Check It Out

Check It Out

 

            There was a time when I was content to be in church every Sunday. I bowed my head in prayer, sang the songs, listened intently to the sermon, visited with my friends after, and went home convinced that I had done my duty as a Christian to honor God. Later in life, I realized that I was being told things that really didn’t make any sense to me. How can you truly believe something that you don’t understand? Accept it on faith and forget about your question? Or think deeply and investigate until you find an answer that satisfies your mind? For example: I had many questions about Adam and Eve.

1) God brought all of the animals to Adam to name and to choose as a mate. (Maybe that is why some think we evolved from the apes?) Adam could have picked a monkey, a zebra, an elephant, etc.) Thankfully he didn’t find any of them attractive.

2)  God took a rib from Adam to form Eve. Eve was a part of Adam until she was removed. A baby is a part of the mother until it is removed also. Does that make Adam the first mother?

3) It seemed that God was tempting His creation when He put a tree at the very center of their existence and ordered, “Don’t touch that tree!” And then, to kick them out of their home with curses. To the woman He said, “In sorrow thou shall bring forth children.” To the man, “Cursed is the ground for thy sake, in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life.” All of this is out of character for God.

4) Adam and Eve were the only people--Then how could Cain find a wife? Do you have any answers?

            I went to the Bible wanting to understand. What makes a Truth for me may leave you cold, but I will share with you for whatever it is worth.

            In Genesis 1:1-25 God created. He thought of what He wanted; He spoke the word-and there it was-the way He wanted it: Good. When all was ready for the needs and pleasure of man, God created man. Genesis 1:26 God said, “Let Us make man in Our image and likeness.” To whom was God talking? Angels? Up to now the creation has been Spiritual. Nothing imperfect, evil, ugly, nor material has entered the story. Now this is where we have made our mistake. We assume that because we have a body, that this is the image that is the likeness of God. Not so!! God is Spirit. Our likeness to God is more our mind then our body ever could be.

            In Genesis 2:4-5  the Bible tells us, “These are the generations of the heaves and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens,

            And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field  before it grew: for the Lord God had not caused to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.”   This is my proof for believing all is Spiritual.

            From here on the creation story is all down hill. Why would it be necessary to recreate everything all over again? Adam is recreated out of dirt. Plain old dirt--not star dust or gold dust--just dirty, nasty dust. Eve is a rib. Right away they eat of the only thing they were commanded to leave alone. They are forced to leave their beautiful home.(They should be punished for misbehaving, right?) But is it fair that we are still being punished for a sin we had nothing to do with? Even on the human level that is cruel and unusual punishment. We make the punishment fit the crime. Are we more compassionate then God?

            I think---the real sin of man is to believe that because God is all good, there has to be an opposite named evil. The problem with this idea is--How does this evil exist? God is the only creator. Would an intelligent God create an evil and give it power to harm the children that He loves? Could evil be self-created with the power of God? Again neither idea makes any sense.

            My suggestion is to read Genesis chapter I and 2:1-5 with an open mind. Study it carefully and you will find that there is nothing on this earth to fear..

 

            753 words  Loretta Ellen Edwards