tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-688820610845171516.post5400115950549649230..comments2024-03-24T11:03:03.106-07:00Comments on Just Genesis : The Priesthood and GenesisAlice C. Linsleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13069827354696169270noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-688820610845171516.post-12691060555563332152010-03-14T18:25:16.297-07:002010-03-14T18:25:16.297-07:00Read more on Adam and Eve here:
http://jandyongene...Read more on Adam and Eve here:<br />http://jandyongenesis.blogspot.com/2009/02/in-what-sense-are-adam-and-eve-real.html<br /><br />There are many other essays on the preisthood and binary distinctions between blood shed by males and blood shed by females in the INDEX under Priesthood, Binary Disticntions and Blood Symbolism.Alice C. Linsleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13069827354696169270noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-688820610845171516.post-18986069545806171502008-11-03T03:04:00.000-08:002008-11-03T03:04:00.000-08:00Adam is real in the Platonic sense and this is how...Adam is real in the Platonic sense and this is how St. Paul is thinking of him. The real is the eternal Form of Man that exists outside time. So when Adam was made in the image of the eternal true Form, he was truly made in the Divine Image. Jesus Christ's incarnation is the Divine being made in the human image, but without the fallenness since He was begotten, not made and His existence is from before time.Alice C. Linsleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13069827354696169270noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-688820610845171516.post-78289087893216479572008-11-02T16:40:00.000-08:002008-11-02T16:40:00.000-08:00oops... I meant "how can there be a second Adam i...oops... I meant "how can <I>there</I> be a second Adam if there wasn't a first?<BR/><BR/>"There" instead of "their"Heatherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02823415864984113567noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-688820610845171516.post-34287336430134035952008-11-02T16:38:00.000-08:002008-11-02T16:38:00.000-08:00This thread is very old, so I don't know that you'...This thread is very old, so I don't know that you'll read it, but here goes:<BR/><BR/>If Adam is not a historical figure, how does this impact Christ being the second Adam? I.e. how can their be a second Adam if there wasn't a first? And, if you do respond, may I have permission to quote you on my blog, www.whitewashedfeminist.com? Someone asked me this question and I didn't have an answer, but thought you would. Thanks.Heatherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02823415864984113567noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-688820610845171516.post-47934357796110698552007-08-31T08:09:00.000-07:002007-08-31T08:09:00.000-07:00Heavens! I'm delighted by your questions, Anam Car...Heavens! I'm delighted by your questions, Anam Cara. Please keep asking them. If I don't know, I'll tell you and maybe you can help me figure out the answer.<BR/><BR/>Abel probably was an historical person because Genesis usually presents generations as three brothers. Here are examples: Cain, Abel and Seth; Shem, Ham and Japheth; Abraham, Nahor and Haran. Another reason I believe that he lived is that Cain's descendent, Lamech, refers to Cain's killing of Abel and how God showed Cain mercy, claiming a double portion of that mercy for himself after he killed a man. <BR/><BR/>The story of Adam and Eve is very powerful. There are two ways to convey Truth: through history and through mythology. History is to memory as mythology is to dreaming. Memory can sometimes fail us, by the symbols of dreams penetrate deeply into human consciousness.<BR/><BR/>Bultmann attempted to "de-mythologize" the Bible because he took an empirical approach. C.S. Lewis, on the other hand, understood the lasting power of mythology and argued that we shouldn't say "It is only a myth" but rather "It is nothing less than a myth."<BR/><BR/>Adam and Eve tell us that sin entered the world through human rebellion that led to loss of perfect communion with God, that is "Paradise." It is a very old story, the closest parallels to which are found in central African creation stories (See for example the story of Gikuyu and Mumbi, the first parents of the Gikuyu.)<BR/><BR/>The writers of the Bible regard Adam as a type of both humanity and Jesus Christ. They did not approach the sacred texts as empiricists, (as we tend to do today), but as platonists who were looking for the spiritual pattern. (To gain insight into this approach, you might read my essay on Abraham and Moses here:<BR/>http://jandyongenesis.blogspot.com/2007/04/abraham-and-moses.htmlAlice C. Linsleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13069827354696169270noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-688820610845171516.post-33452421300350305922007-08-31T04:08:00.000-07:002007-08-31T04:08:00.000-07:00Please don't think I'm trying to bait you - I want...Please don't think I'm trying to bait you - I want to understand your thought process.....<BR/>Please forgive me if I have offended in my questions.Anam Carahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03960986859370967282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-688820610845171516.post-80441240282215567862007-08-31T04:07:00.000-07:002007-08-31T04:07:00.000-07:00Just finished readiing the post on Nod/Nok and com...Just finished readiing the post on Nod/Nok and comments. It is clear that Cain and Seth existed and are not mythology. What about Abel? Is he mythology or fact? Again, I don't understand how you can tell them apart.Anam Carahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03960986859370967282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-688820610845171516.post-120259951517911442007-08-31T03:59:00.000-07:002007-08-31T03:59:00.000-07:00Yes, I confess that I am reading somewhat literall...Yes, I confess that I am reading somewhat literally. I realize that some things may be ommitted for who knows what reason. So I guess I could say there might be more to the story. But I have a hard time believing that what we have been given is false. <BR/><BR/>If Adam is a mythical figure, why does the Holy Spirit inspire the writers of the New Testament to write as though he were a specific person?<BR/><BR/>ex: Luke3:38, Romans 5:14, 1 Cor.15:45, Jude 1:14<BR/><BR/>What means do we use to determine if a person is mythical or not? If Enoch is seventh from Adam, and Adam is mythical, is Enoch also?<BR/><BR/>Another problem I have with making Adam mythological is the concept of sin and death. If death is the result of sin, and God created with no death (we were meant to live forever with Him), when did death enter the world? Is it possible that there were no "first parents"? That Eve was NOT the mother of all living as we are told? Were other humans created who gave birth to children but when one unnamed person sinned, all became subject to death?<BR/><BR/>I just can't seem to get my mind to wrap around such ideas.Anam Carahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03960986859370967282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-688820610845171516.post-11129403079151218912007-08-30T18:19:00.000-07:002007-08-30T18:19:00.000-07:00Aram Cara! So glad to hear from you.If I understan...Aram Cara! So glad to hear from you.<BR/><BR/>If I understand your question, you are curious why God would expect Cain to offer a blood sacrifice if he didn’t know that it was required?<BR/><BR/>I think the problem is that you are reading Genesis as a literal historical account from the creation of the first human parents to the covenant with Abraham. The text itself does not require that. In fact, a deep study of Genesis makes it clear that this was not the author’s intention. <BR/><BR/>The names “Adam” and “Eve” are etymological etiologies, like the word Nod. Adam means soil or humus (from which we derive the word “human”) and Eve means living, because she is one who brings forth life. The fact that these are not real names suggest that they are speaking of symbolic figures.<BR/><BR/>The oldest human fossils date to about 3.4 million years and were found in Africa, but Cain probably can’t be dated much before 6000 years ago, if we regard him as a founder of the Nok civilization, which reached its artistic peak about 2500 years ago. Of course, Genesis tells us that he married into a noble family, so the region of Nok was already under someone’s control before Cain came there, so we have to push the date of human society in Central Africa back even before Cain.<BR/><BR/>Now to your question: “When and how did God tell them that only a blood sacrifice was acceptable? Did Adam never have to offer a sacrifice - or are his previous sacrifices just not mentioned?”<BR/><BR/>Adam is a mythological figure so we don’t have historical information about him. Cain, on the other hand, is clearly an historical figure and he lived at a time when there was already government, which means that laws existed. While there is still much to learn about those laws, they were what we moderns would regard as “religious” rather than secular. Also, since one of the earliest ethical problems of humans was what to do about blood, we can be fairly confident that the religious laws gave specific direction about blood sacrifices.Alice C. Linsleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13069827354696169270noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-688820610845171516.post-65958308060072614462007-08-30T05:10:00.000-07:002007-08-30T05:10:00.000-07:00When our first child was born (1979), we were Epis...When our first child was born (1979), we were Episcopalian. I asked the Dean of the Cathedral where we worshiped to have the service for the Churching of Women. He was astonished and said it had been years since he had done such a service. I believe he was also pleased that he was asked.<BR/><BR/>Alice, I have never understood, because it isn't clearly stated to me, anyway, how Cain knew he needed to offer a blood sacrifice. <BR/><BR/>The Genesis account goes from the birth of the sons to offering the first fruits of their labors - Cain had crops and offered them, Abel was a shepherd. Is there something between the lines that I am missing? <BR/><BR/> It says that Cain was angry that God did not regard his offering. Is that because he gave of his labor and was upset that his work wasn't good enough? Did he know before hand that crops weren't acceptable and he would have to get animals from someplace? When and how did God tell them that only a blood sacrifice was acceptable? Did Adam never have to offer a sacrifice - or are his previous sacrifices just not mentioned?Anam Carahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03960986859370967282noreply@blogger.com