Cain and Abel

Bowser said:
I understand that jealousy drove him to murder, but prior to that, what had he done?
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It may be that something has been lost in the retelling but as it stands, the story shows God's arbitrary nature. He picked Abel over Cain for no clear reason. Similarly, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9) He saves according to His whim, not because of anything we do.
 
sideshowbob said:
It may be that something has been lost in the retelling but as it stands, the story shows God's arbitrary nature. He picked Abel over Cain for no clear reason. Similarly, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9) He saves according to His whim, not because of anything we do.
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I would conclude he saw in Abel what was missing in Cain. The sacrifice might be symbolic in gesture, but simply doing a good deed is not in itself a sacrifice. In a way you're right, Bob; but the story is probably more meaningful than you give it credit.
 
Bowser said:
In a way you're right, Bob; but the story is probably more meaningful than you give it credit.
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I'm only going by what's actually in the story. You can speculate all you like about why God preferred Abel but the story doesn't say. To speculate that there was no reason is just as valid.
 
sideshowbob said:
I'm only going by what's actually in the story. You can speculate all you like about why God preferred Abel but the story doesn't say. To speculate that there was no reason is just as valid.
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I think it is biblically clear whywAbel's offering was rejected...

And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. Abel also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell (Genesis 4:4,5).

Abel accepted what the Lord had intended as meat...

Gen 1:29 - And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

Having dominion over animals, or people does not mean you are entitled to to eat them. Cain was not following God's instruction, wherasw, Abel, was.

Jan.

 
Jan Ardena said:
Having dominion over animals, or people does not mean your you entitled to to eat them. Cain was not following God's instruction, wherasw, Abel, was.
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But that's backwards. Cain brought the veggies, Abel brought the meat. If fruit was the only acceptable food, Cain should have been the preferred one.
 
Jan Ardena said:
I think it is biblically clear whywAbel's offering was rejected...

And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. Abel also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell (Genesis 4:4,5).

Abel accepted what the Lord had intended as meat...

Gen 1:29 - And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

Having dominion over animals, or people does not mean you are entitled to to eat them. Cain was not following God's instruction, wherasw, Abel, was.

Jan.
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My bad, on this oneo It was AbelA be who brought the meat, not Cain.

It waswdue to the elaborate way Cain had prepared his offeringo thinking that God would accept it on that basis. Whereas Abel was very humble with his preparation.
You're right though, that is not expressed. My bad.

Jan.
 
A lot of fuss & furor over a myth.

Of course there are many who view the bible as the word of god rather than a lot of myths. Let them argue over the myths.

BTW: If forced due some law to choose a religion rather than professing atheism, I would choose the Greek pantheon.
 
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
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Cain & Abel each offered something from their work. 1 worked with plants & the other worked with animals. There is no indication that 1 would be good & the other not. God rejecting Cain was abusive.
If god was so pleased with Abel, why the heck did he allow him to be killed. The whole thing is stupid frigging bullshit, regardless of where the story came from.
IF somehow we could know the story is true, it would be an example of god's insanity.

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Jan Ardena said:
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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The police were called & told a crime was committed at 1210 Emerald Drive. Detectives arrived & began questioning witnesses.

Hmmm The story does not say detectives arrived at 1210 Emerald Drive so maybe they were questioning witnesses 3 counties away about something unrelated to 1210 Emerald Drive.

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Cain murdered Adam, his Father. And Eve? "Later she gave birth to his Brother, Abel." Gideon's Bible.

"...and your eyes shall be opened, knowing both good and evil." Gideon's Bible.
 
StrangerInAStrangeLand said:
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The police were called & told a crime was committed at 1210 Emerald Drive. Detectives arrived & began questioning witnesses.

Hmmm The story does not say detectives arrived at 1210 Emerald Drive so maybe they were questioning witnesses 3 counties away about something unrelated to 1210 Emerald Drive.

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In other words, it is an incomplete story, at best, which we can only try to puzzle out. This crap is supposed to be THE WORD of an omnipotent god.
I know goofballs who say Noah was the 1st sailor simply because he is the 1st mentioned. OTOH, we have goofballs who say we should not assume the 1st people mentioned being created were the 1st people created.
Obviously, the Holy Babble was not meant to be clear to us.

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