Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Did Adam and Eve Exist?

We are a little behind with our Jesse Tree this year. Normally when we trim the tree we would have a large fir branch we could use for this purpose. This time, the branches were cut at the nursery and my husband had not thought of bringing one home. I brought out our box of Jesse Tree ornaments and started today, with one scripture story per child, until we catch up.

During our reading of the story of Adam and Eve, my 11-year old daughter told me that everyone in her religion class, including her teacher, says the story is not true! It is just a story to teach a lesson, not to be taken literally, they say.

I informed my children that of course the story is true, the all of God’s Word is true, and that people have been trying to say otherwise since the dawn of time.

I teach my children not to believe everything they hear, whether it be in a textbook, in the newspaper, on television, or from their teacher.

But the Word of God is one thing they can always put their faith in.

Adam and Eve. Lucas Cranach the Elder, 1526. Courtauld Gallery, London

2 comments:

Loren said...

Maybe what she meant was that the teacher suggested that whether or not Adam and Eve were actually the names of the first humans is not as important as the story of God's relationship with mankind. People sought power and broke the covenant with God, and Jesus restored that relationship with the new covenant. The writers of the Bible were inspired by the Holy Spirit, and as you suggest, Catholics believe that the text is sacred.

Elizabeth Kathryn Gerold-Miller said...

I wrote a gentle note to the teacher asking her to please call me to clarify what was said. She should know her student was confused. God is not the author of confusion, and little minds need to have things in black and white until they can discern for themselves.