Was reading about The World Tree in chapter 5 of Barbara Hand Clow's "The Mayan Code".
What if exhile from Eden was a lie to discourage people from practicing shamanism?
I mean it wouldn't be the first conspiracy that The Church has perpetrated. And if The Church could assimilate as many Pagan holidays as it has, why wouldn't it steal from creation stories and put them together in such a way that slightly resonates with cultural inheritances and discourage spiritual enlightenment the way the "sacred cultures" did it?
Personally, I've always had issue over the story of banishment from Eden. I've always had a feeling that The Bible was His Story more so than history. I've always felt that there is truth in The Bible, but as it was written by man, it couldn't be The (whole) Truth. How can The Truth possibly fit into anything other than the soul?
X number of pages can never approximate containment of The Truth, IMHO.
Rather, The Truth IS obtained through the seeking of it. I doubt I attain all there is to know, but the journey itself is the reward. The Church is a good starting point for a lot of people, including myself, but I believe that it can also be a diversion from gaining further enlightenment.