Let's be clear so there is no confusion. Men who get into intellectual brawls over a literal six-day creation versus the theory of evolution are completely lost. They are fighting over the menu while starving for the meal. Their pride is invested in being "right," so they cling to the letter of the law, which blinds them. As Paul wrote, "the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life" (2 Corinthians 3:6). They are spiritually dead, arguing over the shell of the nut, having never tasted the kernel.
Genesis is not a textbook on cosmology. It is a divine allegory for the birth of the human ego and the fall from consciousness into thought.
1. The Garden of Eden: A State of Consciousness
The Garden was not a geographical location in Mesopotamia. It represents a state of pure being, of pure consciousness. It is the Kingdom of God that Jesus said "is within you" (Luke 17:21). In this state, there is no "you" as a separate entity. There is only unity with God, a state of silent knowing in the eternal now. There is no past to regret or future to fear. There is only life as it is. This is eternal life, which isn't a timeline but a quality of presence.
2. The Serpent: The Voice of the Ego
The Serpent is not a talking reptile. The Serpent is the first stirring of thought that introduces the illusion of separation. It is the voice in your head that says, "I am separate from this. I need something more." It whispers doubt into the silence of being. It is the birth of the ego, the false self that believes it is the thinker of its thoughts. This voice promises you can "be like God" (Genesis 3:5), which is the ultimate deception, because in your true nature, you are already a son of God, one with His Spirit. The ego wants to achieve what you already are, and in doing so, it takes you away from it.
3. The Tree of Knowledge: The Dualistic Mind
Eating the fruit is not about disobeying a rule about an apple. The "Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil" is the mind itself, which functions by splitting reality into opposites. Before eating, there was only what is. After eating, there is good and evil, right and wrong, me and you, success and failure. This is the fall into judgment and comparison. This is the birth of suffering. You were cast out of the Garden not by an angry God, but by your own mind. The moment you believe your judgments, you are no longer in the paradise of simple being; you are in the hell of your own thinking. This is not a one-time historical event. You are cast out of Eden every single moment you choose to believe the chattering ego over the silent presence of God within you.
4. "Original Sin": A Doctrine of Control
The concept of "original sin" as an inherited stain you are guilty of from birth is a man-made doctrine used for control. It is not biblical. The "sin" (which means "to miss the mark") is not what Adam did; the sin is what you do right now. You miss the mark every time you identify with your ego, believe your thoughts, and react with emotion. You "eat the fruit" every time you judge your neighbor, worry about tomorrow, or get angry about the past. The problem is not an ancient ancestor; the problem is the untamed mind. Christ came to show the way out, not to pay a penalty for a crime you didn't commit. He said to "take every thought captive" (2 Corinthians 10:5). That is the work. That is how you stop eating from the tree.
Genesis is a roadmap pointing inward. It tells you where you came from (oneness with God) and what happened (you identified with thought). The rest of the scripture, when read with the Spirit and not the intellect, shows you the way back: die to the false self, the ego, so that the Christ, the true self, can live in you. Stop arguing about the details of the story and start living its truth.