Jesus said unto them,
A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house.
Mathew 13:57
A more contemporary expression might be: “familiarity breeds contempt”.
Over the years, I have endeavored to grow as a person. I sought to educate myself. Whatsoever I have gained in the process however, is wasted on family and friends.
What great gems of wisdom I have garnered to myself, I simply cannot share with the ones I love most.
My family knows me in my diapers, and, my friends, they know me in my cups.
My wife knew me in the bedroom, my children know my gas.
Strangers, all are wary; (politically correct).
I seek a middle distance, for earnest conversation; a meeting of the mind.
Years ago I made a journey with some “friends” – army buddies actually. On our return we were caught up in a terrible winter ice storm. We holed up in a motel room, waiting out the storm. We knew somewhat about each other, but not enough to jibe. We watched TV initially but it went off the AIR. I found a Gideon’s Bible in a drawer and started reading for our entertainment. In Genesis, we never surpassed the first page and a half. We spent the next eight hours there, deep in conversation, about every single turn of phrase, and all their implications.
There were no apples in Eden. (You can look it up.)
The hours I spent waiting out the ice storm, deep in conversation, proved to be a very rare event. The only comparable circumstance was when I was in college. Students have a special mindset – the spirit of inquiry. Their ideas are not yet set in stone, not like the people you meet on the street. The people on the street have only answers and ask no fundimental questions. It is this all too elusive spirit of inquiry in ernest conversation that I seek.
twentiethman 
Ok, so, I looked it up!
Genesis 3: 3 – “…but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden. God has said, ‘you shall not eat from it or touch it, lest you die.’ ”
It’s from the New American Standard Version, I don’t know what the Gideon’s Bible says though. But you are correct that the Bible does not state an apple specifically was eaten.
There have been others who would argue that it wasn’t an apple but some other type of fruit. The Bible simply does not say. Knowing what fruit was there is only a speculation on our part.
When it comes to topics on creation and Genesis in general, there is Minister I like, and he speaks to these topics very convincingly. His name is Ken Ham. He has a radio spot on WVCY at around 5:10 PM, Monday through Friday (about three minutes long.) He also has a website: http://www.answersingenesis.org, which I like visiting from time to time. Here is the link to Ken’s dissertation on the ‘Fruit in the Garden of Eden.’
http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/2010/06/29/satan-the-fall-good-evil-fruit-edible
I think you should enjoy Ken’s ideas.
Some people just don’t get allegory – especially extended allegory.
I’ll tell you up front I’m not fond of the idea of posting this comment with its attendant links. I endorse neither this minister nor his ministry.
There are other ancient stories of creation that come from all quarters of the globe and from many cultures and in many languages. The story of Adam and Eve is just one among many. I think the talking serpent itself is a dead give-away it’s pure allegory. There are many, many versions of the bible as well: censored, edited, translated, interpreted, parsed, etc.; enough to give a seeker of truth a massive headache.
The bible is published as a book yet it is not a book. Another word for bible is library. A collection of various written works. Part of the problem in understanding it is that most people are spoon-fed bible stories as children and therefore understand them as children. They never read it for themselves. On the other hand, there are those adults who are caught up in the terror, the hysterical realization of their own mortality later in life and desperately seek an escape clause in the scriptures. There is none. As for myself, I approached the bible as a purely academic exercise – as just another book among books. It is, in my opinion, poorly written at best.
The history of writing is the history of History. The bible must be taken in its historical context.
I believe in the God of All Creation – but I must question those who believe God is only capable of speaking three languages, if ever he spoke at all.
Some trees bear bitter fruit. Some trees bear poisonous fruit. Knowledge is an intangible. It is not a question of good versus evil; it is a question of the presumption of knowing the difference. Eve’s sin was just such presumption. Adam’s sin was making concession to that presumption.
All ideas are seeds. One can only hope this writing bears good fruit.