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No 'paradise lost'
For the Lesson titled "Adam and Fallen Man" from May 6 - 12, 2013
In this week’s Bible Lesson, titled “Adam and Fallen Man,” a timely request comes to us from the prophet Isaiah: “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord” (1:18, citation 1).
So then let’s examine the two conflicting Hebrew creation stories found in Genesis. In the first story, man is created in the image and likeness of God, Spirit, and “behold, it was very good” (see Genesis 1:26, 31, cit. 2). The second story begins with a mist (one might say, mystification) and tells us the Lord God created man from “dust” (see Genesis 2:6–7, cit. 5). The Responsive Reading informs us, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (II Timothy 3:16).
These two independent, contradictory creation stories, written approximately 400 years apart, are not in chronological order in the biblical text. The earlier, matter-based Adam story tells us Yahweh, the Lord God of the Covenant with Israel, created a material man capable of sin, and then punished him by exile from His presence. It is attributed to the Yahwist documents written from the tenth to ninth centuries bc . The later spiritual creation story tells us God, Elohim, created perfection by divine declaration. This story is attributed to the Priestly narrative documents, written during the time of the Babylonian Exile between the sixth to fifth centuries bc . During the Exile, the worship of the Lord God of Israel evolved into an understanding of the universal God of spiritual creation.
Enjoy 1 free Sentinel article or audio program each month, including content from 1898 to today.
May 6, 2013 issue
View Issue-
Letters
Jane Carey, Maggie Johnson
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On finding health, only health
Barbara Vining
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An answer to prayer
Marsha Cobb
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It all adds up
Madora Kibbe
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Dealing with competition
Heather Libbe, The Harrisons, Amanda Weitman, Gillian Fife Rees
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'The dearest spot on earth'
Cate Vincent
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Staying on top of the news
Michelle Nanouche
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Baptism
Photograph by Laurie Scott
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No 'paradise lost'
Karen Merryweather Bailey
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A way to love
Janet Hegarty
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Fight bullying with prayer
Karl Garrett
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Healing on a ski trip
John Kohler
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From cataract to clarity
Nancy Gingras
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Skin cancer and body pain gone
Chris Wye
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Removal of fear yields healing
Emily Sander
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No more Parkinson's disease
Bradford Moore Boyd
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Real indestructibility
The Editors