Friday, January 30, 2009
'My Wedding' Nightmare
A few days ago, I had a nightmare, yes, a nightmare, and yes, it was a wedding nightmare. I actually woke up shocked and a little mad on what the dream was about. It was an arranged wedding to a woman who is probably three decades older than I am. I vividly remember who it is and I will never give the name out even if you offered a million dollars to me because it is just utterly disgusting! Anyway, dreams about 'arranged weddings' are no fun at all, especially with old ladies, unless it was Mariah Carey. Don't get me wrong! I have something for older woman, but only up to a certain gap, not three decades! Sigh ... I hope my future doesn't end up in shambles, hahaha!
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Through the eyes of Cain
Currently, I'm taking a religion class entitled, "Theology of Suffering", at Loma Linda University. One of our class assignments is to present a story about suffering from the Bible. Recently, a classmate and I discussed the topic of Abel and Cain in regards to the theology of suffering, something sort of popped out of my mind that I would like to share (and I'm pretty sure most of you have thought of this, anyway, here it is).
Most of us know about the story of Cain and Abel. Both were sons of Adam and Eve with Cain being the older and Abel the younger. Cain was a farmer and Abel was a shepherd. Long story short, both presented their offertory/sacrifices to God. Cain presented what he harvested from his farm while Abel presented a lamb from his flock for sacrifice. Cain got jealous when God accepted Abel's offertory and not his. He was so angry that he killed Abel.
Now, based on my experience listening to sermons and participating in Sabbath School lessons, most of us would normally discuss about the suffering of Abel in the hands of his own brother (correct me if I'm wrong), and portray Cain as the evil sibling. But wait, lets give Cain a break for the moment, what if we were to look through Cain's eyes. He presented his sacrifice faithfully to God but it was rejected, which in turn caused Cain to be angry and jealous (please note that I am well aware of the symbolism of the sacrificial system back then - the sacrifice of a lamb specifically acknowledges that God will deliver the Savior).
So, who was really at fault here? Cain? Or God? Had God accept Cain's sacrifice, Abel would still be alive. Surely, Abel didn't deserve this either, his blood was crying out for justice. Why did God allow such a faithful son to be killed? If God knew the consequences of rejecting Cain's sacrifice, then why did He allow it? Sure, one would comment that Cain did not obey nor did he follow God's specification on the offering, but between Genesis 1:1 to 3:24, there was no mentioning of the sacrificial 'specs' that God required in order for a sacrifice to be accepted. Or did He?
I've been struggling for the past hour to conclude this blog, there is really no answer nor any conclusions to my thoughts in Cain's position. Maybe the author of Genesis (possibly Moses) had a different purpose/theme. Maybe Cain knew about the sacrificial 'specs' but the author didn't mention it (maybe this was a lesson of absolute obedience) . Maybe Cain was too 'pampered' by his parents (as his mother thought he was "The One" to bail them out of their mistakes), and felt that his 'position' was 'threatened' when God approved Abel's sacrifice but his. The more I think about it, the more questions I have. I shall leave it this way and let the beauty of Theology challenge my faith and my mind.
Most of us know about the story of Cain and Abel. Both were sons of Adam and Eve with Cain being the older and Abel the younger. Cain was a farmer and Abel was a shepherd. Long story short, both presented their offertory/sacrifices to God. Cain presented what he harvested from his farm while Abel presented a lamb from his flock for sacrifice. Cain got jealous when God accepted Abel's offertory and not his. He was so angry that he killed Abel.
Now, based on my experience listening to sermons and participating in Sabbath School lessons, most of us would normally discuss about the suffering of Abel in the hands of his own brother (correct me if I'm wrong), and portray Cain as the evil sibling. But wait, lets give Cain a break for the moment, what if we were to look through Cain's eyes. He presented his sacrifice faithfully to God but it was rejected, which in turn caused Cain to be angry and jealous (please note that I am well aware of the symbolism of the sacrificial system back then - the sacrifice of a lamb specifically acknowledges that God will deliver the Savior).
So, who was really at fault here? Cain? Or God? Had God accept Cain's sacrifice, Abel would still be alive. Surely, Abel didn't deserve this either, his blood was crying out for justice. Why did God allow such a faithful son to be killed? If God knew the consequences of rejecting Cain's sacrifice, then why did He allow it? Sure, one would comment that Cain did not obey nor did he follow God's specification on the offering, but between Genesis 1:1 to 3:24, there was no mentioning of the sacrificial 'specs' that God required in order for a sacrifice to be accepted. Or did He?
I've been struggling for the past hour to conclude this blog, there is really no answer nor any conclusions to my thoughts in Cain's position. Maybe the author of Genesis (possibly Moses) had a different purpose/theme. Maybe Cain knew about the sacrificial 'specs' but the author didn't mention it (maybe this was a lesson of absolute obedience) . Maybe Cain was too 'pampered' by his parents (as his mother thought he was "The One" to bail them out of their mistakes), and felt that his 'position' was 'threatened' when God approved Abel's sacrifice but his. The more I think about it, the more questions I have. I shall leave it this way and let the beauty of Theology challenge my faith and my mind.
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