CH 201 ESSAY ONE
Jessica Austria
October 13, 2014
Ch 201
Essay One
Mortal Sin This semester we have read about many historical figures, from heroes like Gilgamesh, to philosophers like Plato, and even adventurers like Gilgamesh. Although every single one of these people is fascinating, the most interesting historical or fictional figure that has been encountered this semester happens to be God. Those who have prior knowledge to God know that he is seen as a powerful and merciful God, and while this seems to be true, the God in the Old Testament seems to be a God of wrath, with stricter punishments. It is mentioned in Humanities in the Western Tradition, “In the Hebrew Scriptures, God’s justice and mercy always temper the theme of human sinfulness,” (Perry 42). God loves; however, in the books we’ve read, he seems to give out very harsh punishments for those who disobey him. In the first few chapters of Genesis, it is obvious that God is very powerful, but the act of sin made him very angry, and many of the examples of his acts of retribution were shown in Genesis. With the creation of light, the earth, all the animals that walk among it, and creating humans in his image and likeness, it is clear that he has a lot of power. He told the first humans, Adam and Eve, they could eat any of the fruits, besides the fruit from the tree of knowledge, but a serpent tempted Eve and convinced her it would be beneficial for her to eat the fruit. Not only did she eat from the fruit, but she made Adam do it as well. With God’s power, he gave them plenty of food to eat, but they disobeyed the one rule he gave them. He punished each of them; Eve with the pain of childbirth, Adam with having to work very hard for food, and even the serpent, and in the end concluding with, “By the sweat of your face, you shall eat bread, until you return to the ground, for out if it you are taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19), and then he forced them out of the Garden of Eden. God
October 13, 2014
Ch 201
Essay One
Mortal Sin This semester we have read about many historical figures, from heroes like Gilgamesh, to philosophers like Plato, and even adventurers like Gilgamesh. Although every single one of these people is fascinating, the most interesting historical or fictional figure that has been encountered this semester happens to be God. Those who have prior knowledge to God know that he is seen as a powerful and merciful God, and while this seems to be true, the God in the Old Testament seems to be a God of wrath, with stricter punishments. It is mentioned in Humanities in the Western Tradition, “In the Hebrew Scriptures, God’s justice and mercy always temper the theme of human sinfulness,” (Perry 42). God loves; however, in the books we’ve read, he seems to give out very harsh punishments for those who disobey him. In the first few chapters of Genesis, it is obvious that God is very powerful, but the act of sin made him very angry, and many of the examples of his acts of retribution were shown in Genesis. With the creation of light, the earth, all the animals that walk among it, and creating humans in his image and likeness, it is clear that he has a lot of power. He told the first humans, Adam and Eve, they could eat any of the fruits, besides the fruit from the tree of knowledge, but a serpent tempted Eve and convinced her it would be beneficial for her to eat the fruit. Not only did she eat from the fruit, but she made Adam do it as well. With God’s power, he gave them plenty of food to eat, but they disobeyed the one rule he gave them. He punished each of them; Eve with the pain of childbirth, Adam with having to work very hard for food, and even the serpent, and in the end concluding with, “By the sweat of your face, you shall eat bread, until you return to the ground, for out if it you are taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19), and then he forced them out of the Garden of Eden. God