The first book of the Bible
74
votes
21answers
4k views
Can I believe in evolution and still be a Christian?
It would seem that the first part of the book of Genesis contradicts what science teaches about the origin of life on earth. If I am to reconcile evolution and Genesis, it seems that I have a number ...
40
votes
13answers
4k views
If Adam and Eve were perfect, why did they choose to sin?
Adam and Eve, when they were created in the Garden of Eden, were without sin. Because of that, they were perfect and flawless.
However, with that theology in mind, I'm running up against a wall: ...
26
votes
7answers
938 views
How can the sun be created after day and night?
"Light" was created on day 1 - Genesis 1:3-5. However the sun was created on day 4 - Genesis 1:14-19.
How is this possible?
21
votes
3answers
2k views
Why did people live so long before the Flood?
In Genesis 5, some of the descendants of Adam are listed with their ages. The people listed lived very much longer than anybody does today. For example, Adam lived to be 930. The oldest age, 969 ...
16
votes
4answers
5k views
Why did God wrestle with Jacob?
Sorry for asking a question kid in my Catechism class asked, but I didn't know the answer and she is an expert level 7th grader.
Why did God wrestle with Jacob if they're both good?
Was God ...
15
votes
4answers
425 views
Why do OEC discount the literal interpretation of the book of Genesis?
This is to rephrase the question Are scientific findings a test to Christians' Faith?
It seems to me that, without any outside interference, the Bible itself gives no suggestion that the Book of ...
15
votes
3answers
353 views
What is the specific meaning of “die” in Genesis 2?
Genesis 2:16-17 (NIV):
16And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you ...
15
votes
1answer
200 views
In Theistic Evolution, when did the alleged evolutionary animal/ape/man become accountable for his sins?
One answer to this previous question asks,
One of the problems I have with theistic evolution is: when did this alleged evolutinary animal/ape/man become accountable for his sins? [sic]
It would ...
13
votes
2answers
278 views
How old is old earth creationism?
The answers to What is the biblical evidence for an old Earth? say that biblical arguments for old Earth creationism are based on the ambiguous words used for describing lengths of time in Genesis.
...
13
votes
3answers
810 views
How did Noah preserve fresh water fish?
How did Noah prevent fresh water fish from dying when salt water inundated inland waterways during the claimed floods? I'm not sure which Christian doctrines take the literalist position but what is ...
13
votes
3answers
641 views
Who wrote the book of Genesis?
I've heard reference in other questions on this site that seem to indicate a belief that Genesis was written by "the same man." What do we actually know about wrote Genesis (whether a single, or ...
13
votes
3answers
190 views
What was the problem at Babel?
In the Genesis account of the tower of Babel a bunch of guys got together to build a really tall tower somewhere in the desert. God gets wind of the affair but it doesn't sit well:
Genesis 11:5-6 ...
12
votes
6answers
890 views
Where did Noah find polar bears and penguins in Palestine?
The biblical account of Noah's Ark and the flood seems implausible to me due to this detail... How could animals accustom to thriving in extreme temperatures be found in a common place for ...
12
votes
3answers
303 views
Why did God create such complexity in man?
During Creation, God created man:
Genesis 2:7 KJV
And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
Why ...
12
votes
2answers
2k views
When was Abraham alive?
It is generally accepted that Abraham lived 175 years. However, the dates when he lived are rather fuzzy and hotly debated.
When was he alive and what reasons would you give for your conclusion?
...
12
votes
2answers
254 views
What is the significance of the three distinct aspects of the temptation of Eve in the garden?
Genesis 3 indicates that there were three distinct aspects of the temptation of Eve:
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was
a delight to the eyes, and that the ...
11
votes
4answers
2k views
Was Onan really struck dead by God for masturbating?
Historically, Onan in Genesis 38 has been accused of masturbation, and for this supposed transgression was struck dead. The term Onanism (or in German Onanie) is still used to describe this practice.
...
11
votes
6answers
565 views
What are the theological implications/problems with theistic evolution?
Theistic evolution holds that God used evolution to create mankind. It seems to follow then that this view must also hold the creation account in Genesis to be unhistorical. So, Adam and Eve may ...
11
votes
2answers
317 views
Who is Lillith?
The character Lilith, while not mentioned in the Bible, turns up in Christian mythology as Adam’s first wife. (She’s mentioned, for example, in CS Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia.) Where ...
11
votes
2answers
252 views
Should Genesis 1:2 be translated “And the earth became without form…”?
The Gap theory seems to be based largely on translating Genesis 1:2 differently from the usual translations, eg. KJV:
1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
1:2 And the ...
10
votes
4answers
773 views
Why 'Seventy times seven'?
Twice in the bible, God makes reference to "seventy times seven" (or "seventy-seven times"). Once in Genesis 4:24 (dealing with Cain's punishment for his murder of Abel), and the other in Matthew ...
10
votes
4answers
168 views
Why did God make garments of skin for Adam and Eve when they had already made clothing for themselves?
Immediately after Adam and Eve sinned, we are told that they made clothing for themselves.
Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together ...
10
votes
2answers
163 views
In Theistic Evolution when do the genealogies in Genesis become real?
In Genesis there is the genealogy of Adam to Noah, then the account of the flood. After that is the genealogy of Noah to Abraham. The accounts of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Jacob's sons then follow. ...
10
votes
3answers
1k views
Jacob and Esau: what is this story all about?
This is how I see the story of Jacob and Esau (Genesis 25 and 26):
They are two very different twins who seem to fight a lot. Esau goes hunting and he is starving when he gets back. He asks Jacob for ...
10
votes
5answers
2k views
Does Genesis 9:5 say that God holds animals accountable for killing humans?
I was looking back over Genesis 9, just after the flood, when God allowed man to eat animals for food. The text is fairly interesting here:
4 “But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood ...
10
votes
2answers
269 views
Are there two different creation accounts in the bible?
There are two seemingly contradictory accounts of creation in the Bible.
The first is in Genesis 1:1-2:3.
The second is in Genesis 2:4-25.
Why the differences in the accounts?
9
votes
3answers
866 views
Did Adam and Eve's Progeny Commit Incest?
I have a multi-part question.
Did Adam and Eve's Progeny Commit Incest?
Genesis, Chapter 4 tells us about Cain and Abel.
Genesis, Chapter 5 tells us about Seth and "other sons and daughters".
I ...
9
votes
4answers
1k views
Why did God need to plant the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the garden of Eden in the first place?
Why did God need to plant the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the garden of Eden in the first place?
I mean Mormons say that God was in fact having a hidden desire for Adam and Eve to disobey ...
8
votes
4answers
3k views
In which country is the Garden of Eden located?
Genesis 2:15(NIV)
The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it
and take care of it.
I'm curious to know, now, in which which country is the Garden of Eden located? ...
8
votes
3answers
240 views
Why we do we “know” that Joseph wasn't Hyksos?
According to the ancient historian, Mantheo, the fifteenth dynasty of Egypt were a people known as the Hyksos, literally the "rulers of foreign countries" or, as sometimes been translated "the ...
8
votes
2answers
698 views
Multiple wives and concubines | male and female “original” intent
Matthew 19:1-6 New International Version (NIV)
1 When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and
went into the region of Judea to the other side of the Jordan. 2 Large
...
8
votes
3answers
258 views
Sons of God begat famous people?
Genesis 6:1--4 tells about the "sons of God" marrying whomsoever they pleased, and the Nephilim---"the heroes of old, men of renown"---were begotten then. How is this to be interpreted?
8
votes
4answers
244 views
Genesis 3, original sin and mortality
I'm currently doing some research for a Church project and next week we are covering creation. While looking at creation, I came across an interesting tidbit that I've never actually thought about ...
8
votes
2answers
430 views
Three men appeared to Abraham in Genesis 18, was one Christophany?
Genesis 18:1-2
1 The LORD appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. 2 Abraham looked up and saw three men standing ...
7
votes
4answers
245 views
What Did God Make The Universe From?
What did God make the universe from? It seems Himself, since before Creation, only God is.
This seems to me to be the most important question for Christianity. NOT why, how, where or who, but what. ...
7
votes
1answer
100 views
Why did Joseph only present five brothers?
After Joseph and his brothers were reunited, Joseph presents only five of his brothers to Pharaoh.
Genesis 47:1-2
New International Version (NIV)
47:1: Joseph went and told Pharaoh, “My ...
7
votes
1answer
140 views
Why was the mark of Cain necessary?
In Genesis 4:14-15 (NRSV) it says:
14 I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and anyone who meets me may kill me.’ 15 Then the Lord said to him, ‘Not so! Whoever kills Cain will ...
7
votes
1answer
100 views
Is gender a property of essence or existence?
In his address, the Holy Father said:
According to the biblical creation account, being created by God as
male and female pertains to the essence of the human creature.
The use of the word ...
7
votes
2answers
189 views
Where do Catholics believe the historical narrative of the Bible begins?
I heard on the Relevant Radio recently that the Genesis account of the deluge is prehistorical. Meaning, it wasn't really recorded in histories the way other more specific accounts of historical ...
6
votes
2answers
223 views
Why is the word “Ark” used for Noah's boat and the Ark of the Covenant?
What exactly is the meaning of an "ark" that applies to a boat and that thing that melts off the Nazi's faces in the first Indiana Jones movie?
6
votes
2answers
600 views
Is there biblical evidence of “cavemen”?
Do old earth Christians believe that there were cavemen in early times? This is not to say people who lived in caves but more as what is pictured in early evolution.
I hope I'm wording this correctly ...
6
votes
2answers
234 views
Universe made of water?
Genesis 1:1-2 accounts what was before God gave form to the Earth, and that is water:
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was ...
6
votes
2answers
142 views
Does Genesis 3 tell of a theophany?
Genesis 3:8-9 (NLT)
8 When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees. 9 ...
6
votes
1answer
55 views
Where does the idea of a water canopy come from in the Bible, and is there scientific evidence to support it?
Some Creationists have asserted that in pre-flood world that there may have been some sort of water vapor canopy that perhaps doubled the air pressure and caused things to be much healthier than they ...
6
votes
1answer
289 views
Did Adam and Eve understand death? What did death mean to them?
This answer says that the serpent convinced Eve to eat the apple to avoid death by saying "surely not die".
Since they are described as the first people that existed, what could death mean to them?
6
votes
2answers
459 views
Is the commandment to multiply, and replenish the earth in effect today?
Adam and Eve were commanded to multiply and replenish the earth.
Genesis 1:28-30
28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and ...
6
votes
1answer
32 views
Why did God accept Abel's offering and not Cain's?
In Genesis 4, we read the following account of Cain and Abel:
So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the Lord of the fruit of the ground. Abel, on his part also ...
6
votes
2answers
325 views
What does Revelation 6:12 mean?
I've always thought that in Revelation 6:12 where it says:
I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair...
... that ...
6
votes
2answers
196 views
Joseph reveals himself to his brothers, why the elaborate ruse?
Genesis chapter 42 - 45 recount story of Joseph tricking his brothers who are in Egypt to buy grain, into going back and forth several times from Canaan to Egypt in an attempt exonerate themselves in ...
6
votes
2answers
191 views
Significance of Genesis 1 verb choices
I was surprised recently when I read Genesis 1 again, and noticed how inactive God is during the creation process. I mean that from a literary standpoint, not a literal one... bear with me. :)
Below ...
