The Adam and Eve Story And What It Means To Be Born Again
To really understand how we all got here, what it really means to be “born again,” and why there is so much death and destruction in the world we live in – you have to go back to the very beginning to the Adam and Eve story as told to us in the Bible.
To truly understand our roots and beginnings as Christians, we have to fully understand exactly what had occurred in this story. I will go ahead and break the story of Adam and Eve down under the following captions.
God Sets The Stage
1. As Christians, we have to believe in the literal interpretation of the Bible. There are many secular and atheistic teachers and professors who are teaching in our high schools and colleges that man gradually evolved rather than actually being created by our Lord. However, the Bible tells us otherwise.
The account in Genesis tells us very specifically, and without any other possible interpretation, that both man, the heavens, the earth, and all the creatures on the earth were all CREATED by the Lord – that they did not progressively evolve over some period of time. The very first verse in the Bible tells us that God created the heavens and the earth. Here it is:
“In the beginning God CREATED the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1)
The Bible then goes on to tell us that God then proceeds to create light, night and day, the seas, the stars, creatures to live in the seas, creatures to live on the dry land, and then finally the man Adam – all in 6 days. Adam was created on the 6th day.
Here is the verse that tells us that the very first man, Adam, was also created by God, and that he did not progressively evolve over any type of period of time:
“And the Lord FORMED MAN of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” (Genesis 2:7)
Then God plants Adam in the Garden of Eden and gives him total dominion over everything in it – including all of the fish, the birds, and every living thing that moved on the earth at that time. After a certain period of time, God then sees that it is not good that Adam continue to remain alone – so He then creates the first woman Eve by causing a deep sleep to fall on Adam and then takes out one of his ribs.
God literally creates the first woman from the rib of Adam. God meant for Eve to be a helper comparable to him and He then tells the both of them to be fruitful and multiply and to fill the earth and subdue it. Here is the verse that specifically tells us that Eve was also created just like Adam was, and that she too was not a product of some type of evolutionary process.
“And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from the man HE MADE INTO A WOMAN, and He brought her to the man.” (Genesis 2:21)
Again, both of these accounts show that both Adam and Eve were created by God and that they did not evolve from any kind of evolutionary process or any kind of primates.
2. After God brings Eve to Adam to be his helper, Adam makes a very powerful statement that has future implications for all married people. Here is what he says in reference to Eve:
- “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” (Genesis 2:24)
Right at the beginning of creation, with the creation of the first man and the first woman, God tells us how powerful and how holy the marriage union is going to be. Bone of my bones, flesh of my flesh – two people becoming one flesh! These words right there tell you why divorce and marital breakups are so painful. It’s like flesh ripping from flesh when two married people try to dissolve the marriage union.
This is why divorce is so painful when one or both of the partners try to break it off. There is a spiritual union that occurs when two people marry for true love. And when one or both want out of the marriage for whatever reason, the pain can literally be excruciating because of the spiritual union that has taken place within the love and bonds of that marriage.
Then the Bible says that God now puts man in the Garden of Eden to tend and keep it. The stage is now set. God has now given this first man and first woman everything they could possibly need to be happy and fulfilled.
They have both been made in the image and likeness of God. They now have each other as marriage mates. God has given them total dominion over everything on the earth. He has told them that they are free to be fruitful and multiply – which means they are free to start having children within the marriage union. And then to really top it off, they both have direct contact and fellowship with God Himself, as this account says that God walked in the Garden of Eden where they were now living. They literally had it all!
However, there was just one small catch! – The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil
I’ll break the rest of this article into the following 3 parts and come back to read my conclusion.
The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil
The Consequences
What It Means To Be Born Again
Conclusion
To really understand what it means to be saved and born again, each Christian needs to fully understand what had occurred in the Adam and Eve story. The story of Adam and Eve, and then the story of Jesus coming down to our earth in the flesh to be crucified for all of our sins in order to bring us back to God Himself, are like two puzzle pieces that perfectly fit side by side with one another.
The Adam and Eve story tells us how everything began and why things are the way they are today – all because we are still living under the curse they had brought upon this earth as a result of their one transgression against the Lord.
The Adam and Eve story then sets the stage for the greatest story that will ever be told – the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to our earth in the flesh to save us and deliver us from our sins and our lost condition that arose out of the story of Adam and Eve.
Had God the Father not sent His Son Jesus down to our earth to be crucified for all of our sins and our lost condition – we would all still be living in this lost condition with no chance of ever being able to make it into heaven after we die and cross over.
With Jesus literally being willing to die on a cross in order to get us back to Himself and His Father – we not only get to go to heaven when we die and cross over, but we also get our inside spiritual connection once more fully restored back to both God and Jesus since we all receive the Holy Spirit at the moment of our salvation.
This is something we get immediately. We do not have to wait until we get to heaven before we can receive the Holy Spirit. We receive the Holy Spirit at the exact moment we are saved and born again – and it is by, in, and through the Holy Spirit that we all now have a direct access and a direct spiritual connection back to both God and Jesus.
However, what we do not get is the stoppage of the aging process and the eventual deaths of our physical bodies. The Bible tells us that the last enemy that will be conquered will be death.
1. The Bible tells us that Eve became the mother of all the living. So if Adam and Eve were the first man and first woman to get the ball rolling in reference to starting the world’s population – how did they do this?
Most Bible scholars are in agreement that the only way this could have occurred is if the sons and daughters that Adam and Eve initially had were allowed to have sexual relations with one another. There is absolutely no other way that this could have occurred. The gene pool would not have been contaminated at this early stage.
However, as you get further into the Old Testament, God then ends up prohibiting any incestuous relations among any family members. However, in order to get the ball rolling off this one man and woman, God had to initially allow the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve to have sexual relations with one another in order to get things going.
2. The Bible then says that Adam lived to a ripe old age of 930 years. However, the Bible does not tell us how long Eve had lived for.
Bottom line – the Adam and Eve story needs to be fully understood by every Christian in order to understand who we really are in Christ and why things are the way they are in the world we now live in. Like to hear your thoughts below…
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Well articulated and explained!
I shall translate this in Chinese and give this race of people the opportunity to read and receive a clearest possible understanding of who he or she is and why mankind needs Jesus, the Son of God, and His finished works on earth in order to be restored back to our Heavenly Father.
Excellent
God's design is wonderful -- one man and one woman in a marriage designed by God!
Because there is a bad side simply as that.
People deny there existence, by doing this. This allow's them to do what wicked way's they possess.
There teachnique is slowly to be surely.
:)
Excellent!
Very detailed article. Thanks for sharing
The Adam and Eve Story And What It Means To Be Born Again
Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, do NOT be dismayed or heartbroken when the false religions make funny comments about Christ, Forgive and Pray for them them. (i) We do not read from the same Script- judge for yourselves by looking at the origins of the HOLY BIBLE and the other books, which came first? (ii) The HOLY BIBLE is the only God breathed WORDS that retain their POWER when interpreted in ANY language because it is the POWER of God unto salvation. Certain purported words of the said god(s) do not have power once interpreted.
Adam was told by God that He shall SURELY die if he eats of the fruit, so it means that he (Adam and Eve) were not meant to die in the first place..and this is where Christ Jesus comes in and not other purported prophet(s).Christ(read God) came to restore the status quo...that we may have life and have it in abundance. We inherited death through Adam and Eve as their offspring and Jesus (read the second Adam-the SON of Man)has enabled us to inherit life.
I have read the other books and "salvation" will come by doing "good deeds" such as Fasting and Praying among other "works"
Now...remember that the Devil is a deceiver he mixes the Truth(Christ) with lies...as he did with Eve, be on the look out brethren...
"I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep." John 10:9-11
Romans 3:24--and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
I rest my case with the One True God through Jesus Christ Our Lord and savior.
I am absolutely tired of Muslims stepping into any Christian conversation, and seizing the opportunity to verbally and emotionally abuse us with their beliefs. God provided free will and choice! That is Gods law! The attempt to prevent freedom of choice is nothing more than the adversary at work. Get off Christian web sites if you are only here to harass Christians with your chosen faith! We have our faith as well. It is solely in Jesus Christ ~ by which HE is our sole teacher! Which means you have absolutely nothing to offer us.
response
I am appalled on how articles like this can blame Adam and Eve for us being here on Earth today. Why do Christians put blame on Adam and Eve in explaining why we are here in this 'misery world'. First of all, a Christian, Muslim or Jew believes that God is The All-Knowing. God knows all things. God knows what will happen in the future. Therefore, it was God's plan in the beginning to create this Earth because He knew Adam and Eve would eat from that tree. In Islam we believe that every human being is responsible for his or her actions and is born pure and free from sin. Adam and Eve committed a mistake, they repented sincerely and God in His infinite wisdom forgave them. God tested Adam so that he could learn and gain experience. In this way God prepared Adam for his role on earth as a caretaker and a Prophet of God. From this experience, Adam learned the great lesson that Satan is cunning, ungrateful and the avowed enemy of mankind. Adam, Eve and their descendants learned that Satan caused their expulsion from heaven. Obedience to God and enmity towards Satan is the only path back to Heaven.
Also, why does this article portray Earth as we know it was an evil place. Do you not know who created this Earth? God did. Yes, there are negative things that happen here all the time but that does not mean it is a bad place. Look at the beauty God has created on this planet for our eyes to enjoy. The sea, the mountains, the green landscapes, the list could go on. These were all God's creations given to us for us to use, understand and be thankful for.
I'd like to conclude that no human being is born of sin as a result of the actions of Adam and Eve. All persons commit sin one time in their life, this is normal, but one must not forget that God is The All-Knowing, and the All-Forgiving. This article tends to say that Jesus was the saviour of all time and that people born after the time of Jesus are born free of sin because he died for our sins. Um..what about all the previous prophets? Moses, Noah, Abraham...? Are you trying to say that they preached for no reason because people at that time were sinned anyways.
What did god do to Adam's rib to make Eve?
story
i am only 11 and i do not understand alot of this but i try . today i heard a story about pa aliens that look human but are not.here is the story.my friend saw 5 big firey orbs and a big airplane was chaseing them. they left and came back.then there where only 3 left and went into outer space so fast.pa aliens are really itellagent and created us because evil and good went into war soo good made human for backup.2012 december21 pa aliens are going to come and unlock the part of your brain that is in the center of your brain that does nothing. maybe myans made a calender for the return date of pa aliens. usa does not belive aliens because the government will not tell us. if you go to othere contries they will say yea because they see them all the time.there are 60000000000000000 planets that can hold life in the universe times that by 1000 and that is about all the planets.what are the odds that earth is the only planet with life. the universe is so big. i seen a alien orb in real life in hawaii army base scholfield bharracks. my dad said it was a camera but hje did not look but it was floating. if anybody that reads this is in the army tell them to be nice to the aliens in 2012. in the uk they said an electonic bill boards we come in peace your planet is dieing wich is really true.so be really nice to god and always be nice to others and yourself.
First of all, the Bible is very clear that Adam and Eve are not the only people on earth. When Cain kills Abel, he begs the Lord not to force him out of the area as “all who see me will kill me”. The Lord then replies he will punish anyone who does try to harm Cain “7 times the punishment” he has bestowed on Cain. Also, early man replicated. Thats why God tells Eve she will now have a long, hard, painful pregnancy. Obviously, if that was the way it always was, then what kind of punishment would it be? Adam lived a life of luxury and his punishment was to farm on bad land. Also, the Garden of Eden was Atlantis. Eden was like the NYC of Atlantis and thats why it is “The Garden of Eden”.
Carrie please tell me you do not believe the comment in the previous post it was obviously written by someone who is not a follower of Christ but of the world!! 2 Timothy 3:15-17 states that the scriptures are holy and able to make one wise into salvation. They are given by inspiration(by God) profitable for doctrine,reproof,correction and instruction in righteousness. That the man of God (not the world) may be complete throughly furnished (with what one needs to know to be right with God) unto all good works. Do not take ones mans word for what is right the bible says work out your own salvation with fear and trembling ( Philippians 2:12) it is crucial that we know the plan of salvation and the way in which to receive His blessings and Hope of eternal life. The only place to find those answers are in the bible the true and living Word of God!
I needed this exact explanation for an essay! Thanks! I am only 13, though, but I am strong in my faith. So thank you for this great scripture by scripture explanation!
Don’t people know that the book now published as the Bible and revered as God’s words, is simply a creation of man, in fact, many men. It is a collection of short stories, Readers Digest could do it better, and in no way can or should be taken, not just literally, but in any way representing how the earth, its peoples and it many religions and cults, were commenced. As much as God lovers want to believe it, the Earth evolved over millions of years and is still evolving. Man (including women) both create and destroy as they evolve. Millions were killed over the years because of religious dogma. the Bible is only one book that should be read to seek the truth. There is evidence that a man name Jesus lived and was a carpenter. He was born out of wedlock, meaning that Mary and Joseph were not married, hence, in some circles he was a bastard, another man-made name. Mary was not a virgin, she simply wasn’t married so the fiction of Immaculate Conception was created to best fit what those in control of the masses wanted to present her. Is that so hard to accept? In my youth it wasn’t uncommon for girls to claim they got pregnant because they sat on a toilet seat obviously after a man had, really folk, that’s what was said. There is evidence that a man called Jesus was crucified and was buried in a cave. But he didn’t arise from the dead, he simply did not die. Crucifixion alone doesn’t kill people, hanging on the cross for several days will. So, no mystery there, like it or not. There is evidence that Jesus lived and died in his 70s somewhere in what we not called Europe, that he married and had children. Hollywood’s version of the Bible story, and there has been many, is as true as the real version, which is that it is simply not true.
So folk, it nice to go to church and pray and meet nice people, then go out into the real world and “sin” (“Sin” another man-made notion) again, but at least don’t fool yourself about all of this.
A basic mistake people make with the biblical text is they want to fit the naration to todays style of writing. The first 3 chapters are in no way a genealogy nor a historical account with our expectations for precision. The text is not giving us a detailed account of creation, its a story of origin. Therefore it’s style is not an detailed story. It tells us of a perfect creation, the fall of this creation, and it hints at God’s plan for our salvation.
Try to answer these questions
Time span betwen creation and the fall, betwen the fall and the murder of Able
at the time of the fall how many chidren did Adma and Eve have, wath was the population at the story of Cain and Able?
Expecting answers from silence is unreasanable so is pointing at errors from taht same silence.
The general message of the Bible is not scientific, it’s God seaching for siners to save them, at least those who will admit to who they realy are.
Seek God you will find He is already seeking you.
According to midrashic literature, Adam’s first wife was not Eve but a woman named Lilith, who was created in the first Genesis account. Only when Lilith rebelled and abandoned Adam did God create Eve. Which explains why there are two type of women on earth.. Those who are women and highly Independent are children of Lilith and women who are depeded on Men are Children of EVE…Lilith was not dependant on Adam she wanted to do things her own way.. She left Adam and God said.. It is not good for a man to be left alone… I shall make him a help meat. All you have to do is look in the bible and see the word Lilith.. Look up the word and you will find the truth.
Hi Anthony,
Apologies that I assumed that you’ve got a Bible handy with you. Let me point you to this website where you can read the Bible:
http://www.biblegateway.com/
If you give me your address, I will personally send you a Bible. Anyway, there are a number of translations of the Bible for people who don’t understand English but you could use the New International Version or the King James Version. Please note that the original texts of the Bible were Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. By the way, here’s another fact of the Bible:
- Fact 05: The Bible is the most quoted, the most published, the most translated and the most influential book in the history of mankind…
To give you a better picture of the Bible, it is divided into two sections being the Old Testament and the New Testament, which contains 39 and 27 books respectively. The Old Testament was written many centuries before Christ (I have mentioned different manuscripts discovered at 1000 years interval dating a couple of centuries before Christ) and the New Testament after (there are about 24,000 hand written manuscripts with copies from as early as 25 years after the date of writing).
- Fact 06: The Bible is better verified and exonerated, than any other document in all of human history.
This is not the first time that the validity of the Bible was questioned. The Bible has been watched, criticized, scrutinized, examined, commented on and evaluated for thousands of years and has consistently been proven to be reliable, accurate, and an exact representation of the original documents penned. As I have previously mentioned, the Bible has most manuscripts in possession than any other document of antiquity, which makes it the most valid historical document in the world. If we are to question its validity despite the fact that it has most manuscripts available, then we are just saying that all historical documents are questionable as well.
BIBLICAL PROPHECIES: Many prophecies were written in the Old Testament although there are also prophecies in the New Testament e.g. Jesus Christ prophesied about His death, etc. but anyway, there Messianic prophecies and Non-messianic prophecies. Allow me to point you to a few websites among many others since there are hundreds of fulfilled prophecies. There are also books published on Biblical prophecies and others still to be published. Anyway, kindly visit the following websites and read through them:
http://westfieldalliancechurch.org/theodds.htm (topic of the fulfilled Messianic prophesies of the Bible in light of mathematical probability with links to fulfilled prophecies)
http://www.godonthe.net/evidence/messiah.htm (some list with dates when it was written)
http://evidence4christianity.blogspot.com.au/2009/01/6.html
http://www.greatcom.org/resources/areadydefense/ch06/default.htm (non-messianic prophecies)
http://christiananswers.net/q-aiia/jesus-odds.html
BIBLICAL MESSAGE: “…and considering its general relevance, one is forced to question or at least wonder whether or not the Bible’s original message has been distorted somewhere along the way.” and I agree that it is very possible that one will wonder of probable distortion of Biblical message… (Note: This is satan’s trick and people just don’t know.)
>>> First, let us differentiate writing/recording of the book and copying. The 1600yrs span among 40 individuals is the writing of the whole Bible, which may have initially been undertaken in about 1500BC during the time of Moses. Manuscripts and copies of the books already written would have been passed down through many generations among the Israelites. Please note that these books written is the history of the Israelites as a nation which means that these manuscripts are very important to them which they will preserve at all costs. Similarly for any nation now, we preserve our history and whatever historical document we have. And as the original documents wore out from age and use, the Jews made new handwritten copies and here’s how they copied the manuscripts:
“They used every imaginable safeguard, no matter how cumbersome or laborious, to ensure the accurate transmission of the text. The number of letters in a book was counted and its middle letter was given. Similarly with the words, and again the middle word of the book was noted…”
>>> Second, we need to define what distortion of Biblical message means. Is it spelling or words used to represent the original text or arrangement of words like Jesus Christ instead of Christ Jesus or is it the whole message? We have established that history will always be preserved at all costs and that there are numerous copies of manuscripts of the Bible where we could compare the translated Bible. But if we talk about the Bible’s original message, it actually has something to do with the prophecies being fulfilled especially the Messianic prophecies. Most of the writers of the Old Testament are prophets and if one prophet has been handed down a book written by another prophet who came before him, I could not imagine what distortion was done if the prophecy was fulfilled anyway. The chances of one man fulfilling all the prophecies is just a staggering probability and if there is distortion, one could always compare it with the fulfillment of the prophecy whether it’s consistent or not.
>>> Third, we could start looking at errors that man can possibly do to distort the Scriptures but forget what God could do to preserve His Word and convey His truth to His people. God knows satan’s lies and scheming to destroy His Word and God also knows what man can do. The bottom line of why people question the validity of the Bible is basically their belief in God. I think people who question the validity of the Bible should first prove that there is no God before they question if God is even able to preserve His Word and lead His people to His truth (not man’s truth). It is just not right that people point to mistakes and error of people to prove the existence of God.
This is why I told you that it will NEVER hurt to ask God that He reveal Himself to you if He really does exist. And if He reveals Himself to you, you will not be the first one because there are many others who had personally encountered and experienced God not just once but many times. I’m one of them…
God bless you my friend!
Hi Anthony,
Apologies that I assumed that you’ve got a Bible handy with you. Let me point you to this website where you can read the Bible:
http://www.biblegateway.com/
If you give me your address, I will personally send you a Bible. Anyway, there are a number of translations of the Bible for people who don’t understand English but you could use the New International Version or the King James Version. Please note that the original texts of the Bible were Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. By the way, here’s another fact of the Bible:
- Fact 05: The Bible is the most quoted, the most published, the most translated and the most influential book in the history of mankind…
To give you a better picture of the Bible, it is divided into two sections being the Old Testament and the New Testament, which contains 39 and 27 books respectively. The Old Testament was written many centuries before Christ (I have mentioned different manuscripts discovered at 1000 years interval dating a couple of centuries before Christ) and the New Testament after (there are about 24,000 hand written manuscripts with copies from as early as 25 years after the date of writing).
- Fact 06: The Bible is better verified and exonerated, than any other document in all of human history.
This is not the first time that the validity of the Bible was questioned. The Bible has been watched, criticized, scrutinized, examined, commented on and evaluated for thousands of years and has consistently been proven to be reliable, accurate, and an exact representation of the original documents penned. As I have previously mentioned, the Bible has most manuscripts in possession than any other document of antiquity, which makes it the most valid historical document in the world. If we are to question its validity despite the fact that it has most manuscripts available, then we are just saying that all historical documents are questionable as well.
BIBLICAL PROPHECIES: Many prophecies were written in the Old Testament although there are also prophecies in the New Testament e.g. Jesus Christ prophesied about His death, etc. but anyway, there Messianic prophecies and Non-messianic prophecies. Allow me to point you to a few websites among many others since there are hundreds of fulfilled prophecies. There are also books published on Biblical prophecies and others still to be published. Anyway, kindly visit the following websites and read through them:
http://westfieldalliancechurch.org/theodds.htm (topic of the fulfilled Messianic prophesies of the Bible in light of mathematical probability with links to fulfilled prophecies)
http://www.godonthe.net/evidence/messiah.htm (some list with dates when it was written)
http://evidence4christianity.blogspot.com.au/2009/01/6.html
http://www.greatcom.org/resources/areadydefense/ch06/default.htm (non-messianic prophecies)
http://christiananswers.net/q-aiia/jesus-odds.html
BIBLICAL MESSAGE: “…and considering its general relevance, one is forced to question or at least wonder whether or not the Bible’s original message has been distorted somewhere along the way.” and I agree that it is very possible that one will wonder of probable distortion of Biblical message… (Note: This is satan’s trick and people just don’t know.)
>>> First, let us differentiate writing/recording of the book and copying. The 1600yrs span among 40 individuals is the writing of the whole Bible, which may have initially been undertaken in about 1500BC during the time of Moses. Manuscripts and copies of the books already written would have been passed down through many generations among the Israelites. Please note that these books written is the history of the Israelites as a nation which means that these manuscripts are very important to them which they will preserve at all costs. Similarly for any nation now, we preserve our history and whatever historical document we have. And as the original documents wore out from age and use, the Jews made new handwritten copies and here’s how they copied the manuscripts:
“They used every imaginable safeguard, no matter how cumbersome or laborious, to ensure the accurate transmission of the text. The number of letters in a book was counted and its middle letter was given. Similarly with the words, and again the middle word of the book was noted…”
>>> Second, we need to define what distortion of Biblical message means. Is it spelling or words used to represent the original text or arrangement of words like Jesus Christ instead of Christ Jesus or is it the whole message? We have established that history will always be preserved at all costs and that there are numerous copies of manuscripts of the Bible where we could compare the translated Bible. But if we talk about the Bible’s original message, it actually has something to do with the prophecies being fulfilled especially the Messianic prophecies. Most of the writers of the Old Testament are prophets and if one prophet has been handed down a book written by another prophet who came before him, I could not imagine what distortion was done if the prophecy was fulfilled anyway. The chances of one man fulfilling all the prophecies is just a staggering probability and if there is distortion, one could always compare it with the fulfillment of the prophecy whether it’s consistent or not.
>>> Third, we could start looking at errors that man can possibly do to distort the Scriptures but forget what God could do to preserve His Word and convey His truth to His people. God knows satan’s lies and scheming to destroy His Word and God also knows what man can do. The bottom line of why people question the validity of the Bible is basically their belief in God. I think people who question the validity of the Bible should first prove that there is no God before they question if God is even able to preserve His Word and lead His people to His truth (not man’s truth). It is just not right that people point to mistakes and error of people to prove the existence of God.
This is why I told you that it will NEVER hurt to ask God that He reveal Himself to you if He really does exist. And if He reveals Himself to you, you will not be the first one because there are many others who had personally encountered and experienced God not just once but many times. I’m one of them…
God bless you my friend!
Eugene, thanks for taking the time to respond. You should know that I do not own a Bible, I have only ever been to church a handful of times, and my interpretation was merely based upon the information that is provided in the article.
Since it is fact, at least by your standard, that many biblical prophecies have already been fulfilled, I was hoping you could provide me with some information to confirm this claim, and perhaps a bullet-point list of the prophecies that have been fulfilled.
Also, I have heard of the telephone game, or what you referred to as the ‘pass the message’ game, and considering its general relevance, one is forced to question or at least wonder whether or not the Bible’s original message has been distorted somewhere along the way.
Nice logic you have there Anthony but unfortunately, the Bible is not just a story book or a book of parables but it contains history preserved for thousands of years. Please allow me to give you some facts about the Bible:
- Fact 01: The Bible contains 66 books recorded by 40 different individuals.
- Fact 02: The Bible was written over a period of 1600 years.
If you have played the game “pass the message”, try queueing up 10 people and give them a story to be passed to each person and guess what’s the message received by the 10th individual – how has the story changed?
The interesting thing with the Bible is that despite the fact that all of these 40 individuals did not necessarily know each other nor even meet in their lifetime, the Bible has a unified message from cover to cover. The message is totally different from your interpretation. The Bible is not a compilation of ideas of men.
> Question 01: What could be the explanation for the unity of the Bible? (Read 2 Timothy 3:16)
- Fact 03: Many Biblical prophecies have already been fulfilled.
> Question 02: How could people know and talk about what will happen in the future? What’s the probability of one prophecy getting fulfilled? How about many prophecies getting fulfilled? (Read 2 Peter 1:20-21)
- Fact 04: There are more ancient manuscripts of the Bible discovered than any other ancient document.
First handwritten English translation of the Bible were produced in 1380 based on a Latin text originally translated from the Hebrew Masoretic Text (from about 900AD). Archeological discoveries in 1947 found manuscripts (written about 200BC) approximately 1,000 years older than previous oldest manuscripts which showed accurate transmission of the Bible. “Archeology has confirmed countless passages…” (Archeology and Bible History)
> Question 03: How could such manuscripts be preserved and texts preserved so accurately over many centuries?
These are just a few facts of the Bible but we wonder how all these facts be a reality for one Book. Unfortunately, many people try to interpret the Bible using logic because they basically do not believe in God – the Author of the Scriptures… but what’s the probability of one fact mentioned here becoming a reality for one Book? How much more for all the facts…? Indeed, there are things that happen in our lives which are not logically and scientifically possible and that we cannot truly explain. It will never hurt just to ask God to show Himself if He really exists… if we truly seek Him, He will reveal Himself.
Forget what the church has taught you but if you read through the whole Bible, the interpretation you gave about Adam, Eve, God, the Holy Spirit and being born again is really out of context. Your own interpretation may make sense to you but its totally wrong. I grew up in church but at one point in my life long time ago, I also have questioned the reality of God… thereafter, many (really many) things beyond human comprehension happened. I’m talking from experience and not from what the church told me because who knows what I will experience… It will NEVER EVER hurt you to ask God to reveal Himself to you. I will encourage you to talk to God! By the way, when you read the verses I have given, ask God to help you understand and perhaps you might want to read the whole chapter to get a better context. God bless you!