BACK EVICTED 7'1m*f RT: Adam and Eve evicted from the Garden of Eden (RT == Readers' Theater: requires little or no memorization, little or no rehearsal. An indefinite number of reporters are salted throughout the audience.) GABRIEL -- (enters wearing white tunic -- wings optional -- crosses to podium) Good Morning. My name is Gabriel. I am an archangel in service to our Lord God in Heaven. The reason I called this press conference is to announce that the first created human beings, whom you all refer to as Adam and Eve, have been evicted from the Garden of Eden. From now on, they will be living in the region East of Eden. REPORTER -- EVICTED is rather strong language. Are you suggesting that Adam and Eve did something wrong to deserve this? GABRIEL -- Yes. REPORTER -- Can you be more specific? GABRIEL -- They sinned. REPORTER -- That's not quite what I had in mind. GABRIEL -- I know what you had in mind. You want something juicey to sell newspapers to your readers. But I'm afraid this is not terribly juicey. REPORTER -- But I'm sure you can tell us what Adam and Eve did wrong. GABRIEL -- God designed and built the Garden of Eden as a very simple place. There was only one law. And they broke that one law. REPORTER -- Adam and Eve were allowed to do anything in the garden they wanted. They had the choicest of fruits from the choicest of trees to choose from, but they were not allowed to eat the fruit of one specific tree, the tree that was in the center of the garden. REPORTER -- And they are alleged to have eaten the forbidden fruit? REPORTER -- Which of them was the first to eat the forbidden fruit? GABRIEL -- Eve ate first, then Adam. REPORTER -- Shouldn't Eve receive a more severe punishment since she was the first to break the law? GABRIEL -- There was no special punishment designated for being first to break the law. All who break the law will be given the same punishment. The same would be true if there were a hundred people living in the garden instead of just two. REPORTER -- Isn't it true that the woman, Eve, was not even around when Adam was given the law concerning the forbidden fruit? GABRIEL -- That's correct. The woman was created AFTER Adam was given the law. REPORTER -- Then, shouldn't she be exempt from punishment? GABRIEL -- Just because Eve was not around when God gave Adam the law does not mean she was ignorant of the law. She was fully aware of the law when she ate the fruit. REPORTER -- How do you know that? GABRIEL -- She debated with the devil before she decided to break the law. She knew the consequence. REPORTER -- Will there be any other punishment besides being evicted from the garden? GABRIEL -- The garden was a place of peace and protection for the occupants. Outside of the garden, they will have neither God's peace nor God's protection. REPORTER -- Isn't it true that the specified punishment for eating the forbidden fruit was DEATH? GABRIEL -- That's right. REPORTER -- Merely being thrown out of the garden seems like a mere slap on the wrist comparatively. No? GABRIEL -- Believe me, being out of fellowship with God IS death. Outside of his peace and protection, life on earth will seem like hell on earth. There will be floods and famines, plagues and storms. Many of the descendants of Adam and Eve will prefer death to living without the fellowship of God. REPORTER -- You'll pardon me for saying so, but isn't hell on earth a rather harsh punishment for making one mistake? GABRIEL -- Yes. What's wrong with that? REPORTER -- You don't see anything wrong with the ultimate punishment for one mistake? GABRIEL -- No. It's what Adam and Eve agreed to. They broke their promise and they knew their punishment in advance. That's the definition of justice. REPORTER -- But where's the love? GABRIEL -- Adam and Eve owe their lives to God. They are alive because of God's love. They wouldn't even exist if it wasn't for God's love. REPORTER -- But, somehow, love does not seem compatible with such a harsh punishment. GABRIEL -- I think that what you're sensing is that things should not END like this. REPORTER -- That's right. GABRIEL -- You're right. Things won't end like this. REPORTER -- Are you saying that God has something else in mind? GABRIEL -- Yes. After mankind has had a chance to see how life is outside of God's peace and protection, God himself will make provision for man's redemption. REPORTER -- Can you tell us what this redemption will look like? GABRIEL -- Not specifically. But what I can tell you is that mankind will be given many generations to try to work out his own salvation. In the end he will discover that none of his own efforts will bring anything close to God's peace and protection. REPORTER -- Can you predict what kinds of things mankind will do to try to redeem himself? GABRIEL -- Yes. Mankind will forget that under these ideal circumstances even the most innocent of men could not obey one law. Men will try ten laws, then hundreds of laws, then thousands of laws. But all they will discover is that, at best, their own efforts will only have the appearance of holiness and redemption. REPORTER -- Are you saying that laws are not the answer to man's sin problem? GABRIEL -- That's right. Men will also try various forms of government, thinking that if they merely control men's lives, men won't sin. But they'll discover that laws and governments are a poor substitute for what God himself wants to do for men if they will merely submit to his will. REPORTER -- What is it that God himself will do for men? GABRIEL -- I would tell you, but men are not ready for the answer yet. They need centuries, even thousands of years to experiment with self-redemption before they give up hope and rely on God to save them. REPORTER -- So, you're not going to tell us God's ultimate plan for men? GABRIEL -- God's ultimate plan will be revealed slowly through the centuries as man's efforts at self-redemption show failure after failure. God will reveal his ultimate plan a bit at a time as men are able to understand and accept it. REPORTER -- Can you give us a time line or a deadline for God's plan? GABRIEL -- If I told you it would be three thousand years or ten thousand years from now, your readers would lose hope. No. God will give them hope gradually as they loose hope in the best efforts of man himself. Remember, it was man's self-interest that got him into this mess. So, ultimately, it will be God's mercy that bails him out. Thank you all for coming. (exits) �2013 Bob Snook. Conditions for use: Do not sell any part of this script, even if you rewrite it. Pay no royalties, even if you make money from performances. You may reproduce and distribute this script freely, but all copies must contain this copyright statement. http://www.bobsnook.org email: [email protected] BACK |