Genesis 1:26
Then God said; “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and elt them rule over the fist of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
God blesses them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fist of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the brids of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground – everything that has the breath of life in it – I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.
In the creation of Adam, God made man in His own image, and from Adam, God created woman. When woman (Eve) caused man to sin against God, God punished them both by casting them from the “Garden of Eden” and from his presence, forcing man to toil and work to provide for their needs. Woman was further punished with the pain of childbirth, as a constant reminder of the woman’s part in the downfall of Man.
With this wonderous miracle of birth, Man and Woman become one and produce offspring, a family.
Genesis 4
In this chapter, the bible speaks of Adam and Eve, having been cast from the Garden of Eden, beginning the work of creating a family. To them were born two sons, Cain and Able. In verse 8, it tells of Cain attacking and killing Able, his brother. In verses 10 through 15, the bible speaks of Gods punishment on Cain for the murder of Able, setting Cain apart from God, never to be in Gods presence again, and of Cain going to the land of Nod, where Cain found a wife, and began to build his own family. To them was born Enoch.
In verse 25, the bible speaks of Adam laying with his wife, Eve, and another son being born, Seth.
I have often wondered, there is not anything in the Bible of God creating any other human beings than Adam and Eve. Where did the land of Nod come from, and where did the people in the land of Nod come from. Taking the bible at a literal reading, the land of Nod cannot exist, and further reading in Leviticus and Deuteronomy forbid sexual relations with brothers and sisters, cousins, aunts, uncles, etc… Yet, in Genesis, it would seem that it is the accepted norm to procreate with brothers and sisters, as well as possible with Mothers and Fathers. This is just from taking the Bible at a literal reading, and is further backed up in Chapter 5.
Genesis 5
When Adam was 130 years old, Seth was born. Adam lived to be 930 years old, and produced other sons and daughters. Seth, at 105 years, produced a son, and afterwards other sons and daughters.
Exodus 21
These chapters speak of laws governing the Israelites.
Numbers 5
The following chapters speak of other laws and rules governing the Israelites in the desert.
Deuteronomy 7 onward
Further rules and laws governing the Israelites.
Noteable is chapter 14 for the discussion on Leviticus.
Leviticus 11
Verse 1: The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Say to the Israelites: ‘Of all the animals that live on land, these are the ones you may eat: You may eat any animal that has a split hoof completely divided and that chews the cud. There are some that only chew the cud or only have a split hoof, but you must not eat them. The camel, though it chews the cud, does not have a split hoof; it is ceremonially unclean for you. The coney, though it chews the cud, does not have a split hoof; it is unclean for you. The rabbit, though it chews the cud, does not have asplit hoof, it is unclean for you. And the pig, though it has a split hoof completely divided, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you. You must not eat their meat or touch their carcasses; they are unclean for you.
Of all the creatures living in the water of the seas and the streams, you may eat any that have fins and scales. But all creatures in the seas or streams that do not have fins and scales – whether among all the swarming things or among all the other living creatures in the water – you are to detest. And since you are to detest them, you must not eattheir meat and you must detest their carcasses. Anything living in the water that does not have fins and scales is to be detestable to you.
These are the birds you are to detest and not eat because they are detestable” the eagle, the vulture, the clack vulture, the red kite, any kind of black kite, any kind of raven, the horned owl, the screech owl, the gull any kind of hawk, the little owl, the cormorant, the great owl, the white owl, the osprey, the stork any kind of heron, the hoopoe and the bat.
All flying insects that walk on all fours are to be detestable to you. There are, however, some winged creatures that walk on all fours that you may eat: those that have jointed legs for hopping on the ground. Of these you may eat any kind of locust, katydid, cricket or grasshopper. But all other winged creatures that have four legs you are to detest.
You will make yourselves unclean by these: whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean till evening. Whoever picks up on of their carcasses must wash his clothes and he will be unclean till evening.
Where is the simplicity of Christmas?
What happened to the happy times we all remember as children, when parents and kids, as well as families gathered, and good times were had by all. Did those times really exist, or did we just hope they did? I have memories of mostly fights and hard times during the holidays, especially having the time to spend with both my Mother and Father, and the guilt put upon me if I even hinted of spending time with one or the other. Happy times?
Well, it was for the friends and church, and sledding, and well, all those good times. Hence, in later years, I have finally picked my own family, hand chosen, and we all have memories of hard times during the holiday’s. How do we correct those?
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Christmas on December 25th, a picked holiday for the celebration of Christ’s birth, set in winter, close to the Feast of Mithra in ancient Rome. After the American Revolution, there was no Christmas for 67 years, as it was considered a holiday of the Crown, and had no place in American Life at the time. Congress worked on that day for many years. However, Christmas was reinvented in America as a more secular holiday.
Why is it that some people do not have the drive, or the ambition to do things with their lives, and then get angry when they figure out that they could have done things, but just didn’t. This is completely self destructive and also can kill ambition in others as they set out to put them down, and keep them down with abusive behavior, much like a bully from childhood days. Perhaps they should grow up and face the realities in their lives and accept that they are the cause of their own problems, and not the world around them. Life would be so nice if that were the case, where people accepted responsibility for their own actions, instead of blaming others for their shortcomings.
It’s very interesting to me, the way that people are judgemental and have to put labels on people or behaviors. There is a lack of understanding or accepting that is all consuming. From the environs of the uneducated life, there is not the ability to comprehend how a man can be a good cook, or have taste and like the finer things in life. Instead, there are labels that pertain to what is a woman’s place and what is a man’s place in the world. Just when you think you have all this figured out, it changes with the new people that come into your life, and it’s sometimes very uncomfortable, and the insanity of the world comes back full circle to you.
What’s all this about a college education and a college degree. It is my experience, as a man, with advanced degrees, that number one, it is harder to get a job that it is if I just put on the application that I graduated High School. And, if I do get the job, I end up being the lowest paid on the ladder of “success”, than the person that has a junior high education, and no GED, doing the same job. However, it seems that I end up doing their job and mine, as they continue to get the paycheck. Good luck getting the foot in the door, as that is the hardest to do with an education.
