EDEN

Most of America is still Sunday.  My posting today is on Eden.  Did you know there are 32 places in the USA called Eden?  We are only 4% of the world, yet the there are only 65 locations on the entire planet called Eden, in 18 other countries?  Americans are religious.  Was there a Garden of Eden?  Where was the "real" Eden? 

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  Of course the Garden of Eden is the biblical paradise described in Genesis and Ezekiel.
• The general setting appears to be four tributaries, some combination of the Persian Gulf in southern Mesopotamia where the Tigris and Euphrates rivers run int the sea in what is now Armenia.
• The Bible begins around 10,000 years ago, and the sense is that Adam and Eve were created between 9800 and 9700 years ago.
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  Adam came from dust and the breath of God, while Eve from one of Adam's ribs.  We all still, male and female, have 12 pairs because His act was surgical, not genetic.
• Apparently, there was first an Adam, then Lilith, where there was a sexual position disagreement, so Eve came as the third human.
• Their first son was Cain, then Able, with Seth coming when Adam and Eve were 130
  
  years old.  
• There were seven children.  
• But they both lived almost 1000 years, and there were more.
• Can't believe geneticists spent any time on this, but they identified 10 sons of Adam and 18 daughters of Eve.
• The Bible-Science Guy says Adam sired hundreds of children.
• 
  In any case, not clear when the serpent-Eve-Adam-apple incident actually happened, but the fact is that there was no apple tree in the Garden of Eden in those days.  Maybe it was a citron or fig or grape or pomegranate.  No matter, for some say this fruit is just a symbol for the sex act in general.

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  Were Adam and Eve real?  Gallup says 40% of Americans think so.   However, creationism is an amorphous topic, and it depends on who you ask and how.  For example, the BioLogos Foundation says this believe rate is 56%.
• Like much of the Bible, all the above is metaphorical.

Well so much for religion today.  We're at sea and on our way to Eden, Australia.  Had a minimal breakfast, but the lunch was a grand adventure.  The buffet was in the kitchen or galley.  We had to go serve ourselves.

Their staff willingly took your plate to your table.  Unfortunately, there is no numbering system on this ship, and they delivered two of my dishes to the wrong table, for I just continued to fill a third.  All this while I was taking photos.  Try doing this with two hands.  Finally, I went to my table and nothing was there.  Took an effort to retrieve my two other plates.

Lost track of how many drinks I had, but started with a Kir Royale, but with Chambord instead of Kir, then a Rosé Wine, followed by champagne, White Wine, Red Wine, vodka up...then?

Even desserts.  Then the traditional parade of chefs and staff for the great grand meal of the trip, for we are soon to return to Sydney, and many of the passengers will depart.

The afternoon was spent trying to recover.  But only five hours later came dinner.  We were went, but only reluctantly.

Endive salad, kangaroo meat (a bit tough, but okay) and butter soufllé.  Tomorrow, we return to Sydney,

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