For my second response paper I would like to revisit the claim that I made in my first response, god is maturing and evolving as he to deals with certain situations. As god dealt with the Cain in the story of Cain and Able in Genesis chapter 4, a since of an inexperienced God is portrayed. He plays favorites and in doing so Able is slayed by his brother and thus Cain is condemned but this is a direct reaction to God playing favorites. With this story I believe God starts to mature and learn from his “mistakes”. Second looking back at Exodus chapter 33, God is made to seem to be regretting the fact that the Israelites are his chosen people. They way he uses his words displays an inexperience in interaction with his creation, calling them stiff necked and then claiming that he would not travel with them least he destroy them. There are many different ways to handle this situation and I believe that in this case God made a mistake by using the wrong words when talking with his chosen people. …show more content…
Here we have yet another time how God handles and reacts to being questioned. The first time we see God questioned was by Abraham when God destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Here God handles himself much differently after the rabbi’s refuse to believe that what rabbi Eliezer claims is true. In the story God is quoted as to say, “He laughed [with joy] exclaiming, My sons have defeated Me, My sons have defeated Me.” (Babylonia Talmud) What happens next is much different than what happened to Abraham when he questioned God about destroying the two sin filled
In John Steinbeck’s East of Eden, Adam’s son Cal reflects the character of Cain in the Bible. Cain is born to Adam and Eve. When Cain and Abel present gifts to God, God favors Abel’s gift. Cain grows jealous and kills his brother out of jealousy. Though similar to Cain, John Steinbeck uses the choices Cal makes to contrast his character to Cain in the Bible and to demonstrate that, despite being evil, people can choose their course in life.
1. What levels of meaning can be found in Genesis 1.1-2.4a? Genesis 1.1-2.4a has several meanings; however, in religious context the meanings that are represented are open to interpretation. Since Genesis contains two creation stories, individuals reading may adapt better to one story versus the other.
Sometimes, it is hard to figure out the grand design. After all, who can question the gods? They created the world, people, plants, and everything else. They know things that humans only wish we could know. Although it is not too hard to figure out what Enlil is trying to do when he brings the flood.
The bible teaches us many things about God. From Genesis and Exodus we can learnwhat the Judeo-Christian view of God was. Genesis shows us that God made the sun, the moon,the earth and every living thing. During the days of creation God made all things good. On theseventh day of creation God rested and declared all he made to be very good (Genesis 1:31). God created human beings in his own image. We as humans can be certain of our owndignity and self worth because we have been created in the image of God. The book of Genesisshows us that people disobey God by choosing to do wrong. Even great bible heros failed Godand disobeyed him. The bible teaches us that God is forgiving. God has many attributes. God makes no mistakes and this is wisdom. God is infinite, heknows
As Genesis is the first book of the bible and verses 1:1-2:3 are the first accounts, it is essential that the story that proceeds be examined. What is then discovered is another account about creation. This creation story is similar to the first account but it can be seen that God ‘is not working to a pre-planned strategy’ , this then ‘hints at a measure of vulnerability in the Creator’ in the second creation account which is a stark difference to the first story of creation where God is viewed as ‘is a king who does all things well: in his own judgement, it is 'very good'. He alone is responsible for creation: his voice alone is heard; he consults no one for wisdom or advice’ . Incorporating the world behind the text and the world of the text we are able to get a more cohesive experience about what the story is telling us, in this case what Genesis 1:1-2:3 is actually referring to. The tools used to analyse the text allows the audience to develop greater insight about the purpose of the text, it also allows the audience to change their previous viewpoint with integrated gained depth and
God’s role in the Bible is characterized in several different ways, with dramatically competing attributes. He takes on many functions and, as literary characters are, he is dynamic and changes over time. The portrayal of God is unique in separate books throughout the Bible. This flexibility of role and character is exemplified by the discrepancy in the depiction of God in the book of Genesis in comparison to the depiction of God in the book of Job. On the larger scale, God creates with intention in Genesis in contrast to destroying without reason in Job. However, as the scale gets smaller, God’s creative authority can be seen in both books, yet this creative authority is manifested in entirely distinctive manners. In Genesis, God as
In Genesis, God interacts with Adam by speaking to him face to face. Whether God was giving out instructions or punishment to Adam and Eve, he was always doing it on a personal level. The usual portrayal of God as an omniscient being is instead replaced as mentor to Adam and Eve who is trying to help them understand their existence. This close relationship is shown even when man does something wrong. The only rule that God gives to Adam is that he must not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Adam and Eve go on to break the singular rule and be punished; but not to the extent most would think. Before partaking of the fruit God says that, "the day that you eat of it you shall die"(Genesis). Instead of dying, Adam and Eve are removed from the garden and go begin their lives. God punishes them for their actions, but also gives clothes and allows them to take the knowledge they have gained from the tree. Even after breaking the one rule that he has set for them, God allowed them to keep the knowledge they gained to begin mankind. This grace towards humanity is shown once again with Adam and Eve's children, Cain and Abel. Cain kills Abel after God accepts Abel's offering and not his own. Even with Cain having killed his own brother, God still does not punish Cain severally; "you will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth"(Genesis). This punishment is especially seen as inadequate as Cain goes on to settle in Nod and have his own family. This mercy by God shows that he was unable to punish humanity even for the most serious of offenses. This lack of punishment shows God's sympathy for mankind because of his close relationship with them. This close relationship stems from God's close bond with mankind because of their similar image and knowledge. This relationship that began as two very similar beings, has further blossomed as God has given great responsibility to
Dated back to the 10th century B.C., the story of Adam and Eve is told in Genesis chapters 2 and 3 of the Christian Bible. The creation is the main focus of chapter 2 and their fall and punishment is the main focus in chapter 3. God creates Adam in his image from mud, he blows to his face and gives him life. God presents all of the animals of the land to Adam and he is not satisfied, so God created Eve out of Adams rib as a companion and helper for him, and he is satisfied with Gods work. God commands Adam and Eve to not eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But, the serpent persuades Eve to eat the forbidden fruit, and she persuades Adam to do so as well. After they eat the forbidden fruit they realize they are naked
accept his offering for it was all that he had and did not know how to
In the story, Genesis 3, God was testing Adam and Eve. However, they both failed the test by eating from the forbidden tree. The fall of mankind was the Eve, Adam, and the serpent’s fault. Certainly, most of the blame goes to the serpent. The serpent was the master mind behind the scheme he pulled on Eve, and thus making him the one responsible for the fall of mankind. Eve did not listen to God’s command; she was deceived by the serpent leading her to eat the fruit of the forbidden tree. Likewise, Adam is at fault because he also disobeyed God’s commend by eating the forbidden fruit.
The bible remains a mystery to many people in society today. Therefore, the relationship between God and Adam can be said to be a very complex relationship. Genesis shows us many examples of God 's interaction with Adam, apparently there is so much more about God’s disappointment and righteous anger in the garden. The world of Christianity fails to see there’s so much more to the story about God and Adam, I think many of us do the same. He was the first man, the father of mankind, however, Genesis does not fill-in the missing background information as to the reasons why man and woman came to be the first rational, mortal creations of God 's divinity. Moreover, most believers in the Bible do not know the specific similarities and differences regarding the two humans ' characteristics, and how their relationship impact each other as well as all other living creatures in the garden. We see the wrath, but we miss the grace. The bible does not tell if Adam was Baptized and upon his death he went to heaven, however many of religious leaders tried to read and to the relationship between god and Adam, without facts to back it up. Non statement should not be used to formulate doctrine. A conclusion cannot be drawn from something that God did not say. If Adam had been faithful, God may have had any number of plans for Adam, none of which are touched upon in Genesis. If all other aspects of earthly creation tend to decay and death it makes as much sense to conclude that human 's
Did you know that the Holy Bible was written over 3500 years ago ("When Was the Bible Written?" - Biblica. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Sept. 2016.)? In Genesis 1-4, by God this book was written over thousands ago. This story in the Bible is about one great God putting everything we know into existing and creating human however one of the human named Cain gets jealous of his younger brother Abel and kills him. Ultimately, the story portrays the relationship between creation story, jealousies, love, murder and punishment in mankind. In return of God’s creation being jealous, God states the punishment upon Cain however, God still shows love by letting Cain Know that if anybody body tries to kill will suffer sevenfold vengeance (The Norton Anthology World
Fortunately, God alters his ideology over time. After destroying the world with a flood in the story of Noah, God realizes He has made a mistake, and accepts that no one is flawless. “I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.” (28). God’s promise never to flood the world again has much meaning to it, and displays a change in God’s nature. From a very early age, when one commits a wrong doing he promises never to do repeat the mistake again. By making this oath, one acknowledges the fact that he is at fault. Admitting to a wrongdoing by pledging never do the same again is simply human nature. Since God is the creator of mankind, He is the one who originally sets the base for human nature. Therefore, His actions can be decoded similarly to the actions of humans. After destroying the world with a flood, God regrets it, and admits His wrong doing by vowing never to destroy the world again. The flood incident allows God to realize that even a divine figure can make a bad decision, and to accept the fact that humans have flaws. The Lord is not longer so strict
Genesis is the beginning of the beginning, the basis for the rest of the Bible, and the start of it all. Genesis shows us creation, man’s sinful downfall, man’s rebellion, a chance for redemption, and God’s mercy.
Many people insist that the Old Testament God is depicted as a merciless God. Notions like this can be attributed to the fact that in the Old Testament God is responsible for ordering genocides, inflicting plagues, and often personally striking people down for a variety of infractions. These infractions range from something as small as touching The Ark of the Covenant to something as large as enslaving a whole nation in the same manner as the Egyptians did. Although there are many instances similar to these where God’s actions are not rational and often cruel, there is also a plethora of occasions where God is merciful and loving. The Old Testament God maintains a dual personality in which he is at times