Path: utzoo!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: gross@dg-rtp.dg.com (Gene Gross) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: A Skeptic's Question... Message-ID: Date: 14 Mar 91 08:58:30 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: Data General Corporation, Research Triangle Park, NC Lines: 55 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu In article awmurray@eos.ncsu.edu (ALAN WAYNE MURRAY) writes: > > A couple of days ago, I picked up a flyer that had something to do with why >all Mormons are going to hell. First, I don't go in for bashing. I am not known to be quiet about something that I think is in error, as some can attest to, but I've never bashed. Second, I am not going to be held accountable for what another group calling itself "Christian" has said or published. Some Christians have been brought up in a tradition that is very rigid and tightly controlled; they turn the Gospel into another Mishnah. This ignores the great liberty we have in Christ. >* Adam "lays" w/ Eve (can't even say 'has sex' guys???) and Cain and Abel are > born. Cain kills Abel. Then Cain gets marked (some argue >'blackened'). Up to here, it's fine (if unbelievable). The choice of words means little. Consider the way slang today refers to the sex act. Is that any better? So I miss your point. All the Bible says is that Cain was marked. He was marked so that no one would kill him. I know of only a few groups who would say that he was "blackened," and they are very easily shown to be non-Christian despite their protestations to the contrary. >Now, however, Cain runs out and gets married. OK, here's my question: >Where did this 'extra' body come from??? There are 3 (count 'em) people >on the face of this planet yet Cain can run off and get married! And >even if he DID get married to some one, would that not be his >SISTER?? (But, it couldn't be his sister, because only Cain and Abel >were born...) Literally of the 3 people on the planet, only ONE is female. >I've even been told by some Christians around here that "maybe he married >his mother...". Yea, THAT'S real good. Arguing from silence is a very dangerous thing to do. Reminds me of the arguments that said that Moses could not possibly have written any of the Torah because there was no evidence of writing that far back. Well, lo and behold, the evidence came to light that indeed writing did exist. The Bible is silent about Cain's wife. So what? Often, the Bible does not mention all of the people that were born -- only those that are key to the overall message of the Bible. The Bible is not the "complete genealogy of the human race and the nation of Israel." It is the record of God's work toward the redemption of humanity. Could Cain have married his sister? It is possible. No evidence exists that I'm aware of that his wife is Eve. Overall, your points fail to convey any serious problem that Christians haven't already dealt with. Still the point is that the Bible simply does not tell us. Is this important to our redemption? I doubt it. En Agape, Gene