[Podcast Episode 41] Pull out your Imagination Helmet! We get to explore the tiny clues God gave us about what Eden and the original Land around it was like. Then, it’s an exciting mini interview with one of the best Creation Apologists, logic teachers, and astronomers we have: Dr. Jason Lisle.
The show wraps up with a whirlwind tour of what, where, and how tornadoes work.
If you enjoy the show, please leave us a rating (which takes 5 seconds) or review (2 minutes, tops). Thanks!
The Garden of Eden
Genesis 2:8-14 And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.
And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.
The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;
And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone.
And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia.
And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.
Gold
I’d forgotten I did an article on the gold in the land of Havilah (I forgot to write about those place names). It showed up on SearchCreation.org Love that search engine!
Bdellium
ICR The Defenders Bible: “The “bdellium” was evidently a precious gum, likened to the bread from heaven sent to the Israelites in the wilderness (Numbers 11:7).”
The only other place this word shows up in the Bible is that verse in Numbers. Doesn’t tell us what it is, does it?
Did the Trees in Eden have Rings (and Adam and Eve have Bellybuttons)?
Future Rivers mentioned in the Bible
Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar.
Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way that looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side.
And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ankles.
Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the waters were to the loins.
Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over. Ezekiel 47: 1-5
And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. Revelation 22:1-2
Sigh! Aren’t those just the best!
Names that we Recognize from after the Flood
To compare what modern people name their their new homes, I plugged in the search term “Douglas River”. It only took a few minutes to pull up all these examples:
- Douglas River, Northern Territory, AU
- Douglas River, Tasmania
- Douglas Dam, TN
- Douglas Water, river, southern Scotland
- Douglas Water, Scotland
- Glen Douglas, Scotland
- River Douglas, Isle of Man
- River Douglas, England
- Douglas Weir, South Africa and town named after General Sir Robert Percy Douglas
- Douglas River, NZ named after Charles Edward Douglas
“Douglas” means black (dark) water in Gaelic
I mention this article as well:
Maine Public Broadcasting: Why Are So Many Maine Towns Named After Foreign Countries and Cities?
Other creationists have written more about where the Garden of Eden:
- CreationWiki: Eden
- Institute for Creation Research: Where Was the Garden of Eden Located?
- Ask John MacKay: EDEN? What do you think of claims that the location of the Garden of Eden still exists?
Apologetics
I don’t use this word much with kids, but by the time you’re 12, it’s plenty time to dive into this important area of understanding and sharing your faith. To be ready when my own kids reach this level, I started collecting the best resources and topics on a page just for Teens. It’s one of my longest pages now and there are all kinds of things for quick learning and deep dives helping us obey God’s command to:
Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: 1Pe 3:15
Dr. Jason Lisle
Dr. Lisle’s ICR page
He’s the guy who put together the amazing planetarium program for the Answers in Genesis Creation Museum. He’s since moved over to help the Institute for Creation Research.
My favorite thing Dr. Lisle specializes in is logic. I still can’t remember when to accuse someone of “begging the question”, but I can spot a fallacy pretty quickly in part because of his clear teaching and examples.
For a taste of his teaching style catch his episode on Logical Fallacies from ICR’s new podcast.
You can also make his Ultimate Apologetics DVD collection into a full blown course (affiliate link to Answers in Genesis)
Tornadoes
Most of the info was collected from library books, but they were completely Amerocentric. So we found where else tornadoes happen by visiting:
- National Severe Storms Laboratory: Tornado Basics
- Open Hazards.com Where do Tornadoes Occur?
There is coming a king who will reign justly
and princes who will rule uprightly.
A man will be like a refuge from the wind,
like protection from a storm,
like streams of water on arid ground,
like a rock cliff shading a weary land. Isaiah 32:1,2 Complete Jewish Bible
