I have been asking some silly questions in reagrds to Adam and Eve?

Question

just to see how many excuses and story variations the christians can come up with, And I was not disappointed. Most of you have very different interpretations of your own scripture. So my REAL question is: if the bible as written can be interpreted so many different ways, why even bother with it at all? Yes, it gives you a thoughtful way in which to live your life for god, but couldnt you do that on your own anyway??

Wow...American Beauty....very defensive response. Did I hit a nerve?

Answer 1

I've gone back and read your questions, and you make some very good points. The thing is, further revelation from God is needed to clarify the Bible. The Bible is too hard to understand on its own, without divine guidance. An appeal to the Bible alone is not enough to gather a clear knowledge of what God really wants - we need living prophets, and we need a personal connection to God's inspiration as well.

Just for your information, re the validity of Adam and Eve (2 people) as projenitors of the human race: DNA researchers have charted mutations in mitochondrial (female) DNA, and extrapolated that humanity originated about 150 million years ago from a single female (and male, obviously), so even science supports the concept that we all descended from only 2 people.

These are some very deep questions you are asking, and I think that's great. I believe that you are right: man has the potential to be like God, and this was always God's plan... but somehow these "plain and precious truths" were lost during a period of Apostacy, after Christ died. There is a very confusing chapter in the Bible regarding the nature of mortality and immortality - 1 Corinthians 15. It may give you something to think about....

As far as I know, there is only one church that addresses the issues brought up in 1 Cor. 15, as well as many others, and that is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

We believe in the Bible....as translated correctly, and other divinely inspired scriptures as well, which help a lot to answer many of the questions you have asked here.

If you're interested in learning more, I suggest you "go at it" in that fervent way of yours, and ask all of your questions to the LDS missionaries! You'll have them gasping and searching for answers, I'm sure. Keep it up, and I'm sure you'll find the deep understanding that you're looking for.

Email me if you want further info, of if you want to pose questions to me about the LDS church.

God bless.

Answer 2

Think about how long the Bible has been around.
Think about how many 'men' want power and to be worshiped.
Think about how many priests will tell their church anything to get them to stay.

With that said, a lot of people don't even read the bible with hopes of truly understanding it. You have to research what you read. Dig deep, and pray for understanding.

Some people completely skipped over the scripture at Genesis 5:4 where it shows Adam & Eve had more kids than just Cain and Abel.
If the whole thing was read, many would know that Cain did not sleep with his mother, but there had to be other options. That would answer a lot of questions in itself.

With that said, I'm pleased with my faith and belief in the Bible. It has not been proven wrong or contradictory. Use an open mind, and understanding through the holy spirit.

*Phoenix - I don't listen to what my 'minister' says, a lot of Christians don't. We read the Bible on a daily basis, and research what is read. I meditate on what I read and try to apply to every day living. Haven't had a problem so far.

My religion follows the Bible, not men, or men's silly ideas.

Answer 3

While the Bible is heavily interpreted, it should not be. The question, then, is why is it interpreted? Because much of the original text has been lost. Just read the Old Testament to realize that there are many references to other texts which we simply do not have today.

I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and I know that making that statement will discredit me in the eyes of many who are prejudiced against the Church out of an ignorance or misunderstanding of the Church. However, to answer your question fairly, I need to state that fact up front.

The LDS religion believes that many key components were removed from the Bible, either through mistranslation (kind of like the party game where you whisper a statement down a line of people to see how it gets distorted at the end) or through blatant removal and/or distortion of text by those who wanted their own positions upheld.

However, God has not left us without a mechanism to know the full truth. The Book of Mormon is another book of scripture which corroborates and clarifies key doctrines of the Bible. Further, God reveals his word to prophets today, who unequivocally receive his word.

If these things are not so, then I agree with you... we are left to interpret the Bible, and what is the purpose of that? We need to have God clarify to us through some means, and a living prophet is certainly the best.

BTW, the entire Mormon faith begins with one humble person reading a simple verse of the Bible: "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." So... the answer to your question is to ask... God will make his truth known

Answer 4

You can't truly expect everyone to interpret anything in life, exactly the same way as everybody else does, do you?. I mean we're all different people, we've all had different upbringings and come from all different backgrounds. No two people are totally the same, you can't expect everyone who reads anything, to interpret the same exact thing, whether it's the writings of the Bible , Emily Dickenson or Mark Twain.

But anyone who's ever read literature of famous writer's will have each have different interpretations than yours or the next persons, and they will each tell you how it enriched their lives,. Each person has their own view. Some people have more insight than others when they read. You can't hold that against them.

When we were in school, we used to have to write a book report. The teacher required the whole class to all read the same book. Each paper was different, yet many got A's for it.

In order for the Bible to be interpreted exactly the same by everyone, we would all have to be the exact same people, and think the same exact thoughts, and have the exact same experiences. as everyone else, but that's not possible.

In order for their answers to all be the same Word for Word, they would've all had to copy it down from the Bible, which I'm sure they knew that's not what you were asking.

you can't judge the Bible by what everybody else thinks, no more than you judge anything else in life by what everybody else thinks-you gotta judge it for your own self. Just like I could probably get away with not doing my own homework, and not reading a book for class, and just ask everyone else what it's about and write it down. or, I could copy it down from somebody else, word for word, but what good is that? Anybody can do that. What it comes right down to it, it's your 'own' interpretation of life that counts. Not everybody else's. You can't take the answers you got off of Yahoo, as gold.

I've asked questions about pc problems and other things, and got several different answers on all of them, for the same problem!. Some people just misunderstood the question to begin with, others were just trying to help. I looked for the ones that "were" the same to confirm my answer, and weigh them out first. If 10 out 15 people or whatever, all say basically the same thing, then I "know" it's right. If I only looked at the ones who weren't even close, and were wrong, and, then did what they said to do, I'd screw up my computer for sure.

It's like when someone tells you about a good book they read or a a good movie they've seen, it's just not the same,as when you see it yourself, you get so much more out of a book or anything else, when you do it yourself, because it's true, you really can't judge a book by it's cover

Answer 5

if the bible as written can be interpreted so many different ways, why even bother with it at all? Yes, it gives you a thoughtful way in which to live your life for god, but couldnt you do that on your own anyway??: The bible can be interpreted many different ways, however, those ways are interpreted by prayer and supplication. It is more than a "way" to live your life for God, it is "THE" way to live your life for God. As Christians we couldn't do that on our own because through faith we seek other believers to support us in our daily living, keeping our spirits real and uplifted. Besides any way you paint it the body of believers is called to gather together and honor the one True God, Jesus Christ, Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

Answer 6

Read 2 Timothy 2:15 "Study to show thyself, approved under God a workman who needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" As non-catholic Christians, we have the right to read the Word of God and interpret it as the Holy Spirit gives us wisdom. Some have different ideas about different things, but all of us agree on how one becomes saved and is re-born. The rest is open for interesting debate and none of us should take offense to those who have a different interpretation.

Answer 7

An idea is internal (and a gift from God).
A thinker shares this idea or lets it die out.
Once the idea gets shared, then it can be turned into knowledge.
A fool will take many times of trial and error to learn this knowledge; if they are ever able to break the cycle ... while a wise person will see the fool's folly and convert this folly to wisdom so that they do not have to make the same mistake as the fool avoiding the pain.

Answer 8

The story is simple and one only needs to pray to God about it if they think you can get different interpretations.

You can't get different interpretations, just more understanding. Genesis 1-3 is very simple for the child and very complex for the scientifically & spiritually minded. There is always more to learn, but that doesn't change the simple truth of it. The interpretations aren't different. Just read more of the Adam & Eve story and not just one verse.

Answer 9

Is it not possible that God didn't want us to understand everything about Him or about the world? If we knew everything that God knew, we would have too much power. It's also possible that our human minds are incapable of understanding some of these things, which would be why our interpretations of the Bible are inconsistant. Just because humans misinterpret the Bible doesn't mean it isn't true.

Answer 10

maybe it is so we can answer questions to people who interpret reality in different ways.
Maybe you should think of a way to ask your questions so you won't get variations. We are never disappointed with the odd and irrational questions that people can ask simply because they have no understanding of religion at all.
Peace be with you...