On that note, how were Adam and Eve able to produce all those generations of kids through inbreeding even though inbreeding allows can only go on for a few generations?
This is how we understand the situation, based on what is recorded in scripture......Since the first humans were closer to their 'pre-fall' perfection, despite now being the 'carriers' of "sin" (an archery term that means to "miss the mark") they had no choice but to marry their own kin. If you understand that in the beginning it was only through "inbreeding" that the human race was going to increase anyway......and since there was no law against it, and the gene pool was not as 'polluted' as it would become later, God allowed his first command to the humans to go ahead......they were to "fill the earth"....and they did.
If you read elsewhere in Genesis, you will find that some of the Bible's most significant characters married their own family members. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob all married close relatives.
But after God gave his law to Israel, (when he had gathered them as a nation in isolation in the wilderness, preparing to enter the Promised Land, and they had, by their own choice, agreed to abide by his laws) he added the law on incest along with many other moral laws. Perhaps by then, the gene pool had been 'polluted' enough to become a problem genetically, as we know it is now. But even a few centuries ago, when monarchies ruled some nations, inbreeding was a problem when "blue-bloods" felt that they were too 'royal' to mix with 'commoners' and so mental and physical disabilities resulted among them.
So before genetic problems arose, God put a stop to it.
Regarding miracles what do you think of
John 14:12?
"Most truly I say to you, whoever exercises faith in me will also do the works that I do; and he will do works greater than these, because I am going my way to the Father."
Initially, Jesus was talking to his apostles who did exactly that.
When Gentiles began to be added, the disciples would take the good news way beyond the boundaries of Israel and into new territories and a new audience.
The apostle Paul indicated that the miracles that got Christianity established in the beginning would cease, and once the apostles died, the gifts died with them. They were not to be a permanent arrangement....otherwise there would be no need for doctors and hospitals because healers would be everywhere and the medical system would be unnecessary. Since the cures that occurred in the first century were instantaneous, it would simply be a matter of walking in sick and walking out cured......thousands of people could be cured every day. Faith healing these days doesn't work like that, does it? There are way more failures than successes. Not the result of holy spirit, but of an inferior deceptive spirit, according to our understanding.
The other point that needs understanding is that the gifts, like healing, were not performed on those who were already believers.
The apostles never used the power of the spirit on themselves or each other. Paul told Timothy to use a little wine for his stomach complaint. (1 Timothy 5:23) The miracles were designed to show 'unbelievers' what the benefits of the Kingdom would bring to mankind in the future.
"Perception management" is the ability to use suggestion to lead someone to believe something that may not be true.
It is used by advertising agencies to sell products by demonizing a competing product. A classic example of this would be the 'margarine verses butter' competition some decades ago. The only way to sell an inferior product is to convince people that it is dangerous in some way, get some "experts" to back up the claim, and then promote your own product as the better alternative. It doesn't matter if it's not true, or if it is detrimental to health, as long as they make money. It plays on people's gullibility and dependence on others to make decisions for them. As it turns out, butter was never the problem.
Another one would be the "low-fat" products that suggested that fat was the reason why so many people were overweight. But even though fat was not the real problem, people believed that if they ate "low-fat" products, they could eat more and lose weight. No one seemed to notice that they just got fatter because the real culprit was sugar and low-fat products were loaded with it. This mind set still persists in some people.
Politics is also known for this tactic. Demonize the opposition and promote yourself as the better alternative. Truth is always the casualty.
The devil invented this ploy...it works well for him.
So as long as they don't act out their desires, they're OK? Also, why would God want Adam and Eve to have kids and pass on original sin knowing that it could result in things like homosexuality?
No one can help the way their genetics are expressed....but they can control their actions. Pedophiles, for example are genetically pre-disposed to be sexually attracted to young children. Those who are not able to control their sexual impulses are arrested and put in jail. They need help, not just punishment.
Sexual addictions of any description are exacerbated by 'feeding' them. Whatever you feed, grows. Pedophilia today is more rampant than ever because pedophiles can feed on disgusting images that come directly into their homes via the internet. Other sorts of pornography too feed unnatural sexual desires and people can become bored with the natural sexual activity within a sanctioned marriage and begin to search for excitement outside of it.
All actions begin with thoughts. So unless we can control our thoughts, by reining them in before they become actions, it becomes a chain reaction. (James 1:14-15)
I was taught that the Holy Spirit is a He.
Just thought I'd address this point. In Greek, like French, there is masculine and feminine gender attached to things that have no gender.
The "paraclete" ("helper", holy spirit) in Greek is masculine. The holy spirit is not a "he" any more than God is a "he". Spirits do not have gender. The holy spirit is an impersonal force, not the third part of a trinity. It is God's power that is sent to carry out his will. It is given in due measure for whatever the situation requires.
Moses was buckling under the weight of his responsibility in leading his wayward nation in the wilderness. It was suggested that he appoint 70 others to help him carry out his assignment. God then took some of the holy spirit from Moses and shared it out among them all. (Numbers 11:13-17) God's spirit is not a person.
God portrays himself as a Father figure because in the family arrangement that he instituted, there is headship (not to be confused with dictatorship) and everyone has a head except God. (1 Corinthians 11:3)
Back to you.
