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The Garden of Eden and the Hope of Immortality

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"James Barr here presents a novel reading of the story of the Garden of Eden, not as a tale of the origins of sin and death, but as a tale of a chance of immortality, briefly accessible to humanity but then quickly lost."

Old Testament scholars have traditionally focussed on The Fall of Man, while Professor Barr's interpretation is different and compelling.

Central to his arguments is the "stress on the role and prevalence of the idea of immortality, commonly thought to be a later Greek and unbiblical import into Christian thinking. Reflection on the concept of immortality also leads to a reconsideration of ideas of death in the Hebrew Bible, about Sheol, the Hebrew underworld, and about the soul. Professor Barr brings out the importance of time for the Hebrew Bible and the concept of length of days, showing that the threat is not death as such, but the manner and time of death."

"His study of chronology leads to a reconsideration of the story of Noah's Ark." Finally, Barr suggests that we view immortality and resurrection as complementary rather than conflicting ideas."

Trade paperback, 146 pp. Bibliography. End Notes. Two indices.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Adam and Eve and the Chance of Immortality
The Naturalness of Death, and the Path of Immortality
Knowledge, Sexuality, and Immortality
Noah's Ark: Time, Chronology, and The Fall
Immortality and Resurrection: Conflict or Complementary?