answers in genesis
I have started listening to the bible podcast on my ipod on the train. So far I find it pretty good - the American accent is a little off-putting, but the readings are nicely dramatised and have music and other sounds to add to the passage. The first creation story in genesis for example has as a background noise a rhythmic inhaling and exhaling which really opened up my mind to the idea of God breathing into creation.
Anyhoo, listening to scripture (as opposed to reading it) allows my mind to wander. So as I was listening to Genesis 2 today, the following thoughts occurred to me (no guarantee that any of these are interesting or original):
- God lied to Adam - he said if he ate from the tree, he would die (2: 17)
- God’s first idea was that Adam’s companion would be an animal (2:20)
- The “crafty” serpent actually wasn’t all that tricky. Actually I fail to see the trick at all - he just said to go against God’s command. Gee Eve is gullible.
- But, where God lied, the serpent told the truth - that the tree of knowledge of good and evil would… give them knowledge of good and evil (actually, the serpent was just good at figuring out the obvious answer)
- Husbands ruling over wives was a punishment
- Both Adam and Eve are big dibber dobbers. No sooner does God tell them off than they point the finger at Eve and the serpent respectively. BTW nice loyal husband Adam all “flesh of my flesh” but he shops her the first chance he gets, the little stooley!!
- God punishes Adam for listening to the voice of his wife!!
- Who are God’s friends? He said “the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil” - does God have buddies who also have Godly powers?
These random thoughts kind of add an amusing aspect to listening to the bible.
November 29th, 2005 at 9:51 am
Unless Adam is still walking around somewhere, I think we can assume that he did die. (God didn’t say he would die instantly)
November 29th, 2005 at 10:11 am
hey only six mistakes and this is only the second chapter of Genesis.
you are qualified to be a Uniting Minister or an Anglican Bishop!
November 29th, 2005 at 10:14 am
Yeah, I get that, but Adam lived 930 years!! It is not like it was the direct immediate cause and effect that you expect from the phrase “do this and you will surely die”.
November 29th, 2005 at 10:28 am
You literalist you
November 29th, 2005 at 10:38 am
disagree with me and you will die…. I am sure I will be proved right at some stage in the future.
See how nonsensical that is?
November 29th, 2005 at 10:48 am
not if you aren’t going to die at all phil
November 29th, 2005 at 5:58 pm
[…] s posted each day. I have subscribed yet, but I will. It’s worth checking out. [via SP]
posted by Bruce on 11.29.05 | […]
November 29th, 2005 at 6:03 pm
Gee, you guys are down on the Bible.
Using your example Phil, I would’ve thought that at the time of Adam’s offense human death was an unknown concept, and so not something you and I take now as a given. And as has been pointed out, God didn’t lie because it was something that did occur as a result of Adam’s rebellion (wages of sin and all that..).
Who are God’s friends? - The trinity, I would’ve thought.
November 29th, 2005 at 9:33 pm
Bruce, totally not down on the bible. And I don’t think that I was picking mistakes as Homer suggested either. Merely pointing out that when I listen to something, I pick up stuff that I don’t necessarily pick up when reading it. The post wasn’t intended to represent a serious exegesis of the passage.
It is true that when I read the bible, I engage in it through the bits that strike me - either as strange or amusing (as the ones above) or alternatively intriguing or even incomprehensible. These are the bits that I then chase down rabbit holes.
And while church tradition has its explanations for these points that strike me (eg the wages of sin question) I do have to engage with these explanations myself and see whether they make sense to me.
November 29th, 2005 at 10:25 pm
Fair enough Dan.
The initial post had me thinking you were saying “when hearing it - this is what hits me…”
But then the follow-up comments by yourself and Phil had me second guessing that, and so I bit.
Now I’m just totally confused
November 29th, 2005 at 11:01 pm
Adam felt the effects of sin straight away, his body did start to decay, yes it did take 930 years but death had started
November 30th, 2005 at 8:07 am
Bruce, I guess I should clarify. I approach the creation stories in Genesis as a story designed to tell us about the who and the why - to explain in narrative form the relationship between God and man and God and the world.
So in the context of the story, God’s statement to Adam seems less straightforward than the serpents. We can have the explanation that the body began to decay and those explanations have been around for a long time.
However, the statement of God doesn’t ring true to me as a communication that you or I might have. What I am teasing out is that God is speaking to Adam as a parent might speak to a very small child. Ie “don’t touch that or we might have to take you to hospital”. The point is not whether or not, upon touching, you have to go to hospital, and the child couldn’t understand the nuances of a reason which was logical and complete in an adult sense. The point is that the parent who must be obeyed is heeded. God isn’t presented as the omniscient, omnipresent deity that he is sometimes shown to be.
November 30th, 2005 at 4:18 pm
I’m glad you’re enjoying the podcast. I promise to try to tame down the american accent a bit.
November 30th, 2005 at 6:23 pm
Yeah, well the American accent when reading scripture has shades of the televangelist about it. See what you can do (hehe).
November 30th, 2005 at 7:34 pm
at least it’s not a southern american accent!
November 30th, 2005 at 9:30 pm
A workable compromise.
Say ‘aboot’ instead of ‘about’, and people will think you’re Canadian…and none of us in Australia who’ve been force-fed an early morning television diet of Creflo A. Dollar and Kenneth Copeland will have a problem.
December 1st, 2005 at 3:32 pm
do I get any credit for being part Australian? Specifically, I’m roughly 1 glass of Penfolds per night Australian.
December 1st, 2005 at 8:32 pm
Michael - add a pint of Coopers and yer in.
December 6th, 2005 at 2:41 am
A take on Genesis much in the same vein is at http://hereswhyurwrong.blogspot.com/ Fascinating stuff!
December 18th, 2005 at 1:04 pm
John Howards total failure of leadership during the race riots of last week show that when the crunch is on, that this man has no backbone and certainly is no leader.
I think its about time he stood down in favour of Peter Costello who at least is not a racist and will not try and play wedge politics all the time dividing one Australian against another.
April 25th, 2006 at 12:14 am
Hi,
I realise this comes late, but I have read on the Answers in Genesis website that the hebrew translation for where God told Adam not to eat the fruit or he would surely die, would be translated directly as “dying, you will die” which would explain why he didn’t drop dead on the spot, his body just started the getting-old-and-eventually-dying process.
April 25th, 2006 at 7:41 am
Cara, concur with your evaluation of “dying, you will die”… And similarly, it is the Greek word “thanatos” that is translated dead or die, both in the Septuagint and in the NT. Thanatos means to be “separated from” - it does not mean non-existence as our english translations seem to imply. Enjoy the search!