Question for everyone?

Question

Regarding this question about Adam and Eve, do you feel the answers suggest the greatest division of the last 100 years of Americans, the fundamentalist Christians and the liberal Christians and people of all other faiths.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/?qid=20060822170620AAGBF59&pa=FYd1D2bwHTHwIbxkHes.Sex80hscwAIyZIty9crjS0DDUg--&msgr_status=

The question asked if it was acceptable for Adam and Eve to sin. To break God's law. Most of the answers said that yes, that led to a real authentic life. It was both good and bad, and that the metaphor applies to them and me and you, about when we lost our innocence. Would Adam and Eve remain children forever, or indeed, grow up and get dressed and get a job. Most of us relate to Adam and Eve after.

The other group said this was awful that they were seperated from God. How foolish. God forgave. Genesis 3:21. This was the day they grew up, made a mistake, but were forgiven.
This should be everones greatest day. How do you feel

Genesis 3: 21 Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them. (New King James Version)

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The question also illustrates the difference of wether Adam and Eve are real, literal, or metaphor and that some form of evolution happened. Also a difference.


This question is specifically about does the story of Adam and Eve, and our feelings on it, show the difference between Fundamentalist Christian, and the rest of America.

Answer 1

Yes I think it does illustrate that division. Throughout the last 100 years, as science has advanced, people are increasingly finding it difficult to integrate science with religion. there is a growing population of atheists and agnostics that refuse to believe in a deity because they are affluent and feel that they don't need a God, or because they have been left with nothing and believe that if there was a God, he wouldn't have let that happen to them. (how self absorbed the latter of the 2 is!) The rich don't realize they need God. And "rich" has become a vague term in America now that the middle class has become so well to do. Take note; I am not insinuating that all middle class Americans think this way! However, people who are in this group can't see the good that came out of Adam and Eve's sin. Ironically, most of those who criticize Adam and Eve for sinning, probably would have done the exact same thing if it were them.

The second group, the more religious of the two, accepts that it happened and makes the best of the situation at hand as a repercussion from it. This group knows that everyone is a sinner, just like Adam and Eve, and that we all can be forgiven if we repent. Without Adam and Eve's fall, we would never have been given Christ. I think we all would agree that without Christ, this life and/or the next wouldn't be anything like what we have been promised.

Answer 2

I don't think I quite understand what you're asking here. However, I think that Adam and Eve really did exist. They are not some metaphor. Although you can look at their lives as a metaphor, and learn from it. But I believe they actually existed, and they were not the first people to go from animal to human. But then again, I disagree with the traditional concept of evolution.

Are you asking do I think the greatest division (over the last 100 years) in America is between the fundamentalist Christians, the liberal Christians, and everyone else of faith? If so, that's a pretty broad question. I think, increasingly, that religion has become more of an issue over the last 100 years. But I don't know that I would say it was THE biggest division of Americans.

I'm having a hard time connecting your Adam & Eve question and it's answers to this question even though you're asking this one as if the two are connected somehow.

Answer 3

The Adam and Eve story is crap, honestly. There are so many reasons why the story is unbelievable.

Other than the obvious... this is why I believe the Adam and Eve story was put in place.

The story seems to make it all Eve's fault. At the conception of Christianity there were many religions that said women should be seen as closer to god because they could create within themselves. That women were to be honored and cherished not only because of that but because of their compassion and understanding. Christianity took that away. Saying, first of all that man came first and women were made from him, and then saying that woman sinned first and separated humanity from God. It's silly that people actually believe this as a truth.

I am not saying that I think women are closer to god... I'm not saying that we are above men in any way. I'm just saying that in order for Christianity to rise the religion had to do away with the praise of women in that way, since it was a religion started and based on the writing of males. Not only did Christianity do this, but they also placed all their holidays conveniently over Celtic religion holidays to make the conversion to Christianity all the easier.

How is it possible that people do not see this as sheer manipulation in a power play?

Answer 4

You say:
This question is specifically about does the story of Adam and Eve, and our feelings on it, show the difference between Fundamentalist Christian, and the rest of America.
My question is: Ain't you a bit narrow-minded???
or do you really believe that this whole planet is called 'America'?
You Americans need to wake up and notice that there is a much better world outside of your beloved 'America'.
And about Adam and Eve - well it's just a story about the founders of the Israeli tribe.

Answer 5

The Adam and Eve story talks of fruit.

Fruit a word as used in Scripture denoting produce in general, whether vegetable or animal. The Hebrews divided the fruits of the land into three classes:, (1.) The fruit of the field, "corn-fruit" (Heb. dagan); all kinds of grain and pulse. (2.) The fruit of the vine, "vintage-fruit" (Heb. tirosh); grapes, whether moist or dried. (3.) "Orchard-fruits" (Heb. yitshar), as dates, figs, citrons, etc. Injunctions concerning offerings and tithes were expressed by these Hebrew terms alone (Num. 18:12; Deut. 14:23). This word "fruit" is also used of children or offspring (Gen. 30:2; Deut. 7:13; Luke 1:42; Ps. 21:10; 132:11); also of the progeny of beasts (Deut. 28:51; Isa. 14:29). It is used metaphorically in a variety of forms (Ps. 104:13; Prov. 1:31; 11:30; 31:16; Isa. 3:10; 10:12; Matt. 3:8; 21:41; 26:29; Heb. 13:15; Rom. 7:4, 5; 15:28). The fruits of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22, 23; Eph. 5:9; James 3:17, 18) are those gracious dispositions and habits which the Spirit produces in those in whom he dwells and works. Source: Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary.

In botany, a fruit is the ripened ovary, together with its seeds, of a flowering plant.

In cuisine, when discussing fruit as food, the term usually refers to just those plant fruits that are sweet and fleshy.

False fruit is sometimes applied to a fruit, like the fig or to a plant structure that resembles a fruit but is not derived from a flower or flowers.

Answer 6

God forgave adam and eve? wow this is much different than the story that i learned when i read the bible, you know the one where god winds up and ***** slaps adam and eve from eden. Though not before stripping women of any free will, condemning them to an eternity of really painful childbirth, and setting their desires to be nothing more than that of her man.

I suppose adam got off lucky since he just got an eternity of busting his azz just to survive long enough until it's time to become word food, but at least he was promised his woman to please him, which presumably meant lots of blowjobs.

I'm nothing close to a fundamentalist christian, or a christian at all, and i don't see anything even close to good about any of the preceeding. anyone who does may need help

Answer 7

I take the story of Genesis to be literal.

Was it acceptable for Adam and Eve to sin? Not in God's eyes. He was greatly displeased, and punished them for what they had done. They were cast out of Eden, and they were both cursed. We continue to live under that curse. No, Christ did not remove the curse, or we would have returned to a world without death. Christ offers a path for forgiveness, which without Him would not be available, but He did not remove the curse.

I don't see how this should be everyone's greatest day. This is the day that Man fell from the grace of God. We see life now as normal, but this is not what God intended for us. Believe it or not, we would all be happier to be living in the world God intended us to live in rather than the world we live in now. Yes, God knew where we would end up, but we, in our own free will, caused this to happen. How is there free will if God already knows what will happen? I don't know; that's above me and on the level of God to understand.

Adam and Eve did not grow up when they sinned. Their acts of disobedience were in fact immature; they were rebelling against what was in their best interest for the simple reason that they were mislead by a lie. A mature decision would have been to see through the deceit, to trust God who had never lied to them, and reject the serpant. Adam certainly acted immaturely when he disobeyed God just to do what his wife wanted him to do. He acted with cowardice by not standing for what he knew was right. That is not growing up.

I could go on, but you get the idea.

Answer 8

I don't feel that you can lump all so called fundamentalist christians together any more than you can put the rest of "Americans" in one group. While the question addresses a specific belief, many groups that adhere to that belief differ on many other points that may have bearing on the subject. One point remains painfully clear. There is a huge gap between these basic groups. So to answer your question more directly, yes it does point out the vast distance between these basic groups or beliefs if you will.

Answer 9

There is no forgiveness in genesis chapter 3. They were cursed in verses 14 -21, and in verses 22-24, they were kicked out of the garden.

They already had a job, caring for the garden, and the animals of the earth (Gen 1:26). They lost their job when they disobeyed.

Loosing innocence does not mean you have grown up. It just means you have rebelled against God through sin. Most of the time, even in our culture loosing innocence through irresponsible activity stunts maturity. Real maturity is demonstrated by self control, accepting responsibilty, and respect for God and others. The first thing they did after they disobeyed was lie to God about what happened and whose fault it was. This is not "mature" behavior.

In a modern day equivalent, teenagers think they have grown up when they have premarital sex. They have lost their innocence through sin. They become lying, irresponsible brats and rebel against their parents. Their grades go down in school. They tell their parents where to get off, and continue on a destructive path until they leave home. When they finally leave, the parents are releived but still heartbroken. I see nothing authentic about rebellion through sin, and disrepsect for a parent, whether it is a human one, or God himself as father. The family relationship is destroyed, and the parents and kids do not even like each other any more.

This family relationship was destroyed in the garden as well. God cursed them, labeled his kids as brats and kicked them out. The only one who could restore the harmony between God and man was Jesus. The generations of brats that resulted afterwards deserved to be punished for their rebellion and sin. The punishment was death- eternally. The only one who could reverse this was Jesus, who stepped in and took the punishment and settled the account with God. He was not guilty, but he took the punishment. And that is why only his sacrifice restores the relationship between God and man, and nothing else.

Otherwise, our reward for "growing up" is working until we drop dead, dealing with strife and hardships in life, sickness and disease, and poverty. And when we are all finished, we die one death, to be put in the ground and eaten up by worms. Then afterwards, there is a second death. We are still denied the presence of God forever, and end up in hell, away from God. There is not much here to celebrate.

Answer 10

adam and eve sined because they believe in a lie told to them by devil. This first man and woman is shared be other religion in the world.