Searching for Eden: Utopia is Impossible without God.

The other day I was thinking about how often people have longed for (and even tried to create) a perfect setting in which to live.  What triggered this thought was watching a recent Christmas movie that, while cute, could not have been further from reality – and no, it was not a fantasy production either. Set in a real American town, it was scrubbed so clean, from the streets to perfectly dressed family, that it bore little resemblance to the real city and real people. It represented something we wish we had; utopia.

The philosopher Plato manifested his utopian reality by concluding intangible “Ideals” that were perfect and changeless, yet he found them lacking in human society.  He believed that ideals could be made real, however, if the social order was ruled by philosopher-statesmen, and an educated populace. For Plato, right reason, in the form of education, ensured that a person would never make the wrong choice because they would know better.  What Plato was not aware of was that human nature comes with inherent original sin, and a propensity to go against what is good. 

In America, during the 19th century there were scores of utopian enclaves, such as the Transcendentalist Brook Farm outside Boston (of which Nathanial Hawthorne was a founding member). In Indiana, the village of “New Harmony” was established to support a thriving scientific community who desired to work far removed from capitalism. Then we have “Oneida” in the state of New York, where like-minded people prohibited monogamy and children were raised by the village committee; literally embracing “It takes a village to raise a child.”  Of all the utopian practitioners, however, one topped the list; Karl Marx.  His idea of a perfect world order was to create an egalitarian communist society, with the State as the enforcer.  From reality to fiction, such as James Hilton’s 1933 novel Lost Horizon with its’ “Shangri-La,” many humans have sought harmony.  The irony, however, is that the attempt typically resulted in the opposite and even led to tyranny.  From this observation, it appeared to me that human beings have a longing for what we truly lost; the Garden of Eden.  After all, who does not dream of perpetual safety, where neighbors are like family, and children play unmolested in the front yard?  No door locks, because there are no thieves, and an abundance of food, shelter and clothing for everyone.

Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it?  That’s because it was good – in fact – it was perfect, once.

The Garden of Eden was God’s perfect dwelling place for his creation, until his creation, in the form of two human beings, messed it up.  We do not know how long Adam and Eve lived in this divine paradise, but we do know that it came to an end, abruptly.  The only way to maintain their paradise was to remain obedient, and, well, you know the rest of the story.  Yet ever since that time it seems that humans have attempted to contrive a perfect and harmonious place without God as the head, and it always ends in failure.  It has too; only God can ensure perfection.  Just look at those utopian democracies in America during the 1800s and one can see they lasted but a handful of years. (The dissolution usually involved money; which is also interesting, because we know the root of all evil is the love of money).  Marx and Lennin, who noted the evils of money (in the form of Capitalism), tried to downplay its importance, but without God, they attempted to force equity with the state ruling supreme.  This contrivance survived 70 years in Russia and 40 in Eastern Europe.  Even China, declared communist in 1949 under Mao, looks more like an authoritarian capitalist state than an ideal communal one. (Perhaps they took notes on the failures of Soviet Socialism).

Does this mean that a quest for utopia should be finally put to rest, with so many attempts, followed by incessant failures?  My answer would be both yes, and no.

The answer is yes, in the sense that we should not seek a perfect human society in this world.  It is 100% unachievable, due to sin.  The answer is also no – and this is really the great news – because there will come a day when Christians will live again in a perfect and harmonious state of being under the eternal rulership of King Jesus. 

The advent of the Christmas season is the knowledge that perfection does exist, and one day we will experience God’s utopia of heaven for ever and ever and ever; amen!