Enticed by Eden

How Western Culture Uses, Confuses, (and Sometimes Abuses) Adam and Eve

Linda S. Schearing, Valarie H. Ziegler

• Publisher: Baylor University Press
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9781602585447
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Popular Culture
• Index: Social Sciences

Sex, seduction, and the perfect marriage. Though it may not have been the intent of Genesis 1-3, the biblical first couple has been used for generations to sell consumable goods and strange ideologies--both salacious and holy--to willing western masses. And, Linda Schearing and Valarie Ziegler argue, Adam and Eve have become archetypal figures for secular and religious society alike as they are transplanted from their ancient garden to a more modern Eden, often with eyebrow-raising consequences.

Finding common ground between both religious and secular recastings of Adam and Eve, Schearing and Ziegler offer page-turning evidence of just how ubiquitous the first couple has become. From online dating services and promises of God-ordained romance to the advertising and selling of games, bathroom fixtures, and even risqué bloomers, Adam and Eve are a hot commodity in modern culture. These strange, confusing, often humorous, and sometimes shocking accounts testify to the myriad of ways in which Genesis 1-3 has been recycled and recreated in the popular imagination, and moreover, in promotion of the Western worldview.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Frontispiece, Title Page, Copyright, Dedication
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• 1. Someday My Prince Will Come
• 2. This One Shall Be Called Soul Mate (Or Will She?!)
• 3. Adam as Alpha Male
• 4. Laughing at Adam and Eve
• 5. And You Thought the Fruit Was Tempting?
• 6. Ecstasy in Eden
• Conclusion
• Notes
• Selected Bibliography
• Index