seeker0
Member
Ahh but does it?
Adam, (according to the Biblical account in Genesis 2:4-7), was made the same day that God made the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:5, (if you care to read it that way), before plants or herbs, and before it ever rained on earth. No man existed to plough or till the ground and only mist was available to provide moisture for the garden God had yet to plant, to the east of Eden, wherever that might have been.
God then put Adam in the garden to till it and keep it. God then made animals for Adam to name and to find a mate, of which none were found suitable, because God decided Adam needed a companion.
So all the animals and birds etc. get made before Eve, but Adam is made long before any animal or bird and even before vegetation or rain. Adam in fact names the animals and birds as they get made.
I don't know about you but I have spotted a number of contradictions already with Genesis 1:1-31. And ALL this happens in The Day that God made the heavens and the earth.
Given that the Hebrew word name 'Adam' is not a Christian name, but rather the generic name of a species, meaning 'The Human Race', it is highly likely that what we are studying here is a STORY, with a legendary meaning, rather than 'literal history', like you might read about The American Civil War or Voyages of John Cabot. Or even, for that matter like The Books of Kings or Chronicles, found in the same 'biblical library' as Genesis Chapters 1, Chapters 2-4, or The Book of Nehemiah.
It then becomes our task to try to understand what might have been meant by 'The tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil', 'The tree of life', (Obviously far more than just 'trees', since they have names and particular 'spiritual' fruit). Also what might be meant by 'Death' and "In the day that you eat of it, you shall 'die'. Adam did not physically die the day he ate it. He died many years after eating it. Adam did not have 'Eternal life' before he ate of that tree either. God expelled them both from the Garden expressly to prevent Adam and 'Eve' from obtaining 'Eternal life' while in their mortal state. Genesis 3:22-24. So it is unlikely that 'physical, mortal death' is what is being considered here. It is "Spiritual Death" that was visited upon them the day the couple in the story tasted the forbidden 'fruit'. Being 'Dead to God' is a condition of everyone who is not 'born again' from the mythic "Adam" to the present time.
Being born of water is not enough to 'give us life'. WE must be 'born of The Spirit'. WE must be born anew. Physical death is just a natural consequence of being physically alive. Jesus had to exit this life by the self same way that we all do. John 14:4. We have a natural 'life span'. Spiritual 'death' is a consequence of being alienated from God by the sin of disobedience, of which we are all as guilty as Adam and Eve, (i.e. The Human Race), "As in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive". Christ was the only one to ever have 'Life'. because He always obeyed the Father and did the Father's will. None of the human race ever does that consistently. That is why 'in Adam' all die. Yet 'in Christ' shall all be made alive. It is only though His Spirit that we can live to God. Galatians 2:19-20.
The Bible does not claim to be "The Word of God" or even the "word of God". A book in the bible, (2 Timothy), claimed scripture to be "inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness to equip us for good works." When that was written the Bible did not exist anywhere on earth as a Book. The Bible is a collection of ancient writings which first came together around 365 AD and was not fully complete until after 400 AD, so even Two Timothy 3:16-17 does not refer to "The Bible" as such but actually only to some of those 'scriptures' which eventually became accepted by The Church, as 'inspired' by God.
By inspiration of The Holy Spirit, who will lead you into all truth. John 16:8-15.
Believe all parts to be speaking to you via The Holy Spirit. Just don't take everthing, especially the parables of Jesus, literally. They are obviously not intended to be literally, historically, 'true'. They are spiritually 'true' though, and those who take them 'literally' never understand them. They look but do not 'see' and listen but do not 'hear'. Such are those who are 'dead to God'.
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Interesting interpretations of Genesis. So if Adam (or mankind) had not chosen the "fruit" and had rather chosen to continually obey God, would man still die physically? I mean I agree and recognize that there was a spiritual death upon disobedience. Or perhaps your interpretation is that we each individually disobey God and "fall" and thereby earn ourselves death both spiritual and physical? This theology is new to me is why I'm asking. (Is there a particular name for your interpretation, so that I might google it at some point? I have told myself that if I find "macro" evolution to be true, then I would next look into how people reconcile evolution and the Bible; but I am still on the first part.) ...I guess I'd be more curious to ask, who do you believe were the very first homosapiens (or ancestors) to be spiritual or have a soul or an eternal destination? And what was the generation like just before them? (Alluding to my prior question about "Adam's parents", though in the context of your interpretation of "Adam", which I was aware meant "man".)
...Oh interesting, you don't even believe that the Bible is the words of God. You and I have lived in very different circles .
Yes I am aware that parables are not to be taken literally
I'm curious what you think of my "bigger" question from before:
if we came about through natural processes from the first single-cell eukaryote or something simpler, all the way to us, then why is there any need to believe that there are any supernatural interventions at work in our lives at all? Why is there a need to believe in a God? Why not deism or atheism? My "problem" is not that I don't want to serve God, but rather that I just want to know if there really is a God to serve. I want to follow truth and nothing less, even if that means being an atheist or agnostic.
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