Question:
I have a Bible question?
2010-01-20 08:36:12 UTC
In Genesis when God was creating everything it says "God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him" so are they saying God created man to look like him?

In Adam and Eve why would God put those two trees in the middle of the garden accessible to Adam and Eve? If he didn't want them to eat from it then why would he create the trees in the first place?

In The Fall of Man it says "then the man and his wife heard the sound of God as he was walking in the garden" I thought God was a being not a person that walked what is that all about?

Also in The Fall of Man "The man has now become one of us, knowing good and evil" who is US?
24 answers:
Jex
2010-01-20 08:57:02 UTC
1. Yes. God has nostrils, eyes, lips, body, hands, feet, and can sit. Aren't you happy that you were created that way? look at some reptiles? are you happy if you were created that way?



2. God put those trees in the middle of the garden for some purpose. Perhaps it was some kind of "obra maestra". Adam was commanded not to eat from that tree. And he did it, until came Eve and the deceiver.



3. Now that clarifies God has a feet, from my answer no.1. Aren't you happy you had a feet? Remember, man was created in God's image.



4. Us? Read the Proverbs. Look for the 'wisdom' and you will know.



Α†Ω™
2010-01-20 17:30:50 UTC
The bible is for believers not the antagonist.

If you are searching for truth than have that attitude.



Does it say image? How do you spell it? Does Romans 8: 28-30 answer you or will your mind go into tilt or shell shock.You make it sound like Adam and Eve were toddlers; Nope, they were actually the age that most people come to think they are so smart and who needs rules or someone to tell them what to or not to do. It sounds like you are there. Do you like authority? Do like to do your own thing? Were you so curious about sex when you were thirteen? Did you and your girl friends discover? And what Choice did you make, and Who put it there for you to?

People have been asking these questions for ever, and the answers are inside their heads. But they are so smart when expressing doubt

When some guy come along and says he loves you to get what he wants, only they who get it are the girls that are on the same intent, just to get it. Go wants to make sure they who say yes mean it and are sincere. The tree was put there as an object to prove which way he would go. Remember free will here, i'm sure you use it all the time.

See John 3: 19-21 and see what God knows about the flesh, and see God's indictments against outlaw man, in Romans 3: 10-18
?
2010-01-20 16:50:28 UTC
1. In his image. The Bible doesn't clarify what this means (as far as I know - other than the hint that we will rule over things). The most plausible explanation that I've heard is that we have attributes of God. The LASB commentary states:

We are reflections of God's glory. Some feel that our reason, creativity, speech, or self-determination is the image of God. More likely, it is our entire self that reflects the image of God. We will never be totally like God because he is our supreme Creator. But we do have the ability to reflect his character in our love, patience, forgiveness, kindness, and faithfulness.





2. The trees were put there to give us a choice to love God or rebel against Him. If we are forced to love God like some kind of robot, it wouldn't be good. It would be more like some sort of cosmic rape. We have free will to love God or not. That is important to God. Satan used this to test Adam and Eve.



Notice that Jesus was tested in similar areas that Adam and Eve were. In regards to 1) physical needs and desires 2) possessions and power 3) pride. Adam and Eve were tested in a garden. Jesus was tested in the wilderness after fasting for 40 days. Jesus passed the test. We did not pass. See Matthew 4.



3. God can do anything. Even taking on the form of man. For example:



Genesis 18:1-2 The LORD appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. (2) Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.





4. "US", is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Notice that in Genesis, it says that God created everything. John and Colossians say that Jesus created everything. One God, but three persons.



John 1:1-3 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (2) He was with God in the beginning. (3) Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.



Colossians 1:14-16 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (15) He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. (16) For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.
2010-01-20 16:47:20 UTC
First question: Yes according to the bible God created Man in His image. And by that the bible mean literally men, not women. It also says in later passages that women was created for man.(Messed up right?)



Second question: Christian always give this scape goat answer, so I'll use it too: God created the tree so Adam and Eve would have "choice" although of course if he really was God he would have known what was going to happen by creating that tree and letting Satan in the Garden. So the real question is; do we really have choice in the Christian God's world?



Third question: Yes it's a silly euphemism, but that's what the bible says. I guess God did the Jesus thing and came down so He could stretch His legs or something.



Fourth: Us, meaning the angels and demons of God. The fallen angels, Lucifer, all know good and evil.
XY
2010-01-20 16:59:51 UTC
1) There is alot of debate about this but I find I would agree that it is the ability to think, the ability to decide right and wrong and having an eternal soul. The physical attributes are irrelevant it is the soul.



2) It was to test their obedience, don't eat the fruit, don't swim in this pond, don't pick these flowers, it could have been any of them. Fruit is nutritious and good for you so even something that mankind considers good if it is not God's will then it is wrong. Sex for example, inside marriage it is the will of God and good, outside it is sin. Inside marriage we have closeness, children...and fun, outside marriage we see babies murdered by the millions, millions dead from Aids, millions contracting sexual diseases, people lying to each other just to get sex, men lying/rape drugs/alcohol etc. to get women in bed.



3) Many believe this was Jesus or that the spirit of God moving. We don't have a definitive answer.



4) Some will say the Trinity, and some conjecture it was God and the angels. We don't have a definitive answer.
Berny
2010-01-20 17:14:23 UTC
First, you have to understand that the Genesis Creation myths (there are two distinct versions in Genesis 1 and 2) were copied from Babylonian creation myths. In them, Yahweh was simply one of many gods (the Elohim). He also had a wife, or female equivalent. When seen in this light, the references to "made in our own image" and "become as one of us" make sense (multiple male and female gods).

The second aspect, is the version of the myth that blames the fall of man on woman. This is one of the oldest ploys in patriarchal religions and was designed strictly to take power away from the existing matriarchies, which formed the bulk of early societies. After all, you knew who your mother was, but your father could be any male in the tribe.
mjs4509
2010-01-20 16:50:01 UTC
1. The ability to think and make decisions and act on them. The ability to have feelings and to speak.



2. He created us with a freewill to make decisions, but also to respect him who created us.



3. God is God. He can appear in the image of man as he did in Jesus. That's the problem, we tend to underestimate the power of God.



4. Father, son, and Holy Spirit = God
TAP
2010-01-20 17:21:44 UTC
Greetings!



Good question, thanks for posting.



Simple answer. The trees of knowledge and life were always intended for us (humans). God seeks obedience, not as in following an order, but in a willing unselfish loving heart kind of way. In other words, do we love God because we get or to share something we have received. We give to give, not to receive.



As for the "Us", well grammatically, and somewhat obviously, the "one of Us" is speaking of the Creator of all that is. Us represents the whole concept of God: Creator God, God in the flesh (Christ Jesus) and the Spirit of God (as in the Power or Mind of God).



Anyway, great question. Enjoyed the discussion. Hope my response comes closest to answering your question, and gives you something to consider further.
RT
2010-01-20 16:42:22 UTC
Genesis question - yes

Garden question: God put the trees there to show them that there will always be temptations in life and that we must strive to avoid those temptations.

Sound of God question: God is a person

last question - don't know the context
Gregory
2010-01-20 16:50:44 UTC
not physically no



he gave us a eternal spirit and as a moral creature



to give man a choice to obey because he wanted to or not to.



just as parents give their children choices to make hoping they make the right choice

what do you want for dinner kids?

kids reply ice cream and chips and soda.

parents no that is not good for you you can not have it.

choose some thing else.



god can take on physical body intended example jesus taking on flesh.

god could make a short term body and use it to walk among man



god is us

father, jesus, holy spirit



in hebrew jehovah god is the hebrew word elohim its plural for god it means god's.

the singular is the hebrew el

jehovah god is always called the hebrew elohim



isaiah 9:6-7

tells how a male child will be born in the line of king david

he will be called the mighty god the everlasting father

this child is called the lord of hosts

in hebrew lord is jehovah



isaiah 44:6

thus says the lord (jehovah) king of israel and his redeemer the lord (jehovah) of host, i am the first and i am the last and besides me there is no god (elohim)



the apostle john writes in revelation about seeing jesus and what jesus says to him.

Rev 1:17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:

Rev 1:18 I am he that lives, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.





jesus says he i the first and the last the same as in isaiah 44:6 said of jehovah god the king of israel (the father) and his redeemer the jehovah of hosts (jesus)
BOGGLESMYMIND
2010-01-20 16:55:26 UTC
LOOKS LIKE A LOT OF Q.



FIRST OF ALL GOD SAID LET US MAKE MAN IN OUR IMAGE ,,FIRST ,,IN GEN.1;16,, THE VERSE YOU QUOTED IS JUST CONFIRMING WHAT GOD DID !!



IT WAS NOT ABOUT EATING OR NOT EATING OF THE TREE ,, IT WAS ABOUT OBEDIENCE ,,,AS IT ALWAYS HAS BEEN ,,AND WILL BE !!



AND ADAM AND EVE HEARD THE VOICE OF GOD CALLING TO THEM ,, NOT JUST A SOUND ,,, GOD CAN SPEAK ,,,



US IS ,,, GOD ,,JESUS AND HOLY SPIRIT
sk8rfella
2010-01-20 16:43:12 UTC
1. In a way, yes. Although our sin has got the better of us and we no longer live for centuries.



2. They were put there as (wait for it) a test (yep, there you go guys who think Test= "oh look over there *runs off*).



3. Yes, although one would assume that it was Jesus walking in the Garden (God in Human form)



4. Yes, see also Genesis 1:11 In OUR image. Evidence for the Trinity right at the start of the Bible
2010-01-20 16:46:15 UTC
When you actually understand the original language (Hebrew) and the figurative nature of the passage, (not to mention the fact that it says "let US make man in OUR image, NOT his), you understand that it is better translated "in our imagination", or as we imagine him to look.



Second question: test...and, because if He didn't, then things wouldn't have turned out as they have, now would they have?



The Fall of Man is a more modern work, now, isn't it? NOT a passage from the Bible, but something translated from a translation of a translation of a translation of the original. The possibilities for mistakes in translation are phenomenal!



US is Gd, of course! the same US as I mentioned above.



You see, in the original text, Gd was both male and female...two entities.
ebby08
2010-01-20 16:47:02 UTC
No it means that man was created with the same qualities as God, such as the ability to love, show justice and kindness.



If you instructed your children not to touch the refrigerator, would you hide it somewhere simply because you didn't want them to disobey you? Absolutely not. You want them to obey your rules regardless. Whether the tree was in their face or in a distance place, the point was they WERE NOT to touch it at all.
2010-01-20 16:40:22 UTC
God is a spirit, the image He created us in , is a spiritual image of Him.



The body He formed from the dust of the earth





Man is a spirit (that is God's Image)

Has a soul (mind will and emotions)

and lives in a body
Bob
2010-01-20 17:08:17 UTC
Actually you have it backwards:



Man created GOD in his own (man's) image. God is imaginary, and made up by men to explain the darkness, the scary unknown things before science was invented, like sunset, comets, lack of rain, winter darkness, death, etc.
hankredwons
2010-01-20 16:45:46 UTC
as for looks we will have to see when we get there .Christ did look like us.so maybe so.as for the tree i believe he did not want them to disobey but it is like throwing a steak in the dog house and telling the dog no, you no he is going to be bad and eat it when you turn your back but you wish he obey even when your not there.in those days god and man walked together in the garden it is not like to day .us is the father ,son and holy spirit.well that is my understanding of it all
Bubbles™
2010-01-20 16:39:08 UTC
Made in the likeness of his Grand Creator, Adam had the divine attributes of love, wisdom, justice, and power; hence he possessed a sense of morality involving a conscience, something altogether new in the sphere of earthly life. In the image of God, Adam was to be a global administrator and have in subjection the sea and land creatures and the fowl of the air.
Clatty Mary
2010-01-20 16:47:42 UTC
In Genesis, it actually says...



And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.



in "our" image, after "our" likeness (plural)



So what does that tell us?

And who exactly is / are "us"?
2010-01-20 16:42:56 UTC
The 'image' is to give us a soul, because God is spirit. It's our soul that connect us with Him and follows Him.



God always tests our faith. It lets us know if we are really submissive to Him.



God also let Moses see the back of Him. God is spirit and can be seen only He allows the people to see HIm.



US is the Trinity
Neil5624
2010-01-20 16:39:49 UTC
The creation story is actually metaphor, a good story told to illustrate a point.



Rev. Neil
Ducks
2010-01-20 16:39:34 UTC
They are saying that.



It's a figurative story.



See above.



Us is the Jews who wrote Genesis.
angel babygirl
2010-01-20 16:41:02 UTC
IDK, I am not God, but if I had to guess then it would be to test of obedience
Mindy
2010-01-20 17:27:45 UTC
Lets break down your 4 questions one by one. Better grab your Bible hun, your gonna need it.



1) "In Genesis when God was creating everything it says "God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him" so are they saying God created man to look like him?"



No. God is a Spirit, not a human being (John 4:23, 24). Man was created with intelligence and a moral sense, just as God himself has these. Of all of God's great personality qualities/traits, he has 4 dominant ones (everything else about his personality falls within these four). Those four are:



(1)Love, (2)Wisdom, (3)Justice and (4)Power. Man is made in God's image in that man (mankind) is created to REFLECT God's qualities in what we think, say and do. In other words, when God looks down on earth from heaven, he should be able to see himself reflected back to him in mankind because of all that we think, do and say. However, because of the fall of man in the garden of Eden, man has been been "tarnished" and is not able to reflect God's image perfectly back to him... but Jesus is like the 'Windex" or "glass cleaner" for all those who excercise faith in him. All those doing so are able to have a clean appearance with God.



Capeesh?





2) "In Adam and Eve why would God put those two trees in the middle of the garden accessible to Adam and Eve? If he didn't want them to eat from it then why would he create the trees in the first place?"



The two trees were called "the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Bad" and the "tree of Life". God according to Genesis 2:16, 17 God told Adam:



"From EVERY tree of the garden you may eat to satisfaction. 17 But as for the tree OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND BAD you must not eat from it, for in the day you eat from it YOU WILL POSITIVELY DIE"



Adam and Eve had permission to eat from all of the many trees that were in Eden (and there MANY), but that one tree, "the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Bad" they were commanded not to partake of and were warned of he consequences for disobediance. Everytime they AND the offspring they would produce would see that tree it would remind them that the planet they lived on was given to them by God Almighty and that ONLY God Almighty had the divine right as the Creator to have the final say on what is Good and what is Bad for his intelligent creation.



Using a serpent the way a skilled person makes a dummy appear to be talking, Satan the Devil (who the Bible at Revelation 12:9 reveals to be "the original serpent") decieved Eve into believing that God was a liar, that God was witholding something good from her and her husband that they should have and that they could be like God themselves in determing what was Good and Bad... thus no longer needing God (CAREFULLY READ what Satan said to Eve at Genesis 3:1-5 and compare it with what God said to Adam at Genesis 2:16, 17).



God Almighty placed that tree there to test the faithfulness of Adam and Eve based on the love he showed them. They were not created as mindless robots but had FREE WILL, to decide for themselves whether to obey God or not, they CHOSE to disobey him. They trampled on his RIGHT to rule (aka his Universal Sovereignty) and THAT was the first sin of man. Thus the issue is does Almighty God have the RIGHT to rule man by having the absolute last say as to what is Good and Bad... OR... can MAN do a better job at ruling himself and determining for himself what is Good and Bad?



Also, many people (those without accurate knowledge of the Bible and lacking in genuine faith) say that Adam and Eve were fictional characters, however, the Bible shows that they were REAL and that the account in Genesis about them is reliable and accurate. In the book of Luke (Luke was a disciple of Jesus and also a doctor) at Luke 3:23-38, Luke lists Jesus' geneaology and traces it all the way back to ADAM himself (as can be seen at Luke 3:38). Also, at Matthew 19:4 Jesus quotes from Genesis 1:27 and Genesis 5:2 thereby showing that the account regarding Adam and Eve was accurate and non-fictional.





3) "In The Fall of Man it says "then the man and his wife heard the sound of God as he was walking in the garden" I thought God was a being not a person that walked what is that all about?"



Genesis 3:8 says:



"Later they heard the voice of Jehovah God walking in the garden about the breezy part of the day, and the man and his wife went into hiding from the face of Jehovah God in between the trees of the garden."



The Bible reveals that when God spoke to humans, it was often through an angel. (Genesis 16:7-11; 18:1-3, 22-26; 19:1; Judges 2:1-4; 6:11-16, 22; 13:15-22) God’s CHIEF spokesman was his only-begotten Son, called “the Word.” (John 1:1) Very likely God spoke to Adam and Eve through “the Word”, his only begotten Son.—Genesis 1:26-28; 2:16; 3:8-13.



~Edit~: I also highly recommend you reviewing the following short movie clip. It explains WHY the actual meaning of John 1:1 is MISTRANSLATED in many (but not all) Bible's into the ENGLISH language and WHY it reads; "In the beginning the Word was and the Word was with God and the Word was God" but that the translation of; "In [the] beginning the Word was, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god" is more accurate and in tune with the Bible and what the apostle John was trying to convey. You can view the short movie clip here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdMV3PIEUco&NR=1

{ Real Truth about John 1:1 }





Anyway, during those periods of communication (when the voice of God was heard "walking" in the garden), the first man learned much that was for his good... if only Adam listened and obeyed.







4) "Also in The Fall of Man "The man has now become one of us, knowing good and evil" who is US?"



The same "US" that God mentions at Genesis 1:26 where he says:



"And God went on to say: “Let US make man in OUR image, according to OUR likeness".



While on earth, Jesus was a human, although a perfect one because it was God who transferred the life-force of Jesus to the womb of Mary. (Matthew 1:18-25) But that IS NOT how he began. He himself declared that he had "descended from heaven." (John 3:13) So it was only natural that he would later say to his followers: "What if you should see the Son of man [Jesus] ascend to where he was before?"—John 6:62, NJB.



Thus, Jesus had an existence in heaven BEFORE coming to the earth. But was it as one of the persons in an almighty, eternal triune Godhead? No, for the Bible plainly states that in his PREHUMAN existence, Jesus was a CREATED spirit being, just as angels were spirit beings CREATED by God. Neither the angels nor Jesus had existed BEFORE their creation.



Jesus, in his prehuman existence, was "the first-born of all creation" as Colossians 1:15 brings out. He was "the beginning of God's creation." (Revelation 3:14, RS, Catholic edition). "Beginning" [Greek, ar·khe'] cannot rightly be interpreted to mean that Jesus was the 'beginner' of God's creation. In his Bible writings, the apostle John uses various forms of the Greek word ar·khe' more than 20 times, and these always have the common meaning of "beginning." Jesus was created by God as the beginning of God's invisible creations.



Notice how closely those references to the origin of Jesus correlate with expressions uttered by the figurative "Wisdom" in the Bible book of Proverbs: "Yahweh created me, first-fruits of his fashioning, before the oldest of his works. Before the mountains were settled, before the hills, I came to birth; before he had made the earth, the countryside, and the first elements of the world." (Proverbs 8:12, 22, 25, 26, NJB) While the term "Wisdom" is used to personify the one whom God created, MOST SCHOLARS AGREE that it is actually a figure of speech for JESUS as a spirit creature PRIOR to his human existence.



As "Wisdom" in his prehuman existence, Jesus goes on to say that he was "by his [God's] side, a master craftsman." (Proverbs 8:30, JB) In harmony with this role as master craftsman, Colossians 1:16 says of Jesus that "through him God created everything in heaven and on earth."—Today's English Version (TEV).



So it was by means of this master worker, his junior partner, as it were, that Almighty God created all other things. The Bible summarizes the matter this way: "For us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things . . . and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things." (Italics ours.)—1 Corinthians 8:6, RS, Catholic edition.



It no doubt was to this master craftsman that God said: "Let us make man in our image." (Genesis 1:26) Some have claimed that the "us" and "our" in this expression indicate a Trinity. But if you were to say, 'Let us make something for ourselves,' no one would normally understand this to imply that several persons are combined as one inside of you. You simply mean that two or more individuals will work together on something. So, too, when God used "us" and "our," he was simply addressing another individual, his first spirit creation, the master craftsman, the prehuman Jesus.



Hopes that answers your questions... from the Bible and by the Bible.





Ciao



http://watchtower.org/e/jt/article_01.htm

{Jehovah's Witnesses—Who Are They? What Do They Believe?}


This content was originally posted on Y! Answers, a Q&A website that shut down in 2021.
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