Review of The Epic of Eden Essay

The larger-than-life of Eden A Christian Entry into the aged(prenominal) will. Sandra L. Richter, Intervarsity press, 2008. ISBN 978+8308-2577-6 Albert Einstein at one time said Peace female genitals non be kept by force it pile only be achieved by understanding. This is an naturally powerful quote, and I willing seek to convey its strength, as applied to our lives as Christians, upon the careful redirect examination of Sandra L. Richters The desperate of Eden A Christian Entry into the of age(predicate) Testament. Richter designed this text as merely a tool by which we might further our understanding of the Old Testament narrative.With one peanut glitch in her transcription, Richter handled the task as that of an expert in the theme would with patience, attention to central full point, and arresting dialogue designed to pull the referee in and leave them starving for more. Richter prefaced The heroic of Eden with a mind-boggling introduction that unexpended no dou bt in my mind that this was spill to be an enlightening read, and I dont say this casu in ally. The bite definition of the word enlighten, according to Merriam- Webster, is to give spiritual insight to, and Richter conceal a promise of nlightenment at bottom the initial pages of this text.As a double-dyed(a) example of this concealed assurance, Richter states that the end result of a church not bashing their Old Testament history is that The church does not know who she is, beca substance abuse she does not know who she was(17). These words resonate with the threat of a Christian identity crisis, while at the same time, the promise of an assured, powerful, Christian identity. atomic number 53 of the more profound ideas in Richters Epic of Eden is her use of an effective metaphor is chapter one. we submit to get past the great hindrance that hasm of history, language, and culture that separates us from our heroes in the faith (21).This comparison seems to collect all of th e hesitancies, the reservations, and the relative fear in understanding the Old Testament, and places them in a neat little package aptly titled the great barrier. Richter emaciated no time in eliciting the appropriate internal response at that place is a barrier to my knowledge of the Old Testament, and I am for the more or less part the reason that barrier exists. It became immediately obvious to me that, should I want to mutilate this barrier and learn more of who I am, nd where I came from, and hardihood I say, where Im going, then I will expect further meter reading.That promise of enlightenment, at this point, has become an extremely dominant theme. Richter takes a superb approach to answering the question of How? How will we, as Christians recognizing the overhear for Old Testament knowledge, come to understand the features of the Old Testament most relevant to who we are, where we have come from, and where we are going? Richter makes quotation to the nonadaptive closet syndrome (18), a metaphor she uses to relate he idea that we accept a disorganized, collective array of varying thought and knowledge processes relevant to our Old Testament experience.In order to gain a full, on the assembly line(p) comprehension of our history, we must organize our closets, and become familiar with the pieces that are stuffed inside. Richter begins her doctrine that we tend to see things through the lens of our possess experiences, our own societies, our own cultures. This strengthens the great barrier in that we are not able to valuate the events of the Old Testament, due in part to the differences amid hat we know, and intimately that which we read. Richter points out that to existently understand their story, we need to step underpin and conquer their voices to be heard in the timbre in which they first spoke.We need to do our best to see their existence through their eyes (22). Richter allows the endorser to identify this facet of the grea t barrier as more than a mere hindrance to understanding. Richter begins her breakdown of the Old Testament by stating the overall theme of the text- redemption. I would be hard pressed to find a more appropriate motivating factor in persuading one to truly nderstand the Old Testament. This is the ultimate goal in the life ofa Christian to be redeemed by the Father for the wayward life lived as a human, who could never hope to prevail without it.Richter explains that the word redemption was actually adopted from the laws and mores of Israels patriarchal, tribal culture (40). She goes on to reference several public stories from the Old Testament, in order to allow the reader to fully range of a function the concept of redemption as it was applied in Old Testament text. The following are two examples Ruth and Boaz But in his ntegrity, Boaz chooses to compact the responsibility of a patriarch and become Ruths gdel her kinsman-redeemer (42). plenty and Abraham voltaic pile an d his class are invaded by a oalition of Kings from Mesapotamia (43), and Abraham, being Lots uncle, swoops in to save him (accompanied by hundreds of his family members). So Abraham puts own household on the line, his own life on the line, in order to legal transfer his brothers son from a strong enemy against whom he had no defense. This is another expression of redemption in Israels world (43). The author uses these to nhance our understanding, on a more personal level, of the word redemption, and later, the daze it would have on the life of a faithful Christian when dealt by the hand of God.Richter begins to organize our closets by explaining the actual time and blank real people, real places, real faith (47). In order to understand our Old Testament story, we must first know something about the time and space our heroes occupied (47). She does this by identifying the five key players (47) disco biscuit, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David, and their approximate time with in the context of ur history. Richter, I believe, uses these figures as the framework of her explanation because each holds extreme value in the overall story of redemption.There are umteen stories involving other players in the Old Testament, but these five are the ones that have experiences directly relevant to our redemption. This was a masterfully crafted technique, and one I value for its value in my own Old Testament comprehension. Next, Richter attempts to tackle the real space that these heroes occupied. Before delving into the topic, Richter acknowledges the idea that . eography is a trauma-inducing topic for some folks (55). Remember in the first paragraph when I touched on the idea that there was a minor glitch in her system?Her attempt at wading through the waters of the geographical overeat that stands ever- present in my mind failed miserably. Geography that we learn about in modern-day American education is one thing, and easy enough. Geography pertaining to the account book was an entirely different monster before reading Richters Epic of Eden, and it depictions of the space referenced in the text. But after her initial easy-to- nderstand reference of the pertinent places, the text became Jumbled, and I found myself constantly going back to check the maps, and then losing my train of thought.I continued on this irritable cycle throughout the entire explanation of space. I was ultimately left feeling confused and asking more questions, which resulted in the loss of nurture that I feel I should have been able to retain. Richter did an excellent job of keeping me entertained enough to forge ahead in my relish for Old Testament knowledge by explaining in great detail the covenants that were held by the key layers of the Old Testament.To be quite honest, before reading Epic of Eden, I was only fully aware of the covenants between Adam and God, and between Noah and God, and I was only vaguely aware of the covenant between Abraham and God. I w as delighted that Richter tackled these stories as someone with a strong high temperature for spreading the gospel. Because of the time and depth that she put into portraying each covenant, I am left with a broader understanding of each of the covenants, and of how they relate to my story, my redemption.Overall, Epic of Eden delivered on its (albeit hidden) promise of enlightenment. I have come a long way in the time it has taken me to read this book, and this can be attributed to the organized, complete set of facts that Richter pulled from the bible for use in aiding my comprehension, my enlightenment. I can now pick up the Old Testament, open to some(prenominal) page, and with my newfound knowledge, I can understand the story and know that it is in like manner my story. An allusion to Einsteins quote I have found understanding, and so it is that I now experience peace.