I thought it might be helpful to follow up on my recent articles that have picked up on current controversies within Evangelicalism concerning same-sex attraction. A good starting point in our thinking is to see what the Bible actually has to say, positively about sex and relationships. The starting point for our understanding of gender,… Continue reading Gods purpose for marriage: part 1 – marriage and the cultural mandate
Tag: Adam and Eve
Did Adam have a belly button?
It’s one of those questions that children ask. The obvious answer seems to be that Adam and Eve would not have had belly buttons because they were created as adults, rather than being conceived through natural means. This means there would have been no umbilical cord to remove at birth. If so, it would have… Continue reading Did Adam have a belly button?
The aloneness of Adam revisited
In Genesis 2:18, God says: “It’s not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” Often “alone” gets read as “lonely.” The two words though related are not the same and the result is that we can have a distorted understanding of what the issue was. I’ve been… Continue reading The aloneness of Adam revisited
How many of the Ten Commandments did Adam and Eve break?
Adam and Eve broke one specific commandment in the Garden of Eden: not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. However, I want to suggest that there is a sense in which they may well have been breaking each of the Ten Commandments. How? Well, first of all, by listening to… Continue reading How many of the Ten Commandments did Adam and Eve break?
Grace and banishment
Genesis 3 is perhaps the darkest and bleakest of Bible chapters. Is there any hope to be found here? Read Genesis 3:20-24 Adam now names the woman. He calls her “Eve” which has the idea of “life” and “living”. Notice that here in the darkness of the Fall is a ray of light. There is… Continue reading Grace and banishment
The verdict
God has come to meet with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, they have been caught in their sin and their guilt and shame is exposed. Instead of taking responsibility they look for ways to blame each other and the serpent. God does not allow them to use the blame game to get… Continue reading The verdict
The blame game
How do you respond when you are caught in sin? Are you able to own up quickly, even before you are caught? Or do you seek to deny the sin and even to blame others? Read Genesis 3:9-13 God calls out to the man “Where are you?” The man’s response is not exactly straight. In… Continue reading The blame game
Failure
Satan has launched at attack on Eden, seeking to tempt Adam and Eve to disobey God’s one command, he casts doubt on God’s truthfulness and goodness. How will they respond? Read Genesis 3:5-8 The woman observes three things about the fruit. It looks good, it is suitable food – suggesting it is likely to taste… Continue reading Failure
Attack
We’ve been introduced to a good and beautiful world with a loving God who creates and cares for his people. However, we know that this isn’t our experience of the world today. We live in a world where there is pain, suffering, decay and death. How did that come about? Read Genesis 3:1-5 The serpent… Continue reading Attack
Not alone
Last time, we saw that God had made the man, Adam and placed him in Eden with the duty of caring for the garden and guarding it. God had commanded him to abstain from the fruit of one specific tree. Against this backdrop, God identifies that it isn’t good for him to be alone. This… Continue reading Not alone
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