(05-11-2024, 06:12 AM)FlyersFan Wrote: There is no Eden. It's just a fictional story that ancient people invented to try to explain how life began on the planet. There is a similar myth in Egyptology of a 'tree of life' and a snake and gods etc etc and it all supposedly took place on the Nile River. Every group of people have their creation myths.For me, the discussion doesn't depend on whether there was an Eden (or an ark). I'm not asking myself where it was. I'm asking myself where the writer of Genesis thought it was, and what part historical movements of peoples might have played in the development of the story. To students of history, that question is interesting in itself. I was going to say that at the beginning, but allowed the comment about not following literal inerrancy to take its place.
As to Ham, Shem, and Japheth that you mentioned. That also is a fictional story. There was no Noah and no Noahs Ark, so therefore Ham, Shem, and Japheth didn't exist either. The Noahs Ark story is easily and totally debunked.
I don't think the geography of fictional stories is all that important. Sorry. But enjoy your discussion.
Your comment on Ham, Shem, and Japheth actually agrees with mine, if you look at mine more closely than I think you did. I suggested that these were geographical divisions, not ethnic ones, which is the equivalent of saying they were not historical individuals.
