In fact, history writing must be considered an imposition of form upon the past. To paraphrase Aristotle, it is representational and figurative. In regards to divine inspiration, it appears that God did not conform to our own narrow perceptions of history nor of literary genres.
via Mark W. Chavalas: Bible often isn’t easy to interpret.
This piece is written for a newspaper audience and is quite general in nature, nonetheless, it is a thoughtful reflection on the difficulties of biblical interpretation and how our expectations don’t always correspond to ancient ones.
Saint Augustine couldn’t do it, but can someone else explain what kind of fruit Adam and Eve ate in the story? After 6000+ years we deserve an intelligent explanation. No guesses, opinions, or beliefs, please–just the facts that we know from the story. But first, do an Internet search: First Scandal.