I had good intentions. For various reasons I was delayed in blogging and didn't get further in the book than chapter 3, which I hope to comment on today. Working my way through Asimov's book was like digging through a garbage dump looking for something useful. I found that the whole thing stunk and what little I finally did pull out of his worthless writings made the effort seem wasted. I was already contemplating not finishing what I boldly set out to do, i.e. comment on all thirteen chapters, when I realized that the book was overdue at the library. I returned the book today and am using this as an excuse to not finish my series. With that said I will comment on what little I found in chapter 3.
A little chronological background of the creation account of Day 6 in Genesis chapter two will help us understand my comments later in this post. First of all, God made Adam and placed him in Eden. God then told him not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. His specific command to Adam was the following:
Whatever the case, whether by misunderstanding or by a deliberate twisting, when God's word is made to say something other than what it says, deception is the result. It is of the utmost importance that we don't tamper with God's word and distort what He has clearly said. That is one of the reasons that God seemed fit to preserve His word for us in written form, so that we can can see for ourselves what He has said and not have to get our knowledge of His word secondhand or our understanding of His word by some influence from outside of Scripture.
It is obvious that, just as God's word was being attacked from the very beginning, it is still under attack today. Nowhere is this more so than in these opening chapters of the Bible. Satan is still hissing in our ears "Did God really say?" causing good Christians to question whether God really meant that He created in 6 real days. Did death really enter the world through sin or was it there all along? Did God really create light before He created the sun? Are those genealogies really trustworthy? Was there really a worldwide flood? Leading Christians to doubt the truthfulness or accuracy of these opening chapters of the Bible is Satan's key to destroying our trust in the rest of God's word.
Many Christians have been influenced by an evolutionary worldview that says that the universe is billions of years old and they are therefore trying desperately to fit those billions of years into the Scripture. In doing so they end up inadvertently twisting God's word to make it say what it doesn't say. The end result is that they are in danger of being deceived and potentially causing others to stumble. We need to heed God's warning:
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NOTES:
[1] Isaac Asimov, In the Beginning... (New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1981), 106.
[2] Ibid.
A little chronological background of the creation account of Day 6 in Genesis chapter two will help us understand my comments later in this post. First of all, God made Adam and placed him in Eden. God then told him not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. His specific command to Adam was the following:
"You are free to eat from any tree of the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day that you eat from it, you will certainly die." (Gen. 2:16-17 HCSB)Adam then named all the animals that God brought to him. When no suitable helper was found for Adam, God made Eve from Adam's rib. Eve was created after God told Adam to not eat from the tree. When Eve was questioned by the serpent as to the extent of God's prohibition against eating from the trees of the garden, Eve responded:
"But about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God said, 'You must not eat it or touch it, or you will die.'" (Gen. 3:3 HCSB)Referring to this verse Asimov correctly observes that Eve "enlarges and distorts the Lord God's instructions."[1] He goes on to say:
"Some of the Rabbinic commentators suggest that it was this twisting of God's words that was the basic sin that led to all the rest."[2]My own comments are as follows. First, it is evident that what Eve told the serpent was not what God had told Adam. She wasn't being faithful to God's word. Second, we can't be certain that Eve intentionally misquoted God. Perhaps she learned of God's command from Adam who added the extra prohibition that they weren't even allowed to touch the fruit. Asimov agrees that this is also a possibility. I don't think that Eve deliberately misquoted God because, as the Rabbis observed, that would be sin and we know that sin entered the world when Adam and Eve actually ate the forbidden fruit and their eyes were opened. However, because Eve misunderstood God, the serpent was able to deceive her by an outright denial of God's word.
Whatever the case, whether by misunderstanding or by a deliberate twisting, when God's word is made to say something other than what it says, deception is the result. It is of the utmost importance that we don't tamper with God's word and distort what He has clearly said. That is one of the reasons that God seemed fit to preserve His word for us in written form, so that we can can see for ourselves what He has said and not have to get our knowledge of His word secondhand or our understanding of His word by some influence from outside of Scripture.
It is obvious that, just as God's word was being attacked from the very beginning, it is still under attack today. Nowhere is this more so than in these opening chapters of the Bible. Satan is still hissing in our ears "Did God really say?" causing good Christians to question whether God really meant that He created in 6 real days. Did death really enter the world through sin or was it there all along? Did God really create light before He created the sun? Are those genealogies really trustworthy? Was there really a worldwide flood? Leading Christians to doubt the truthfulness or accuracy of these opening chapters of the Bible is Satan's key to destroying our trust in the rest of God's word.
Many Christians have been influenced by an evolutionary worldview that says that the universe is billions of years old and they are therefore trying desperately to fit those billions of years into the Scripture. In doing so they end up inadvertently twisting God's word to make it say what it doesn't say. The end result is that they are in danger of being deceived and potentially causing others to stumble. We need to heed God's warning:
"Don't add to His words, or He will rebuke you, and you will be proved a liar." (Proverbs 30:6 HCSB)The damage caused by my generation's doubting of God's word in Genesis is evidenced by the multitudes of young people who are walking away from a Christianity that is based upon a Book that their Christian leaders don't fully trust themselves. Young people are looking for a voice of authority. They are looking for reality. Unfortunately, they may have to look for a long time to find a leader who confidently says "The entirety of Your word is truth..." (Psalm 119:160 HCSB). Many fall away before they find such a man.
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NOTES:
[1] Isaac Asimov, In the Beginning... (New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1981), 106.
[2] Ibid.