turk179 said:
I am very uneducated on Christian topics and I was wondering if you all could help with a question. Do you all believe that the Garden of Eden is an actual place on earth and if so where is it located? If it does exist, would it be possible to go there? I apologize if this seems like a stupid question but I really am curious about this. Thanks for your time.
Tim
I'm going to sound backwards here, but yes, I believe there is truth to this. I believe in a very real Garden of Eden, though I have no evidence of its existance. If pressed, I will simply rely on divine revelation, which would not be sufficient for it. I believe that it is no longer located on Earth, or in some other manner out of touch with us. There was a cook, in Orthodox tradition, St. Euphrosynus, who was taken miraculously to Paradise and brought back fruit from it. That tells me it is still real, but I know the story carries little weight to those outside of Orthodoxy.
I don't deny science either. I will not compromise divine revelation or scientific learning (the age of the earth and evolution). Right now I don't have a way to reconcile these, and if pressed, I will admit the tension. For me, though, it is a very real place.