Professor Michael D. Coogan is the editor of the Oxford Annotated Bible and the Director of Publications at the Harvard Semitic Museum, and he joins me for a discussion on the book of Genesis.  Professor Coogan is the author of the books, "The Ten Commandments: A Short History of an Ancient Text," "God and Sex: What the Bible Really Says," and "The Old Testament: A Historical and Literary Introduction to the Hebrew Scriptures."

     This episode, we talk about some of my favorite passages in all of Scripture: the first three chapters of Genesis.  Creation, the garden, and our relationships with one another.  Professor Coogan and I discuss some of the most common misunderstandings of these stories and some of my favorite questions when it comes to these texts.  Are these narratives literal?  Is the garden of Eden really a "fall story?"  Was Eve really deceived by the serpent, or did he make some legitimate points, and what exactly are God's motivations by planting this tree in the garden in the first place?  We also involve you, the listener, in the conversation by taking some of your questions from social media, e-mail, and Facebook.