Last Session Review
I asked if there were any questions, comments about our discussion from session eight and began with pointing out that the word “world” is ambiguous. All that God created is good. Christ is the Savior of the world. And the world is darkness, opposed to God. This invites us to know the good and the bad. The culture of America is changing. Is the change all good, all bad, or are we invited to discern? What is you answer to these questions? Would you be willing to identify one change in America that you evaluate to be good and one that is bad and, more importantly, why?
Without realizing it, we introduced some philosophy. Ken wanted to know if Black Holes existed before we knew about them; of course, they did. He then mentioned the movie, the Titanic. It was based on a fact but it wasn’t a documentary. From this could we conclude that even if we haven’t found evidence yet for some of people or events mentioned in the bible it doesn’t mean they didn’t exist? Noah’s Arch for example. Read on to learn how we respond to this question.
Event and Story
Mark expressed the heart of the issue when he asked what is the event and what is the story. Is the story of Cain and Abel like the story of the Titanic, rooted in historical events, but told as a dramatic story? How would you answer that question? If you answer no, does that mean the story is not true? It seems to me that we struggle with believing the truth of the story if the events narrated in the story are not rooted in some historical events or persons. I would enjoy hearing what your opinion on this matter is.
If these questions become our questions, what’s at stake is our world. Mostly our answer are an effort to make sense of our world. As the evidence builds, however, it can happen that our answers are mistaken and then our world is challenged. If that occurs, we can feel uncomfortable, fearful or excited, hopeful. What is gained and lost, if Cain and Abel are two real historical brothers but rather symbols of what happens in family life that begs for an explanation.
The Story of Cain & Abel
Keep in mind our questions, The Time of the Story, the Characters in the Story, and the Plot, as you read Gen. 4:1 – 16 and the notes – http://www.usccb.org/bible/genesis/4
Our group tackled the “what is the time of the story” question. Roseann concluded that it must have been shortly after creation but later in the discussion she rephrased her answer to shortly after the creation of the world. Her addition raised a question for Mark. Are there different times involved with “creation” and “creation of the world?” Heber pointed out that there had to be time for two children to be born and grow old enough to do the jobs the story assumes. Ken reminds us that the story doesn’t mention a time but agreed with what had been said. But the author in the first two verse states the birth of the two brothers and their adult roles. From a literary point of view the time of the story is mythical time but it is very difficult for us to enter into that time as the discussion of our group might reveal. And not entering into the time of the story can lead to many misunderstandings about the story.
In our discussion of the characters we quickly pointed out the inconsistencies between the story’s time and the author’s time. The author is familiar with herders and flocks, tillers and crops, development of rituals and rites, Cain’s fear of someone would kill him implies others, later we will read of city foundations; perhaps you can identify other inconsistencies. For some to learn of these inconsistencies brings on doubt. For others they are of little moment. I think they make sense once we realize that the author wrote at one time and placed the story in another time. Do these observations raise any questions for you? How can recognizing this help you to hear God’s word more fully, Rise to the Level of our Times. Once again our group wondered if the author is recalling something that has been passed down over the ages or is he creating something from his imagination. What do you think? How does God’s word fit with either of these possible answers? Ken observed that we are so used to thinking of things in a certain chronological order that we instinctively do that with the stories in the bible.
Ken also observed that from the get go it seems God did not approve of Cain’s offering without really saying why. Cain is crestfallen, dejected. But how does the Lord God respond to him, what are the conversational exchanges that occur? For the first time the word “sin” is introduced. Not that this is the first account of sin but that this is the first time that it is named. And how is sin described? Three phrases “sin lies in wait at the door: its urge is for you, yet you can rule over it.” Lies in wait – what does that convey to you? Its urge is for you – what experiences in your life give this phrase emotional presence for you? You can rule over it. Does that seem true to you? It certainly doesn’t for me.
Now the plot thickens. The younger brother is killed by his older brother. Sin has spread to the family. Death comes not from the hand of God but from our hand. Cain asks, Am I my brother’s keeper? Only God is a “keeper” of human beings. Cain’s question implies that God is Abel’s keeper and should know his whereabouts. But how does God respond? What is the significance for you of the “mark” God put on Cain? What does it means in terms of God’s reaction to violence? In our day and age, if a person is convicted of premeditated murder what is likely to happen to him? What does it mean that Cain left the presence of the Lord? Does it imply that God left Cain? Some of us thought that it represented something worse than physical death, namely, separation from God.
Your comments, questions, observations are welcomed.