Dr Paul Allen

Many of us are familiar with the Adam and Eve story. According to the Old Testament's Book of Genesis, God creates the universe, the stars, the sky, the animals, and eventually, the people. Things were going just fine until the world's first couple decided to question authority. Lo and behold: Eve and Adam lose their fine, fine nature preserve where they had everything they needed. While it's easy to read this story as a symbolic tale like any other fable — a loss of innocence, the dangers of accepting bad apples from creepy, snakey folks (Snow White, we're looking at you) — some people actually believe that there was a physical place somewhere on Earth where the Garden of Eden resided. At this point, it's important to remember that Genesis is the first book of the Jewish Torah, believed to be a divine manifestation of cosmic law written as a religious text to codify instructions from God. At the time it was written, it didn't just refer to abstractions like ...

Question: In the Garden of Eden , the serpent told Eve that if she and Adam ate of the forbidden fruit, they would be “as gods” (Gen. 3:5 KJV). Then in Genesis 3:22 God says, “Behold, the man has become like one of us” ( NASB ). Does “gods” and “us” imply the existence of more than one God? Answer: Not at all. The usual Hebrew term for “God” is ʾelōhím, which is the plural of ʾelôah. It is occasionally used as a true plural, referring to the imaginary gods of the heathen. But usually it refers to the one true God, and the plural ending is known to Hebrew grammarians as the “plural of majesty.” Like ʾadōním (“lords” or “Lord”) and beʿālím (plural of baʿal, “lord,” “master,” “owner,” “husband”), ʾelōhím also may be used to give a heightened impressiveness of majesty to God. As such, this plural is modified by adjectives in the singular and takes a singular verb. In the case of the serpent, serving as Satan’s mouthpiece, his previous uses of ʾelōhím (3:1,5a) are unquestionably...

God cares about what's going on in our hearts. In any decision we have the opportunity to choose who we will worship. Will we worship God or will we worship ourselves? God desires to be the highest priority in every part of our lives. In some areas of life it's clear that there are right decisions and wrong decisions—like the choice of whether to cheat on an exam. In other areas, we need to make choices between two good things—like making a decision between two great colleges. It's quite possible God would be present in and honored by either decision. Other times the choice may have to do with a gray area—something that's not necessarily right or wrong. These are opportunities to practice wisdom. For example, spending a lot of time talking on the phone or texting friends may be a good thing. But if there's never any time when we are just quiet and still, it can be harder for us to be aware of God's presence. Being wise might mean turning the phone off from ti...

The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame. [Gen. 2:25] It may seem strange that Adam and Eve were not ashamed of their nakedness before they fell into sin. Yet afterward their first thought seems to have been the shame of their uncovering. This needs to be understood in the context of Genesis 3, where, after they sinned against God, “the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked” (3:7). This verse does not say they realized they had sinned. Rather, the first change in their psychology was the overwhelming realization of their nakedness, and their first impulse was to cover themselves. When God asked Adam why he was hiding Adam said it was because he was naked (v. 10). He had been naked when God spoke with him before. What was different now? Adam was no longer comfortable being naked in God’s presence. A deep psychological connection exists between nakedness and shame. Two things stand out in this passage. The first is that each of u...

English: Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil עברית: חטא עץ הדעת - ד"ר לידיה קוזניצקי (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) There were two trees standing side by side in the garden of Eden which had a peculiar symbolical or sacramental character. The one was called the Tree of Life , the other the Tree of Knowledge.  The former was the symbol of life, and its fruit was not to be eaten except on the condition of man’s retaining his integrity. Whether the fruit of that tree had inherent virtue to impart life, i.e., to sustain the body of man in its youthful vigour and beauty, or gradually to refine it until it should become like to what the glorified body of Christ now is, or whether the connection between eating its fruit and immortality was simply conventional and sacramental, we cannot determine. It is enough to know that partaking of that tree secured in some way the enjoyment of eternal life .  That this was the fact is plain, not only because man after his transgression w...

English: Job's Sons and Daughters Overwhelmed by Satan, by William Blake. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Satan is a source of adversity: Satan. In one sense he is ultimately behind all adversity. He is directly responsible for Adam and Eve’s being led astray and, therefore, for the calamity that followed. However, his involvement in adversity extends far beyond his activity in the Garden of Eden . He is alive and active today. Several biblical accounts illustrate Satan’s role in adversity. The clearest example is the story of Job. Those who attribute all adversity to sin of some kind or a lack of faith have a difficult time with this narrative. They attribute Job’s problems to his pride or the sin of his children. But the writer puts those theories to rest in the first verse of the book. There was a man in the land of Uz , whose name was Job, and that man was blameless, upright, fearing God , and turning away from evil.  Job 1:1 , emphasis Later in the same chapter God Himsel...

Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Oftentimes adversity comes as a result of our own doing. Jesus ’ disciples were not completely off base in their approach to discerning the cause behind the man’s blindness. Adversity is in many cases the result of sin. In fact, sin always results in adversity of some kind. James writes, But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.  —James 1:14–15 Sin always results in some form of death. Sometimes it is physical death , but usually it is more subtle. Sin causes our relationships to die. It causes our self–esteem to die. Certain sins kill ambition and discipline. All of these forms of death result in adversity to some degree. The classic case would be the story of Adam and Eve . Their lives were free of adversity. There was no sickness, death, decay, or suffering of any kin...

Unbelievers constantly assert that the Bible says that Cain went into the land of Nod and took to himself a wife. What the Bible does say is that “Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden . And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch” ( Genesis 4:16–17). What the Bible means by “knew” in such connection anyone can discover for himself by taking his concordance and looking it up. He will discover that the word used in this connotation does not mean to get acquainted with, but is connected with the procreation of the species (see Genesis 4:1; Judges 11:39; 1 Samuel 1:19; Matthew 1:25 ). Cain doubtless had his wife before going to the land of Nod and took her there with him. But who was she, and where did he get her? In Genesis 5:3–4 we learn that Adam in his long life of 930 years begat many sons and daughters. There can be but little doubt that Cain married one of those numerous daughters. But someone will say, ...

Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472-1553): Adam and Eve. Beech wood, 1533. Bode-Museum, Berlin (Erworben 1830, Königliche Schlösser, Gemäldegalerie Kat. 567) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Desire is a tricky thing. It has the power to lead us either to a throne or a tomb, to slavery or freedom, to true joy or mirages of satisfaction. The war of faith and desire began in the Garden. In Genesis 3:5, Satan is ending his conversational attack on Eve’s faith by influencing her logic, causing her to question not only the commandment of God but the character of God. He uses his demonic craftiness to subtly lie to Eve, telling her that God will not do what he said, that he’s not as good as she thinks he is. Sinful Desires? When the character of God comes into question, the mind and the heart will begin to reroute its desires onto something else. After all, so the questions go, can God really be trusted? Eve started down this path, which then led her to see things in a tree that did not ex...

When he sinned, man was cut off from the fellowship with God he enjoyed in the Garden of Eden . But that God’s Spirit continued to deal with man after the Fall is brought out in Genesis 6:3 where an end is proclaimed. “My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he [mankind] is mortal; his [mankind’s] days will be a hundred and twenty years.” This passage is a difficult one in many respects. The one hundred-twenty years probably refers to a period of grace God was giving mankind before the Flood would come and destroy them all (except for Noah and his family). The word “contend” is variously interpreted as rule, judge, shield, abide in, or act in. The translation “abide in” chosen by some modern versions (including the Revised Standard Version ) as well as by a number of ancient versions is a pure guess. There seems to be nothing in the Hebrew to give any grounds for it. Yet many scholars still accept it, taking the verse to mean that God’s Spirit (as a vital principle or ...

The Christian concept of apocatastasis includes a restoration of the world to its original state, as in the Garden of Eden (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) G.K. Chesterton said public nudity is never practical, except on occasions that are entirely artificial. So nude reality TV , it seems, was unavoidable. Several current shows point the camera at the unclothed bodies of technically non-actors. “Buying Naked” (TLC) — A real estate agent specializes in house hunting with nudists. “Naked Dating” (VH1) — Random men and women are introduced to each other nude in the hopes they will emotionally connect. “Naked and Afraid” (Discovery) — A man and woman meet in the nude and must survive together in the wilderness for 21 days. “Naked Castaway” (Discovery) — Survivalist Ed Stafford tries to last on a desert island — think Bear Grylls , but with extra bare. “Naked Vegas” (Syfy) — The show features a body-painting company in Vegas. “Skin Wars” ( GSN ) — An ongoing body pain...