Sign Up Now
Get instant access to over 1 million+ study documents
OR
Already registered? click here to login
By creating your account, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and student honor code.
Cain and Abel represent the competition over land resources arising out of the domestication of farm animals and the use of large swathes of land for agriculture. God's preference for Abel over Cain suggests the beginning of class conflict that continues to plague human existence.
Henry & Scott's (1835) interpretation is awash in inferences and jugements that have no basis in sincere scholarship. The authors note, "Cain was wicked and led a bad life, under the reigning power of the world and the flesh; and therefore his sacrifice was an abomination...God had no respect to Cain himself, and therefore none for his offering," (p. 40). The authors imply that Cain's agricultural work symbolizes sin because of the proximity of the man with earth. Earth, representing the pleasures of the flesh, is somehow representative of original sin and possibly evocative of the serpent that tempted Cain's mother. This interpretation is tempting to make, but the Bible does present dominion over all the earth as extending to animal husbandry as well. Thus, tending the earth and herding sheep are qualitatively similar in God's eyes. As Carmy (1996) points out, the rejection of Abel ironically bolstered Cain's ability to procreate. Cain's anger would become part of the makeup of the human race, embedded in the psychic genetic code of his progeny. It is in this light that the story is best understood. The differential treatment of Cain vs. Abel suggests that God, and life, are not as far as human beings would like. The story also implies that anger, jealousy, and resentment may be indelible in the human spirit.
References
Carmy, S. (1996). Cain, Abel, and the fairness of God. Project Genesis. Retreived online: http://www.torah.org/projects/genesis/topic1.html
Henry, M. & Scott, T. (1835). The Comprehensive Commentary on the Holy Bible: Genesis-Judges. Fessenden & Co.
Waltke, B.K. (1986). Cain and his offering. Westminster Theological Journal 48(1986): 363-372.
Walton, J.H., Matthews, V.H. & Chavalas, M.W. (2004). The IVP Bible Background Commentary. InterVarsity Press.
God Given Rights: Understanding America's Equality and Freedom The poem "On Being Brought to America" by Phillis Wheatley and The Declaration of Independence written by Thomas Jefferson share similarities on the ideals that America possesses. Each of these writings argues for their God given rights, claiming every person is equal. Each must start new: One as a Christian, the others as a government. It is the bravery and the challenge in these
Abortion In Response to Argument Against Abortion Mr. Anderson- I read your detailed and comprehensive essay detailing the arguments against abortion with a great deal of interest, and must profess a great deal of admiration for the strength of your convictions and the rational support you have mustered to their furtherance. Be that as it may, I must confess to you from the outset that I am writing to express certain confusions on
Unequal Pairs in Genesis The source of hostility experienced by humankind has a long record and an intricate web of linked causes and ascription of causes. The highly charged concerns that human beings experience in the contemporary world are as a result of something more central and at the heart of people. Abel and Cain were brothers, but brothers who felt humiliated and threatened by actions and attitudes of each other.
Pentateuch Genesis: In the Book of Genesis, God creates the universe. He begins with the creation of light and then in the following days creates all the things that exist in the world, including mankind. God wants man to be his avatar on Earth, but mankind fails him. First man and woman are thrown out of the Garden of Eden and thrust out into the cruel world. God gets so fed up
recurring themes in literature is the exploration of the relationship between the human and the divine. Several different literary works have explored that relationship. Interestingly enough, many of those works are from antiquity, so their stories are considered fictional. Others of those texts refer to living religions, so people are less likely to consider the stories from the basis of fiction or allegory, and approach them as if they
This is the Jealous God that Huston carries throughout his film as a representation of Godly power. This view also raises many associated questions; such as the fact that God must also have been the originator of the snake. In this section and in the others that follow it seems that the central impetus in the film is in reality a critique and an indictment of the God of the