Apr. 6, 2006
Did Adam sin before the fall??
Several years ago a book was written entitled, The Silence of Adam. In it, Dr Larry Crabb asserted that when Eve spoke to the serpent in the garden, Adam was in sin by not stopping her from doing so, as the leader of the relationship. He went on to explain that most men exhibit this passivity and that it's a foundational problem in male/female relationships. Over the past several years this has become an incredibly popular assumption, but something has always bothered me about it: If Adam was sinning by not warning Eve, wasn't he sinning *before* original sin? Yet I didn't remember reading any rebuke of that by God Himself.
This week I started a new Bible study called Women of the Bible. Interestingly enough, it's written by three men, LOL. Anyway, it's going through several women whose stories we can read in the Word, and of course starts with Eve. The authors have reiterated the "Adam's sin of omission" here, too, and this time I had to check it out more carefully. I went back and read the account in Genesis 1 and 2. You know what? Adam wasn't sinning by abdicating his leadership role in that situation, because Adam DIDN'T HAVE a leadership role until after it took place! Men ruling over women was a result of the fall. Before that, it looks to me as if they were designed to function as co-equals, with Eve as the completer and helper (same word used as for the Holy Spirit!) to Adam.
It's interesting to me. I wonder how much damage something like this does, because I do feel we've sortof bought into the whole concept that, "Well, you know, men are passive, have been since the beginning . . ." I'm not trying to say that they aren't passive, but just that maybe they've been given too much of a bad rap here--sortof like women get over the whole "Jezebel" thing?! We all need to be careful not to buy everything coming down the pike just because it's popular or being spouted by a generally good author. And we'd better teach our kids to do the same! The Word of God needs to be prayerfully researched and studied and read with faith, so we're listening to hear from God Himself. He'll be faithful to speak to us as we listen!
Comments
Apr. 6, 2006 - way cool thought!
Posted by Tia
Excellent brain blossom!! :-) And two blogs this close together is pretty groovy too :-). I cam here to comment on the previous post, because I too am amazed at the wonderful online friends I've made and kept and been blessed with and here you have another post! Keep writing!!
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Apr. 6, 2006 - Untitled Comment
Posted by homeiscool
I have been extremely interested in getting 'back to Genesis' lately, so your post interested me. Here's my humble opinion:
It is not entirely clear whether Adam was actually there with Eve when she was being tempted. Only that he was with her when she ate of the tree. He could have been in another part of the garden, then approached by Eve at a later time to eat. 1Timothy says that only Eve was deceived. If that's the case, however, it sort of makes Adam look a little worse (like a man with a sinful nature), following his mate without question, and without the serpent even having to bother him about it. Hmmm. It seems to bring forth more questions than it answers, I suppose. I believe God does not have His plans thwarted. He knew this was going to happen, and had a plan for what came next.
As far as men being passive from the beginning, wow, I'd have to disagree with that. I suppose you could argue that before the fall, Adam didn't have any need to protect or fight for Eve, but that doesn't mean it wasn't in his nature to do so if need be. Bible history since shows that men are natural born warriors, protectors, and leaders. I believe it is our culture in the last 40 years or so that has tried (and succeeded unfortunately) to feminize men, to everyone's detriment.
My husband and I are doing our very best to make sure we raise MEN after God's own heart, not woMEN, like today's twenty-somethings, and some thirty-somethings seem to be.
jmho,
Lisa
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Apr. 12, 2006 - Untitled Comment
Posted by blessedindeedby3
That's really awesome that you have made such wonderful friends online. Sometimes it is much easier to tell your secrets to those whom you don't see everyday/or in person. You feel alot freer to express yourself that way. But I'm hoping that in the future you will feel comfortable enough to talk to me. I'm only a phone call away. Although I am a long distance phone call aren't I????? EEEEK!
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