Originally posted by Rajk999 Believed in God with his mouth.. he did not obey God, just like many Christians claim they believe in Christ but they do not obey Christ.
1 John 3:12 Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother..
To believe is to act.
People "act" on all kinds of things they think God says.
Originally posted by josephw But his offering was rejected.
that injustice of god has been examined elsewhere.
my objection is about your two categories. according to the story, cain obviously knew god and talked with god in person. so all men do not fall into one of those two categories. there is no man alive who has talked with god or knows god the way cain is said to have known him.
Originally posted by josephw It's the same old story since the beginning.
One either believes the Word of God or one is in "the way of Cain". All men fall into one of these two categories.
If you want evidence that this is true, simply listen.
It's the same old story since the beginning.
As a child everybody reads the fairy tale and imagines themselves as the good guy, and everyone they dislike as the bad guy.
Its only when we grow up that some of us start to realize that the 'bad guy' is usually just another guy with a different point of view and that he probably sees you as the 'bad guy'. Some people never see this and live their whole lives in an 'us vs them'
mentality.
Originally posted by twhitehead It's the same old story since the beginning.
As a child everybody reads the fairy tale and imagines themselves as the good guy, and everyone they dislike as the bad guy.
Its only when we grow up that some of us start to realize that the 'bad guy' is usually just another guy with a different point of view and that he probably sees you as the 'bad guy'. Some people never see this and live their whole lives in an 'us vs them'
mentality.
in this case, the bad guys is in fact clear. god disliked cain's offering because it didn't come from the heart. his rejection is meant as criticism that cain is not quite in the same place as abel and as a suggestion that cain improve.
at the time of the sacrifice, both men are "good". however when rejected, cain not only chooses not to better himself but makes a u-turn. he blames abel for his misfortune (when he is in fact the master of his destiny) and decides to remove him so he could have god's love all to himself, thus becoming the bad guy.
"'bad guy' is usually just another guy with a different point of view"
this applies more to the "mad" queen jezebel who in some views was in fact progressive and allowed freedom of religion instead of "kill anyone who is not jew" view from the bible. the bible however states that she was the villain.
Originally posted by twhitehead No actually, its not clear at all.
And who do you associate yourself with, Cain or Able?
before or after the murder? before or after the sacrifice that triggered it all? during their childhood? but no, i do not identify with either. there are only two characters in this story and they are both rather simple.
Originally posted by VoidSpirit cain believed in god.
In James it says that the demons believe in God as well, but it does not save them.
Looking at scripture, we see similar examples such as the Israelites seeing God split the Red Sea and give them manna to eat from heaven every day, but then decide to worship a golden calf instead.
Clearly proving God's existence is fruitless when placing your faith in God is really the goal.