How I Got Religion, And Then Lost It
Consequences of Disobedience
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Having disobeyed God once, Adam and Eve became incapable of perfect obedience thereafter. They were now sinful creatures, and their descendants would inherit their sinfulness. We are all sinners, and cannot be otherwise, because Adam and Eve sinned. When Adam fell from grace, we fell with him.
God loves us, he offers forgiveness, but a price must be paid. A blood sacrifice is required. God decided from the beginning that his son, Jesus, would be that sacrifice. From the day Adam fell, Jesus was destined to be crucified in atonement for the sins of all humanity. God had his own timetable for accomplishing this, however, and the sacrifice was not scheduled to occur until several thousand years had elapsed. What's more, except for a few prophets, no one was to know about this arrangement ahead of time.
In the meantime, blood sacrifices were still necessary. Those who would please God were obliged to sacrifice certain animals, especially sheep, at prescribed times. This was to symbolize their acceptance of the sacrifice that would be made in due time by God's own son.
There is no excuse for anyone not to understand this, as demonstrated by what happened to Cain and Abel. We are informed that Abel became a shepherd, Cain a farmer. We are not told about any instruction they received in how to worship God. For that matter, we are not told what instructions Adam might have gotten from God after being told, "Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." In any event, Cain and Abel were supposed to know how to obtain forgiveness for their sins.
Both did offer sacrifices to God, each one using the products of his labor. Abel offered some of his sheep, Cain some fruit and vegetables. God showed a preference ( we are not told how ( for Abel(s offering. Cain became resentful about this. God informed Cain that he had no reason for resentment. According to God, if Cain would only do what he was supposed to do, then there would be no problem.
What Cain was supposed to do, the fundamentalists tell us, was to get a sheep and sacrifice it. If he had none of his own, he could have gotten one from Abel. God did not want fruit or vegetables. He wanted blood. This was put in writing in the New Testament ( "without shedding of blood is no remission" - but righteous people from the beginning had no need to see it in writing.
With the crucifixion, the sacrificing was done with and people no longer needed to kill animals. They needed now to believe that Jesus had sacrificed himself for their sins. Any who did not believe would not be forgiven and would experience the consequences of their sins.
Adam and Eve were told that because they had sinned, they would not live forever, and that while they did live they would suffer various pains and hardships. Nothing they could do would change this, but they and their descendants were obliged nevertheless to do the best they could to remain obedient to God. God(s forgiveness did not mean deliverance from mortality or from life(s hardships. God(s forgiveness meant escaping eternal damnation.
Recall Satan(s rebellion. Other angels joined him in a rebellion against God. Angels loyal to God suppressed the rebellion. Satan and his followers were banished from Heaven, and God created a lake of fire, in a place called Hell, into which the rebels would be thrown, there to burn forever in punishment for their evil deed. God had his own timetable, however, and the sentence was not to be carried out immediately. Satan had to be allowed to take with him as many men and women as would choose to follow him. People had to have this choice; otherwise, they would not be exercising free will. Satan was allowed to remain free so that he could tempt people away from God. Anyone who succumbed to his temptations would join him in spending eternity in the lake of fire. Those who resist his temptations join God in Heaven and spent eternity there.
If we(re all doomed to die on Earth, how do we get to either Heaven or Hell? Simple. Only our bodies die, and they are not the real us. Each of us has an immortal soul, and it goes to heaven or hell in the next life, according to how we chose to live in this life.
Next: The Fundamentalist Mindset - Escaping the Consequences
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