Cain and Abel

Bowser

Bowser

Namaste
Valued Senior Member
So, what was Canes sin? I understand that jealousy drove him to murder, but prior to that, what had he done?

Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”
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BibleGateway
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+4
 
Bowser said:
So, what was Canes sin? I understand that jealousy drove him to murder, but prior to that, what had he done?


BibleGateway
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis 4
Click to expand...
It's a very unclear and unsatisfactory story, in a number of ways.

We are told Cain and Abel both made sacrifices to God but God preferred Abel's. Why this was, we are not told, however. This is said to be what makes Cain jealous. We are told they are the sons of Adam and Eve, but they have families and we are not told where their wives came from......

Incest? Or just an unconnected story, that someone has tried half-heartedly to connect to Adam and Eve.

Interestingly, I see from Wiki that this story seems to be a version of a more general, ancient myth about nomadic shepherds vs. settled farmers (Abel being the nomad in this case), so it may have its origins in conflicts between these two ways of life in the epoch when agriculture was developing. So in that sense a bit like the story of Noah's Flood.
 
exchemist said:
It's a very unclear and unsatisfactory story, in a number of ways.
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I agree. Some assumptions need be made that Cane had previously made God angry and couldn't gain favor with his offerings.

Could it also be assumed that murdering his brother was not only an act of jealousy but also a way of giving God the finger?
 
Bowser said:
I agree. Some assumptions need be made that Cane had previously made God angry and couldn't gain favor with his offerings.

Could it also be assumed that murdering his brother was not only an act of jealousy but also a way of giving God the finger?
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I think there's a risk of overinterpreting something so unsatisfactory. Personally, I think it is pretty hard to get anything useful out of this story, save possibly for an illustration of Original Sin in action.
 
Bowser said:
So, what was Canes sin? I understand that jealousy drove him to murder, but prior to that, what had he done?
Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”
Click to expand...
BibleGateway
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis 4
Click to expand...

Caan's sin was jealousy. The reason for God's displeasure isn't important. It's a parable for anyone in life preferring someone else to you.
God didn't rebuke him for his offering, only for his reaction to it not being accepted, as if he were entitled to acceptance.

A sense of entitlement and a demand for acceptance lead to sin.
 
Vociferous said:
Caan's sin was jealousy. The reason for God's displeasure isn't important. It's a parable for anyone in life preferring someone else to you.
God didn't rebuke him for his offering, only for his reaction to it not being accepted, as if he were entitled to acceptance.

A sense of entitlement and a demand for acceptance lead to sin.
Click to expand...
Well, God sighted Cane's shortcomings prior to the murder of Abel. It would seem that pissed off Cane even more, causing him to react the way he did.

Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”
Click to expand...
 
exchemist said:
We are told Cain and Abel both made sacrifices to God but God preferred Abel's. Why this was, we are not told, however. This is said to be what makes Cain jealous. We are told they are the sons of Adam and Eve, but they have families and we are not told where their wives came from......
Click to expand...

Cain's sacrifice was based on pride, and not a sacrifice.
Abel's was based on honesty, integrity, and love of God.

There is no where in genesis, where we are told sepecifically that Adam and Eve were the first two human beings ever.
In fact we are told that on the sixth day God created man and woman, and instructed them to go forth and multiply.
Then our attention is brought to the creation of one man, Adam, and eventually a mate, Eve.
It stands to reason that Eve could have played away with any one of those humans that were previously created, or the beguiler.

jan.
 
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