What is Original Sin?

In the second chapter of Genesis, verse 15 reads, "The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die."

It is important to note that God gave the commandment to Adam, not Eve. AFTER this God says that it is not good that man should be alone and decides to make a helper for him, in verse 21, when God creates Eve.

"21 So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh; 22 and the rib which the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. 23 Then the man said, "This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man." 24 Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh. 25 And the man and his wife were both naked, and were not ashamed."

Adam understood how important the commandment was because he shared it with Eve, as evidenced by Eve's conversation with the serpent at the tree in Genesis 3:

"1 Now the serpent was more subtle than any other wild creature that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God say, 'You shall not eat of any tree of the garden'?" 2 And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'" 4 But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons."

Here I speculate that after Eve took a bite, her eyes were opened and she knew she was up the creek. Just as misery loves company, she got Adam to take a bite.

There are two points I would like to make here: 1) That they had no business being next to the tree in the first place, and 2) Eve didn't have to go looking for Adam... he was right there.

How long did it take for God to create Heaven & Earth?

The first chapter of Genesis says that God looked upon all that he had created on the 6th day and saw that it was good. On the seventh day, Chapter 2 in the book of Genesis, God rested from all the work he had done. Interestingly enough, the bible doesn't say that God was finished, just that He rested on the seventh day. Even more interesting is that readers don't see the words "It is finished" until Jesus is on the cross. Could this mean that God's work was not completed until Jesus died on the cross - that this had been the plan all along?

Another interesting point is found in 2 Peter 3:8 which reads, "But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."

Taking this into consideration, it is apparent that the time denoted as one day in the book of Genesis is not the equivalent of one day to man. If we take the book of Genesis literally, then creation took AT LEAST 6,000 years.

Where did God come from?

If one were to ask me why I believe in God today, I can refer to my relationship with Him and His relationship with me. My belief is the sum and extension of my experiences.

If one were to ask me when and why I began to believe in God, I couldn't tell you. For as far back as I can remember I have believed in God. I don't recall ever having doubted His existence.

I'm sure my Dad's belief in God had a lot to do with shaping my belief, as did the fact that his parents were active in the church. But I don't remember ever being forced to accept anything - although I didn't always like the whole "getting ready to go to church" routine. Quite frankly, God was and continues to be for me a matter of fact.

That being said, I realized at an early age that all questions didn't have answers. The questions illuminating this fact for me were, "Who are God's parents?/Where did God come from?", "What happened before the Bible?", and "Does our universe exist inside a marble?"

As a kid these questions have caused me to rack my brain in search of an answer. I haven't been successful as of yet, but I'm still trying. :)

Welcome!

My hope is that this blog site will be a resource and inspiration for conversation and illumination about the Word of God. If you wish to be an author, please leave your email address with a brief description of yourself in the comments section of this post. I invite you to share your musings, meditations, and questions about God.

Peace be unto you.