Our first Ancient Text to study is Genesis. After God discovers that Adam & Eve have eaten from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil He punishes all of mankind. Our question from todays reading (Genesis 1-11), is is it fair to punish or reward some people for the actions of another? What does our culture say? What does scripture say? Romans 5 and 1 Corinthians 15:20-22 may give you some food for thought. Please let us know your opinion in the comments section below.
3 comments:
I think that it is not fair that God punishes use for sins others have done. Just because Adam and Eve sinned doesn’t mean we should be punished thousands of years later, we’re not the ones who did it. It is not fair because we can’t control what people in the past did and we shouldn’t be punished for something we can not control. People can make their own choices and we do deserve to be punished, but not for something we didn’t do. ~Amy
After thinking about this for a day, I've begun to look at Genesis like I've never done before. That I think is the beauty of rereading Great Books. If it's a great book, there should be multiple layers to peel and see. I don't just think the Bible is just one of the "great books," it is also my foundation. To answer the question from my perspective, God gave us free will from creation. Eve chose to sin. God knew that once evil was in the world that others would to. I don't see his punishment as unproductive or punitive either, but preventitive of future careless sins. Adam & Eve had only to care for the earth and the animals and enjoy it's beauty. They proved that when left to their own, without enough to do, that they would get in trouble. Which is what of course happened. The perfect way to prevent this from happening again, is to keep them busy. So now they'll have to work the land and have less time to cause trouble. When God punished women with the pain of childbirth, I thought to myself, maybe this term doesn't mean the literal act of childbirth, maybe it includes child-rearing. There is nothing more painful than watching your children go down the wrong path. If you believe in the the Bible, than you must believe that God felt this pain when he saw his children go the wrong way. I don't see this so much as a punishment, but as a consequence of evil coming into the world. Just like our children, we need guidance and punishment in the form of consequences of our actions.
Blessings, Michelle in AL
Is it fair that God punishes a group of people or all people for just one person’s wrongdoing? Yes, because God would know beforehand if the people he was punishing as a whole would commit the same sin as the one who did, and if they would commit the same wrongdoing, He could go ahead and punish them saving them from committing that sin. God is a fair God and he will make the right decisions…. If he punishes us it is for a reason, not just out of random wrath and anger.~Anna
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