Why I think the Garden of Eden was in Jerusalem

The first day I was in Jerusalem one of our Profs, Dr. Paul Wright, was giving an introduction to the land of Israel and told our class that he believed the Garden of Eden was located in Jerusalem. The class laughed it off as a joke, but later I found out that he was completely serious. Last week I heard him discuss the theory, which is popular in classical rabbinic literature, in greater detail; and I have to say, the more I think about it, the more I like it. Now, ultimately, the location of the Garden of Eden is irrelevant to my faith and there is no way of proving the theory correct, but I just get geeked out about stuff like this. I think Sos could care less, but I love the theory. It just makes sense to me logically and biblically. I mean, Mt. Zion seems to be the focal point of the entire biblical narrative, so why would God start that narrative somewhere in ancient Mesopotamia and continue it in Israel?
As an overarching point, I would like to say that during the time of Eden, the universe was the way God intended it to be. After the fall, the universe became broken and fragmented. Since then, God has been redeeming that fallen universe and bringing all of creation back to himself, back to its originally state, back to Eden.
With that in mind, as we hunt for the location of the garden, there are two literary maps we can follow in Scripture. The first is as follows: Archeology tells us that the first civilizations originated around the Nile Delta and ancient Mesopotamia. Excluding Eden, the Bible tells us that the first events in history happen around Mesopotamia (Cain flees to Nod, Noah’s ark lands on Mt. Ararat, Tower of Babel built at Shinar, Abraham coming out of Ur). So naturally, we would put the Garden there as well. Also, Genesis 2 mentions four rivers in proximity to the Garden, the Tigris, Euphrates, Gihon, and Pishon. Two of those rivers flow through Mesopotamia (the Tigris and Euphrates) and the other two are unknown. So the first literary map points to a garden somewhere in ancient Mesopotamia.
But this map excludes an important biblical concept, that God is drawing all of creation back to the way he created it, back to Eden.
The second literary map is as follows: In the language of the Bible, exile means that the people are going east. When something bad happens, the people always go east. All the early biblical events I described in the previous paragraph happen in the east. Even after Cain kills Able, he flees further east; and when the people build the Tower of Babel, they also go further east to build it. On the other hand, when God redeems his people, he seems to be bringing them west, back to the homeland. God takes Abraham west out of Ur to establish his chosen people. Jesus always approaches Jerusalem from the west, over the Mt. of Olives, despite the fact that the city is most accessible from the north. Genesis 3:24 says that God placed a Cherubim at the eastern side of Eden to guard the entrance. Meaning that after the fall, Adam and Eve were exiled from the Garden to go east. So it makes perfect sense that all the early biblical events would happen “in exile” east of Israel in Mesopotamia. This literary map alludes to a Garden somewhere west of Mesopotamia; namely, in the land of Israel.
Also, many scholars have speculated the locations of the Pishon and Gihon rivers, and it is possible that one of these is the ancient name for the Nile River. But most people have neglected the fact that there is a Gihon River running straight through Jerusalem. It's a stone's throw from where I am sitting right now. It’s really more of an ancient spring than a mighty river, but nowhere is Genesis does it say the river has to be a certain size.
It is also interesting to see that many of the Old Testament writers use the language that describes Eden in Genesis 1-3 to describe the promise land; and more specifically, Jerusalem. Even Eden’s geographic and agricultural descriptions match the land of Jerusalem. Not that the biblical authors knew the location of Eden, but at the very least, they did see the connections between Eden and the promise land.
Therefore, in terms of logic and biblical language, it does not follow that God would focus his entire redemptive plan around the land of Israel; yet start that plan somewhere east of Israel in ancient Mesopotamia. If Israel, specifically Jerusalem, is the axis of God’s plan for human history, why would God begin that plan in Mesopotamia? I believe in the unity of the Bible, and a Garden located in Mesopotamia does not seem to align itself with the unity of the Biblical narrative. Remember, God is drawing all of creation back to himself, back to the way he originally created it, back to Eden.

Walking with the LORD God in the cool of the day,
Danny