Genesis 4:4-5
"...The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor."
you see this in kids today, if parents give more attention to one child than the other, the other becomes jealous and resentful.
could this have been prevented if god didnt play favorites?
2007-10-31 04:55:35 · 20 answers · asked by Chippy v1.0.0.3b 6 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
what does it say about adam and eve, who apparently didnt play favorites with their children?
2007-10-31 04:55:56 · update #1
i think you guys dont read details...
god favored abels offerings, meanwhile he didnt favor cains.
cain worked the fields, able worked animals.
it wasnt cains fault that no matter what he gave it wouldnt please god.
2007-10-31 05:03:15 · update #2
LOL, God did not play favorites.
Worshipful sacrifice was already prescribed.
The object of sacrifice was predetermined for both Cain and Able: a blood sacrifice was required.
Able chose the correct sacrifice, Cain chose a sacrifice resulting from the labor of his own hands.
The implication of Genesis 3:3's "And in process of time..." is that both boys had been raised knowing what an appropriate sacrifice was. Cain chose what was not appropriate, that's why God did not respect Cain's sacrifice.
Simply put, Cain broke ranks.
2007-10-31 05:07:50 · answer #1 · answered by Bob L 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Sure we could say that Abel's death was God's fault, but then if we started pointing fingers there, we would eventualy tie all deaths to being God's fault. Hilter joined the Nazis after being denied entry to an Art College, so by your logic, the holocaust is the fault of that College- not Hitler.
The only way God was connected to Abel's death was by giving Cain free will. Cain used his free will to ice his brother, so it is, when it comes right down to it, Cain's fault and no one else's.
2007-10-31 05:00:26 · answer #2 · answered by Gordon B 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
As your first answer states, it wasn't a question of favs, it was a question of not following preset guidelines. Cain chose not to do what he already knew was his responsibility to do. It was the offering that was incorrect and disrespectful.
We see Cain's attitude today, everywhere we look. "God is mean because my life has these problems" instead of "Wow, why do I continue to live the same way, instead of taking responsibility for my problems and changing, then God can bless me"
I agree that you see favoritism in families, today. You see it in the workplace, in sporting events, anywhere people gather in a group. You even see it in church, because Churches are made up of everyday, normal people.
I believe Adam and eve did have their own favs, especially in future generations. Just as they were bitter after the fall, blaming each other.
2007-10-31 05:10:16 · answer #3 · answered by paigespirate 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Remember the Israelites where Herders and not farmers. That would make the farmer a bad guy to the listener.
This story was passed down orally for many generations. It will have undoughtably changed in the telling. The real story is probably lost in time. If it occured at all. Its the Concepts that are important not the details.
2007-10-31 05:14:37 · answer #4 · answered by JJ 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Cain did not offer the best of his crop, only a percentage. To him, sacrafice to God was a duty, not something to be passionate about. Abel gave the best of the flock to God. For that reason, Abel was favored....because of his greater love of God. It was the lack of love of God that drew Cain to sin.
Some people have argued that Cain was confused, because Abel offered blood where Cain only offered crops. By offering his brother, Cain's greatest love of this world, in blood sacrafice to God, perhaps Cain sought to please God. Cain did not realize that the sin in his heart was in not loving God,, and either his rage, confusion, or other mental baggage drove him to murder and lying.
2007-10-31 05:03:29 · answer #5 · answered by lundstroms2004 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Cain had no programs or support, other than the bounty of his hard working brother.
Abel may have died due to fright, or acute cowardice, as he saw his brother raise the knife, (in jest?) to slay him at play.
Unfortunately the Bible writers didn't give Cain the benefit of a doubt.
We are not to judge.
.
.
2007-10-31 05:00:33 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It depends on how you look at it. If we were to establish are own rules of conduct, and apply them to our own virtual scenario then it is likely that it does attribute them to a god. If however, god had set them in motion and had an entirely set of laws present then it could be freedom of choice. There are so many ways to look at it that this is very much an open ended question.
If God is real, then arguing against his ways would be akin to arguing against gravity for holding us down, and killing us from high altitudes, does that make any sense?
2007-10-31 05:00:31 · answer #7 · answered by Green 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No. God didn't kill Abel. Cain did out of jealousy. It was solely Cain's responsibility.
2007-10-31 04:58:44 · answer #8 · answered by sdb deacon 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋
No. it can be attributed to the fact that cain did wrong and able did right. God has something called standards. for encouragement, listen to ttb.org.
2007-10-31 05:00:11 · answer #9 · answered by stick man 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Cain is still alive, and walk among the Muslims.
Cain was the first murder, and the first human worshiping Satan
God did not tell Cain to kill, it was his brother Lucifer.
Satan cannot do anything by himself here on earth, you do it for him.
2007-10-31 05:00:00 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋