♰ Bible Study by Abouna Angelos 2018 Oct 10 Reviewing Genesis 1-3 Starting Genesis 4 review image of god good and evil bible vs science don’t assume things not written in the text don’t create your own interpretation don’t be hooked on day = 24h these distractions create a problem between science and religion this should never happen do we need to argue that scientific discoveries are wrong? no cannot say things about science god gave us the bible he also gave us the creation scientists discover how god did what he did bible = why science = how and when nothing to be extrapolated about the creation he had a hierarchy and and order taho baho - 2 sets of events but the question about how is left to the other book of god which is creation itself the world is there to tell us about the creator pay attention to the sun moon stars trees grass flowers weather snow seasons these are all a book for us to look at there is a piece from the psalms very much to the point Psalms 8:3-4 3 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, 4 What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him? When you look at the creation, there is a big discovery about the awesomeness of the creator. We ponder this and say, “why do you give us too much attention?” Who are we? We’re nothing! When you look at the big bang, the galaxies, spreading out, you begin to ponder who is the artist who created all this? Therefore who is man? This verse puts us in the right place. We are very little in God’s great cosmos. Very beneficial for us to look at creation and not ignore it as something for scientists to look at. Problem of today. We’re too busy. We live in a man-made world. Concrete, computers, cell phones. We are locked in a cell. The walls of it are made by humans. We seldom get out of it to look at nature. It brings us back to that period when God started everything and put man in the midst of it. Keep this in mind when considering the Genesis account. There is also something about Intelligence. In the Philokalia, the works of the desert monks. There is a work attributed to St. Anthony, but most think it is the work of Greek philosophers. Volume 1 Appendix Attributed to St. Anthony the Great, but doubtful Men are often called intelligent wrongly. Intelligent men are not those who are erudite in sayings of wise men of old but those who have an intelligent soul and know what is good and evil. “Men are often called intelligent wrongly. Intelligent men are not those who are erudite in the sayings and books of the wise men of old, but those who have an intelligent soul and can discriminate between good and evil. They avoid what is sinful and harms the soul; and with deep gratitude to God they resolutely adhere by dint of practice to what is good and benefits the soul. These men alone should truly be called intelligent.” St. Antony the Great, On the Character of Men and on the Virtuous Life. 2 questions 1. Was work a punishment, added after the fall of man? 2. Was sexuality a need, since we are going to die, added on later? Genesis 2:15 Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. Genesis 1:22 And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” Seventh Day Sabbath: complete stillness Story about the Sabbath elevators of New York If we assume the six days are periods of time, then the seventh day is a period of time, and we are in it. They say the resurrection of Christ moves into the eighth day, the re-creation after the sabbath. God did not stay still on the Sabbath: Genesis 2:3 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made. The Sabbath is not the day of no work. It is a day of a different kind of work. This is the day God meets his people. Blessing is the restore to perfection. That is one of the meanings of the blessing. Sometimes we think of blessing as for God to bestow health, prosperity. When we see Christ on the sabbath, he is blessing us to perfection. Sanctifying is to bring us to the presence of god, to be his possession, his family. Blessing and sanctification are two things that go together. Question: Where did the number 7 come from? The Rabbis say: Day = exchange of darkness and light Week = seven days; made by God; does not follow any of these others; made by God; Perfect Number Month = cycle of the moon Year = cycle of the sun This is a liturgical point We have to study the bible from five points When you do the prayer of the bathing of the baby: it’s done on the seventh day, with seven candles. Why? Here is a baby, new creation, just emerged, like the earth coming out of the water. We remind ourselves by the number which God created the world. Unction of the sick: We pray seven prayers Light seven candles Because God knitted his creation together with the number 7 But for a Christian, the number is really 8 Our fallen creation was restored not only to live but to eternal life The life that will last Eternal Life vs Immortality Eternal Life: Person cannot be prevented from living. Immortality: Elves were immortal, unless they are killed. Adam was supposed to be immortal, but the devil got him before God gave him eternity. That is the seventh day vs. eighth day. Let’s go to chapter 4 Five points Biblical Theology: What do I understand from the story Dogmatic Theology: What do we believe? (Like the creed.) God is the creator of heaven and earth of all things seen and unseen. Father: Origin, blueprint Son: Designer, Architect Spirit: Animator, gives life Ritual: God is a god of order. We have to do things in order. God made a seventh day, day of blessing and sanctifying. God made significant lines between darkness and light, good and evil, earth sky, water above and water below. Demarcation around the garden of even. We notice this in the church and the creed. Moral: Commandment to be fruitful, not to eat, etc. Spiritual: There is a mode of thinking in God’s way. God said “Let us make man.” Before god made us, he thought about us. Before we pray, we think about him. Adam did not speak to God about a woman. He yearned in his heart. God did not need him to speak. God gave him a helper comparable to him. He fulfilled the desire of Adam without needing to hear from him. Sometimes when my heart and tongue are saying different things, that is hypocrisy. When my tongue says, “Laud Him all you peoples,” and my heart says, “I have to pay my debts,” that is hypocrisy. Moral again: temptation. Devil came to tempt with something you should not look at or meditate on. Temptation = ? The enticement, lure, to break a commandment. Is temptation sin? No. The enticement comes. If we have the Holy Spirit alive in us, we will be able to say firmly, “No.” Sometimes temptations are harsh. A couple days ago a convert from Islam her father died. They took her to the mosque. They asked her to hide the cross. Everybody, even Christians from the church, said, bow with them. She kept her cross. They were afraid of her more than she was afraid of them. Temptation has 2 ways: a) pleasure b) threat Serpent in the garden = NAHASH = something to devour, describes a big, scary creature. Implied threat to the life of the couple if they don’t listen. ‘You surely will not die’ i.e., otherwise if you don’t listen to me you will die. Shame. How Adam got ashamed. The reason why, he felt naked, felt like God left him naked. Nakedness is necessary for intimacy. There is nothing about them that is not acceptable and lovable in the sight of God. This could be a weakness when we turn it upside down, when we say, you’re not good, there is something weak in you, I’m going to look for something in you to pick on. In the relationship with God, in the sacrament of confession, we get naked and don’t hide anything. Jesus is naked on the cross, and here we are in a marriage. Genesis Chapter 4 “Two Genealogies” Genesis 4:1 1 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, “I have acquired a man from the LORD.” Cain complex. They become spoiled by their mother. “Eve’s upbringing.” When things don’t go their way, they want to kill for it. God favors the shepherds. David Moses Farmers are not that worthy. Noah acted like a farmer, planting a vineyard, getting drunk, cursing his grandchild. Why do you think God did not accept the offering of Cain. 1 John 3:11-12 11 For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, 12 not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother's righteous. Genesis 4:9 9 Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?” Genesis 4:10 10 And He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood cries out to Me from the ground. Notice that he has no respect for God. He has no idea who God is to him! He has no relationship whatsoever. He doesn’t want to deal with God. He doesn’t want to be accountable to God. Genesis 4:7 7 “If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.” The issue is not the offering itself. The issue is the manner of life. We need to look at this. It casts a petty image on God to think it is about the offering. It’s not about the offering. It’s about what it means inside your heart. garden holy of holies east of the garden to where they were exiled the holy nostalgia, lived close to it remember their good days Cain coming out of that place to the extremes of the earth the outer court 2 genealogies Adam - begins with god Cain - begins with Cain - what else polygamy rough guys - Lamech vengeful creative - technology + music Jabal: tents + livestock Jubal: harp + flute Tubal: bronze + iron Cain started the work of invention, because he’s going to have to depend upon himself with technology comes makeup daughters of Cain went haywire it’s going to be a big struggle to keep god in the picture even the children of god are going to be intermingled with the children of Cain things will go wrong In your reading of the Bible, consider your: faith - understanding dogma - fathers’ understanding liturgy - order - worship morality - do right spirit - think before you pray Movie Reference: https://www.amazon.com/Island-Pyotr-Mamonov/dp/B071JXBP52