Religion-Understanding the Scriptures Chapter 3

Having sinned against God, what did Adam and Eve do?

Adam and Eve ran and hid against God.

How did Adam respond when caught in his sin?

Adam blamed God for letting Eve be left alone with him.

If all of God's creation is meant to be a temple, who was the priest?

Adam was the priest.

Someone might say that if we sin sexually with our bodies, that the body is evil. Others might say that some things in the created order (like money) are evil. What does the Book of Genesis say about this way of thinking?

After God sees what he has created, he pronounces it to be good. We can do acts of evil, and still not be evil. Just like what we might do might not be evil but come across that way.

What gives our work dignity?

Bearing the image of God.

What were some of the benefits that Adam and Eve had before they sinned?

Before sinning, Adam and Eve had sanctifying grace, as well as a perfect mind and they also had freedom from death and sickness.

The woman told the serpent that she and her husband may not eat the tree in the middle of the garden or they would die. The serpent said that they would not die. Who was telling the truth, and what does this tell us about the nature of temptations in general?

Both are telling the truth and this tells us about the nature of temptations in general that they sometimes appear to be good, but also true.

Why did Cain kill Abel?

Cain killed Abel because he was jealous, he did it out of jealousy.

What is envy?

Envy is a "feeling of discontented or resentful longing aroused by someone else's possessions, qualities, or luck.

How did Eve respond for her part in the sin?

Eve blamed the serpent.

The text marks a difference between "natural life" and "supernatural life." The Book of Revelation states, "But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the polluted, as for murderers, fornicators, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their lot shall be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death" (21: 8). If there is a "second death," there must be a "first death." Using the terminology from the textbook what is the "first death"? What about the second death?

First death is the physical/natural death. The second death is the spiritual death.

What are some terms that describe the very nature of marriage?

Fruitful and permanent.

How exactly does God go about creating? What are his raw materials?

God created from nothing. God goes about creating the power of words. His raw materials are his words and what he speaks.

Who does God create to rule life, and how is this to be accomplished?

God created mankind to rule life and this is to be accomplished by the creation of animals and vegetation.

We saw earlier in this chapter (Understanding Time as a Part of Creation), that God is in all places and in all times at all times. If God was present when Adam and Eve sinned, why did he ask, "Where are you?"

God is giving Adam and Eve a chance to confess on what they have done and admit for what they have done wrong.

Explain fully God's part in the consequences of Original Sin that we received from the sin of Adam and Eve.

God makes it very hard for Adam and Eve because leaving them alone can be tempted by the devil. He wants to put some trust into them and is unable to follow through with this because of the sin.

What is the effect of the Sabbath rest on God's creation?

God sevens himself. It is a day of rest for God so that when he finishes his creation, he invites us to rest as well.

Why can human beings not dissolve a marriage?

Human beings cannot dissolve a marriage because God is the one who creates the marriage.

How do the Sacraments of the Church reinforce God's pronouncement that creation is good?

In the Sacraments of the Church, we reinforce God's pronouncement that creation is good by using water, wine, bread and oil to convey God's grace to us. We use material things for spiritual ends.

What is it about human nature that makes us most like God?

Intelligence, free will and the capacity of love.

What does it mean in Hebrew to say, "I swear a covenant"?

It means in Hebrew to say "I swear a covenant", also means"I seven myself". What is the significance of the Sabbath rest, given your answer in Question #8? The significance of the Sabbath rest is to have a day where there is on holiness and peace. It is a day to honor and a day to rest.

What is the mistake we often make in placing value on people? What is the basis of our value as persons?

Most oftenly, when we do things for other people we look at their view and what they can do for our society. We believe that every person is sacred, within God's image and how he views them.

What are the four negative consequences of the sin of Adam and Eve?

Painful childbirth, relationships married by sin, work will be toil, and physical death

Genesis 3: 15, we find the first hint of the coming of the Messiah. In Latin, the name of this "First Gospel" is _________________

Protoevangelium

Is the theory, or are theories of evolution necessarily in conflict with the Bible? (Refer back to the section "Is it True?" if necessary.)

Sacred writers used literary forms, so Hebrew History was not written the same way that most things are written today. It tells us the truth about relationships with God and the truth of it.

In our day there is a lot of discussion about whether the Bible's account of creation can be believed as true. How would you answer this?

Science does not back up the Bible but the holy spirit does. The word of God is conveyed through the message of the holy spirit.

When the name "Yahweh" or "Lord" is being used to describe God, which of his attributes did the biblical writer wish to emphasize?

The attribute of covenantal love is the attribute the biblical writer wanted to emphasize, when writing the name "Yahweh" or "Lord".

We have seen in Genesis 3 the true nature of sin and temptation. Commonly (and sometimes comically) we see in movies, television, and cartoons, a little devil standing on someone's left shoulder enticing them to do evil, and a little angel on the person's right shoulder trying to persuade them to do good. While this makes for lively entertainment, it has very little to do with real life. Explain how all temptation to sin is similar to the temptation suered by Adam and Eve in Genesis 3.

The devil tempts us every single day and it tempts Eve through lies and convincing. Our conscience helps us override this feeling provided throughout the devil.

What does Genesis describe as the rulers of space?

The fish rule the ocean and the birds run the sky.

The textbook describes God's Word with a capital "W." What does this mean? (For more enlightenment, see John 1: 1-5.)

The same word had become flesh and had dwelt among us, this is Jesus himself.

What does Genesis describe as the rulers of time?

The stars and the moon

What does the Hebrew term nahash tell us about the nature of the serpent who tricked Adam and Eve?

The term "nahash" tells us about the nature of the serpent who tricked Adam and Eve that they were much worse and much deadlier than the snake.

Where is one of the areas where the theory of evolution is in conflict with our Faith, and why is it a point?

Theory of evolution believes that the universe was created from a big bang, whereas our faith believes that God created the universe in its entirety and everything in it. This is a point in conflict because there are clashing perspectives and views between the two theories.

The text tells us that God first creates forms and then fills them with inhabitants. Someone unfamiliar with Hebrew poetry might say that the creation story makes no sense because light is created three days before the sun. Understanding that Scripture uses dierent literary forms, how would you answer this?

This does not have to do with science but with religious truths. God created a world for us all to live in and created the inhabitants for rem.

What are the three forms that God created in the first three days of his work?

Time, space and life.

Jesus says, "Whatever you do to the least of my brethren, you do for me." How can this be literally true? Apply what you've learned about God's eternal nature.

We can put this into literary context by saying what we would do for God himself. We should do what is looked down upon. He is present within all of us.

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (404) what exactly do we inherit from Adam and Eve?

We inherit original sin from Adam and Eve.

When did God create marriage?

When he created Adam and Eve, God created marriage. "Be fruitful and multiply" is what he said.

What do we mean when we say that God is eternal?

When we say that God is eternal we mean that God oversees everything and is always present in our lives. He has always been present and forever will be present.

When the name "Elohim" is being used to describe God, which of his attributes did the biblical writer wish to emphasize?

When writing the name "Elohim", the attributes he wanted the biblical writer to emphasize is having the power as a creator.