Genesis 4, 6-9

4. What do you make of the mark of Cain? Is this an ambiguous mark? Is it unsettling to have the divine as someone / something that protects a murderer?

Cain's mark is substantial. He tells the story jealousy, a part of every day life. I am rather surprised however, that his reaction was so strong to kill his own brother, almost as if Genesis is making that okay. That is especially supported by the fact that God hardly punishes Cain. I feel as if God just yells at Cain, and then Cain moves on, has a family, and lives a normal life. The lack of punishment is surprising, but maybe it occurs later in the great flood. I do not see Cain as divine, how ever it is unsettling that God seems to be quick to forget that the murder even happened.

5. Why do you think that civilization (the city, music, the arts, culture, etc.) rises from the family of a murderer? What might this imply about the nature of civilization?

I think the fact that civilization rises from the family of a murder is clueing that, as decedents from Cain's family, we are all evil. Perhaps this is connected to the concept of original sin. However, if one treats gneiss in a linear fashion, it would seem that only the first few generations of people were decedents of Cain. God, killed all of the first generations for being corrupt (perhaps for being related to Cain). He flooded the land and only spared Noah and his family, thus, everyone today would be decedents of Noah. Furthermore, Noah is a direct decedent of Seth, (Genesis 5), a brother of Cain who was not involved in Cain and Able's conflict. Seth was made in Adam's image, and Adam was made in God image. In a way Noah was then made in God image as well. Genesis does say Noah walked with God. This would mean that the decedents of Cain were killed for being corrupt, but the decedents of Noah via Seth, who was made in God's image, would still be alive, not involved in a murder, and not corrupt.

What are some themes that you find within this story that can help us with our continuing understanding of the text. What do you find problematic about this text that you find warrants further analysis / discussion?

The themes of growth as seen in Genesis 1-3, and the trend in how God communicates with humans will greatly help us understand this text. I feel that God is growing and learning about human's just as much as humans are growing and learning about the world. When we look at the trends of Gods' communication, it seems that God is always making impulse decision based on the actions of humans. He/She sometimes seems even a bit unpredictable. Although when analyzing Gods' trends of communicating one may find themes, it also brings about questions. Because God seems so implosive from story to story, and is called a different name from story to story, and seems to be constantly changing, one may wonder, is this the same God? Even facts from one story to another don't line up. This is very problematic.

Genesis 1-3

Coming from a very logical background I read the first three chapters of Genesis quite differently then I may have in the past. Years ago, when I attended Sunday School, I may have thought of it as a true story of the beginnings of life. Now I simply see it as an interesting artifact that displays the knowledge and values of a different time. To me, it shows particularly a lack of knowledge of how the earth, living things, the moon, the solar system, the stars, and the universe work. Genesis makes it seem as if God made everything we know appear in just six days, something I personally do not believe in. Furthermore, the first three chapters also make it seem as if everything was created to serve man: the earth, plants, animals, the moon, the stars, the sun, and even woman. God says to Eve: “Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.” To me this is a very egocentric view. The stories try to explain that women were made from one of man’s ribs, which supports the false medical rumor that men have one less rib then women. Of course, the stories also say that snakes could once talk. Although I don’t believe in much of what is written in Genesis, I do commend the people of the time for trying to explain everything. Genesis does also displays what the people of the time did have a good knowledge of. It seems they had a good knowledge of seeds, and how plants grow. In the last line of chapter three, it proves that by the time this was written, humans already had sophisticated weapons such as swords. When God makes woman from one of man’s ribs, it is mentioned that man was first put into a deep sleep. This may clue to the surgical practices still used today. When God makes the stars, it explains that they are used to tell seasons, and for navigation, which means that a fairly sophisticated calendar, and navigation system may have been in place. A somewhat out of place paragraph about rivers, mentions the value of gold, and other metals, perhaps clueing to an advance economic system of the time. These technologies may have been added to the text as it got rewritten and translated throughout time. Never the less it is still and interesting portal to human mind, far in the past.