Was it Adam who altered his own DNA so that sicknesses & consequent death would be passed on to his offspring?

by deegee 26 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  deegee

  The blame for mankind's sicknesses/diseases and consequent death has been placed squarely on the shoulders of Adam:

  Romans 5:12, 17 - 19:
  "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned—
  For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man.......
  Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people........
  For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners........"

  1 Corinthians 15: 21, 22:
  "For since death came through a man........... For as in Adam all die......."

  But was it Adam (and Eve) who altered his own DNA/genetic makeup so that sicknesses/diseases and consequent death would be passed on to his offspring or was it God who did this?

  It is not a part of JW doctrine/practices to pray for healing but there are Christians who do this as it is a part of their doctrine/practices. I find it ironic that such Christians pray for healing from sicknesses/diseases when it is in fact God who altered Adam's (and Eve's) DNA so that his offspring would become sick and die in the first place - that is, it is God who made them prone to sickness yet they are praying to him for healing.

  The implication of all of this is that since it is God who altered Adam's (and Eve's) DNA so that his offspring would become sick and die, then God is responsible for the sicknesses/diseases and the consequent death and suffering in the world.
  
  
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  nicolaou

  Nicely thought through, thank you. Logic really is a pain in the arse for the faithful isn't it?
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  schnell

  "I am not the one testing you, he is. But if you fail, I'll punish you for it. No, that most certainly does NOT mean I am testing you."

  We share just shy of 99% of our DNA with chimpanzees, and geneticists know and have published PLENTY about the subject. There is no basis for Adam in 4026 BCE.

  On my way out, I began to suppose that Adam could have been a name for a single human around that time that decided he was hot stuff, or perhaps that Adam and Eve were a metaphor for early homo sapiens. Indeed, we like to think of our species as special and unique and without any parentage, that our species came out of a sort of virgin birth from the dust. We like to lie to ourselves. But we are the not the only hominid species in history, as evidenced by Lucy and Ardi and all the rest, from all over the world, and from long before 4026 BCE.

  Either way, the idea of Adam not being created from the dust, or of Adam and Eve being a metaphor, is an unnecessary reinterpretion of the 2 creation myths in the Tanakh. It also leaves no room for original sin or a messianic ransom sacrifice in the JW's philosophy of history. Neither, I might add, does science.
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  jookbeard

  great point, the blame can be solely pointed at our wonderful creator,what an abhorrent evil entity,I wonder how the theists explain it?
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  schnell

  @jookbeard, they can't explain the genes at all, but they try explain it by blaming Satan, of course. Remember, it was Revelation that finally went back around and said the serpent in Eden was the devil. Revelation, written much later than Genesis, was a book allegedly written by John and more likely by an early Gnostic named Cerinthus, and a book many early churches didn't accept. (In fact, some preferred "the Apocalypse of Peter.")

  Cerinthus, it should be especially pointed out, wanted to spread his idea of 1000 years of paradise on earth.

  (Source: "Forged" and "Jesus, Interrupted" by Bart Ehrman, a seminary professor)

  As usual, 43alley explains it well.

  https://youtu.be/j-gbOnWj6Mw
  
• 

  Phizzy

  Some diseases are traceable back to Neanderthals who died out over 30,000 years ago.

  How do Bible literalists explain that one ?
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  jookbeard

  Schnell, poor Satan always getting the blame, The Devil the great DNA knob twiddler
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  LongHairGal

  Whether the Adam and Eve story is true or just a fairytale, I don't think "Adam" could have done anything to himself to change his DNA way back when!

  Never mind the guilt-trip and the stupid simple analogy of the dented pan the Witnesses used to explain how "imperfection" was passed down to his descendants.

  Anything that happened to Adam after he supposedly "sinned" must have been done to HIM by "God" (or gods).
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  schnell

  Interestingly, this discussion makes me think of a recent point I made with a faithful brother as we discussed science: "Have you heard of this thing called CRISPER? Scientists now can change an organism's DNA that it passes on, so they can make a change in all of its offspring. Isn't that neat? Just think, if we have that power, what could Jehovah do?"
• 

  Hairtrigger

  Naaa! It was the fruit tree.

  It was the kn ow ledge of good and bad fruit. If you ate the fruit it changed your DNA to become receptive to diseases. And the diseases already in your DNA gotten fron neanderthals and aliens having sex with humans_ well thems were already locked up by the key. The key was not eating the fruit but looking at the tree regularly and talking with the serpent about how good the jew Hobo was. The serpent wasn't a fallen angel yet. Remember.

  That's why Adam and his chick were kicked outta the garden so they couldn't look at the tree and revert their DNA to the non disease state.

  Latest from the seven anointed dwarfs of the jew hobos organization on the planet.