comes to show itself in town, it’s going to take every bit of the magic she has inside her to see her through. Walter Dean Myers Honor Award for Outstanding Children's Literature!

Scholarly proposals are presented for the pre-biblical origin in Mesopotamian myths of the Garden of Eden story. Some Liberal PhD scholars (1854-2010) embracing an Anthropological viewpoint have proposed that the Hebrews have recast earlier motifs appearing in Mesopotamian myths. Eden's garden is understood to be a recast of the gods' city-gardens in the Sumerian Edin, the floodplain of Lower Mesopotamia. It is understood that the Hebrews in the book of Genesis are refuting the Mesopotamian account of why Man was created and his relationship with his Creators (the gods and goddesses). They deny that Man is a sinner and rebel because he was made in the image of gods and goddesses who were themselves sinners and rebels, who made man to be their agricultural slave to grow and harvest their food and feed it to them in temple sacrifices thereby ending the need of the gods to toil for their food in the city-gardens of Edin in ancient Sumer.

Several pre-biblical protagonists appearing in Mesopotamian myths are identified as being fused together and recast as the Garden of Eden's serpent.

Uses comparative narratives to explore the dualism between marginalization and the desire for roots within a rooted identity

This is the first complete book about the Babylonian Kabbalah, which many people are talking about on the Internet. Assyria in Northern Iraq is the home of Palace Art from the Courts of the Assyrian Empire, where the Tree of Life was routinely shown on walls, tended by winged genies. It represented the King and the Land. It is also arguably a spiritual map and the basis of the Jewish Kabbalah, which was developed later. Many authors have asserted that the Kabbalah came from Egypt but this book shows that its early roots lie in Assyrian Court Art. There are also fascinating parallels to Asiatic Shamanism. All points to Asia, not Africa, as the home of the archetypal Sacred Tree image. ,

"...set[s] forth his method of natural self healing based on herbs, a diet that used no meat, dairy products, or eggs, and a life in harmony with the laws of health and nature. He opposed the use of sugar, spices, pepper, mustard, vinegar, and fermented foods. He recommended the use of soymilk in numerous healing diets and considered it far better than cow's milk. " -- www.SoyinfoCenter.com.

Is there anything in the New Testament about the need for priests in the Church? Many Protestants would argue no. And if you point out that there is a priesthood in the Old Testament, they are likely to say it was a feature of the Old Covenant that was undone by Christ. How should a Catholic respond? In Jesus and the Old Testament Roots of the Priesthood, biblical scholar John Bergsma convinces readers that Jesus did, in fact, intend for a ministerial priesthood to be a key feature of the New Covenant. Bergsma shows how the priesthood is a major thread holding together the biblical story line—beginning with Adam’s loss of the gift of priesthood in the Fall and the long process of restoring his descendants to a priestly status over the centuries, culminating with Christ. With chapter summaries and discussion questions included, Jesus and the Old Testament Roots of the Priesthood can readily be adapted into a four-part study for personal or small group use.