@Studyman
I have indeed, too bad you mocked this truth, and have never live only by Christ and his gospel, or, you would not be mocking it, as you are doing.
John 6:54-58
“Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.”
I believe the Jesus "of the Bible's" reference to drinking His Blood and eating His Flesh is symbolic of something men must do to inherit life. Just as the Christ's' reference to the talking snake in the garden is symbolic of living by "any" other voice but God's.
You are free to believe that you found the literal flesh of Jesus, and as you said, "Indeed" have eaten it. Just as you are free to believe Eve was defiled by a talking snake from without, that God didn't warn her about. Just as you are free to believe that Christ was concerned with the literal corners of a man's beard, when HE commanded men not to mar it.
I have come to understand that many of these examples written for our admonition, are symbolic. And written so that I, of my own free will, "should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted". And I am to seek their meaning. Not by adopting the religious opinions of all the "other voices" in the world God placed me in, that you represent, but as the Jesus of the Bible teaches, by "Every Word of God".
I am sure the Sadducees mock Jesus and his apostles as they cast our devils, with the same words, as you are doing. I personally I have never cast out devils, but have heard testimonies of others that have had them cast out, and heard them talking as they were being cast out.
Do you reject this as being true? Do not say no, and then say nothing of these scriptures. How could you even be so bold as to say this is speaking of the evil deeds in this child mind being a unclean spirit that labor to destroy the child.
I have seen this many times. A child with no boundaries, not taught in the way that he should go. Not taught that he must control his own flesh, and obey those who God placed over them. Not given God's Laws HE created for their own good, so that they don't destroy themselves. I've seen them throw themselves on the floor in a supermarket, kicking and screaming, yelling as loud as they possibly can at their mother, fighting and completely out of control. With no regard to anyone. I've seen kids steal from widows, vandalize stores, bully others less fortunate, even handicapped children, and lie through their teeth to save their own face. Do these kids know better, but choose to do these things anyway? The story about the "possessed" child doesn't detail that.
The Spirit of Christ inspired it to be written, "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it".
I believe this story is symbolic of the truth that even the most wild and lawless person, if they are learned by the Jesus "of the Bible", can be humbled, corrected and placed on the journey to salvation.
I don't believe Calvinists who imply to the world that Christ created children with a "sin nature", "totally Depraved" from birth, then places demons in their mind, but only saves a select few whose names are drawn in some Holy Lottery.
There is a reason for this story in Scriptures, it isn't to promote this world's religious philosophy that God creates humans with a "sin nature", then punishes them according to their deeds. No Red, according to the actual scriptures, Since Adam, men are to labor to keep the barriers and limitations HE gave them, to keep them from being drawn away of their own wants, lusts and desires. When they don't, there is misery, destruction, wickedness and death.
Paul called it, "The simplicity of Christ". It is the Labor of true believers since at least Abel.
2 Corinthians 5:9 Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.
Adam and Eve are examples written for our admonition of humans who refused, of their own free will, to "Choose" to engage in this Labor. "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad."
Jesus is an example of someone who engaged in this labor from His Youth.
Whether the other voices in the world God placed Eve and me in, is a talking snake, a fallen angel, an little red devil with horns and an arrowhead tail, a dragon that falls out of the sky, they all represent the adversary, the Lusts and desires that "EVERY Free Will being has" and MUST resist. God gave Eve the sword, the tools, the armor to protect herself from any adversary, whether it was a devil or the lusts of her own flesh, it is the same. The Barrier God gave her, had she believed in Him, would have saved her from falling. To deny or ignore these undeniable Biblical Truths, is a free will choice that comes from within the heart of man, not from without.
Even as God, whose image we are created after, who can do as HE pleases, who has complete FREE WILL and the Power to "CHOOSE" what ever HE wants, places on Himself, barriers and limitations. He chooses to be a JUST God, no one makes HIM do this, HE chooses it. He "chooses" to be a Merciful God, no one makes Him be this way. HE chooses to care for beings HE creates and has Compassion for them. No one makes Him do these things.
No one, no voice from without Eves own mind, made Eve Choose to disobey God, it was her own Flesh. Her own free will.
God blamed "HER" for "HER" own deeds. God blamed Adam, for his own deeds. And to the Flesh, talking snake, fallen angel, dragon that fell from the sky or whatever this other voice was, who despised Him, He put enmity between it and God's true Church forever.
Rom. 8: 7 Because the "carnal mind" is enmity against God: for it (Carnal Flesh) is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. 8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
Eve chose, not to walk in the Spirit, even though she knew how, but she chose to walk in the flesh. It's right there in your own Bible, just as it was right there in front of Paul when he was holding the coats of men as they stoned an innocent man to death, "In God's Name".
The implication of your religion is that it was the talking serpent God created and placed in the garden, that caused Eve to fall. As you said, a danger "From without".
The Bible teaches it was her own free will choice to reject God's Laws, that HE created to protect her, that caused her to fall.
I know I'm in the minority here in this understanding, But even this, was common for believers of God throughout history.