Transcript Hypocrites and Backsliders: Human Nature and the Christian

Hypocrites and Backsliders007
Adam and Eve:
Part 2 mundus vult decipi, ergo decipiatur
("The world wants to be deceived, so let it be
deceived.")
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Hypocrites and Backsliders:
Human Nature and the Christian Life
Mankind:We believe that Adam was created in
the image and likeness of God, spiritually alive,
and that through one act of personal sin, he
died spiritually and acquired a sin nature (Gen.
1:26; 2:17). Since Adam's sin, every member of
the human race, excluding Jesus Christ, is born
physically alive yet spiritually dead, in a state of
total depravity with a genetically transmitted sin
nature (Rom. 3:10-17; Isa. 64:6; Jer. 17:9;
Rom. 5:12; 6:23).
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This state of depravity leaves man totally helpless to
produce an eternal relationship with God apart from the
saving work of Christ on the Cross and God's policy of
grace (Isa. 64:6; Jn. 3:16, 18, 36; Eph. 2:8, 9).
We believe that the human soul was created in the
image of God. The image of God refers to the reflection
of His divine essence. Man's image reflects God's
image in his immaterial makeup. Adam sinned willfully
against God's command not to eat of the forbidden tree
and died spiritually. That this unidentified fruit wrought a
genetic mutation subsequently known as the Sin
Nature.
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Mankind instantly became separated from God and unable to
fellowship with Him (Genesis 3:18-19; Romans 3:23; 5:12;
6:23; Ephesians 2:12). All human beings inherit this sin nature
by genetic transference through the male (hence the necessity
of the Virgin Conception of Christ). To this sin nature is
imputed Adam's original sin (Romans 3:23; 5:12) and each
person is therefore born physically alive and spiritually dead.
This describes the depravity of all mankind. Man, controlled by
the sin nature, wants independence from God.
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God condemns mankind and will bring him to judgment
(Hebrews 9:27; Revelation 20:11-15). God is fair and
offers mankind an alternative through the sacrifice of
His Son. Adam and the woman accepted the coats of
skins from the hand of the Lord in Genesis 3:21. The
shedding of animal (lamb, sheep, goats) blood and the
couple's faith in the promised future Savior (Genesis
3:16) enabled them to receive the free gift of eternal
life. This became the pattern of recovery for all of
mankind. Each individual must personally accept the
Savior in order to be removed from judgment (John
3:36).
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Why Are We Here?
Why are there hypocrites and backsliders?
3 weeks ago we read the personal testimony of
many who started their Christian lives with
enthusiasm and commitment, but who were, in a
relatively short time, so disenchanted with their faith
in that they chose to leave Christianity behind,
even inviting others to do the same.
How can this be, when God’s Word says:
“According as His Divine Power has given us all
things that pertain to life and godliness...” -- 2 Peter
1:3
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Hypocrites and Backsliders:
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"Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit,
hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind" (1 Peter
2:1).
Christian Hypocrites!
“Those Christians, they say one thing and do another,
why should we believe them? Why be a Christian
when they are such hypocrites?”
It is true that many Christians are hypocrites and many
are worse than the Unbeliever.
Famous preachers have swindled money, cheated on
their wives, and manipulated the unsuspecting.
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Hypocrites and Backsliders:
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The Christian Defense: “Do not judge
Christianity based on the actions of those
who claim to be followers. Judge
Christianity solely on the actions and life of
Jesus Christ. He never let anyone down.
He never abandoned anyone. He was not
a hypocrite.”
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But does this address the problem?
Are we destined, as one website says,”If
you are Christian, you are a hypocrite.”
Is there no hope to overcome hypocrisy?
Look at the carnage such hypocrisy
leaves:
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Why Are We Here?
What power, what force, would cause people who
were so excited about their new-found faith,
whose lives have changed so dramatically, to
return to their old way of living?
To answer that question we traveled back to the
beginning, not just the beginning of their faith in
Christ, though we will do that; not just back to the
beginning of Christianity, and we will do that too,
but back further, to the beginning of mankind, the
beginning of the earth, and even before that.
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Why Are We Here?
We began with an obscure little sentence at
the end of 1 Peter 1:12 -"Angels long to stoop and look into these
things."
What things could it be that angels "long" to
look into?
What could it be that humanity has to teach
angels?
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Why Are We Here?
Let us look at the context of the passage to see
what it might be:
10 There were Prophets who earnestly inquired
about that salvation, and closely searched into it-even those who spoke beforehand of the grace
which was to come to you. 11 They were eager to
know the time which the Spirit of Christ within
them kept indicating, or the characteristics of that
time, when they solemnly made known
beforehand the sufferings that were to come upon
Christ and the glories which would follow.
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Why Are We Here?
12 To them it was revealed that they were
serving not themselves but you, when they
foretold the very things which have now been
openly declared to you by those who, having
been taught by the Holy Spirit which had
been sent from Heaven, brought you the
Good News. Angels long to stoop and look
into these things.
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Why Are We Here?
So, the angels are aware of some story that
even the prophets of the Old testament were
kept in the dark about, that are now revealed
in the church age believer
Is there anything in the Bible that might shed
more light on what it is about us that the
angels are interested in?
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Why Are We Here?
Job 1:6 Now there was a day when the sons (the
angels) of God came to present themselves before the
Lord, and Satan (the adversary and accuser) also
came among them. 7 And the Lord said to Satan,
From where did you come? Then Satan answered the
Lord, From going to and fro on the earth and from
walking up and down on it. 8 And the Lord said to
Satan, Have you considered My servant Job, that there
is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright
man, one who [reverently] fears God and abstains from
and shuns evil [because it is wrong]?
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The Antagonistic Environment:
Angelic Conflict
As an expression of His perfect essence, God
chose to have created beings functioning in the
universe on the basis of "free will."
He wanted them to express themselves toward
Him in a positive attitude from choice and not
as a programmed "robot.”
A volitional creature, however, must bow to the
consequences God establishes for deviation
from His standards.
God permitted volition in the angelic realm.
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The Antagonistic Environment:
Angelic Conflict
God is absolute righteousness.
In God's foreknowledge, He anticipated that the
opposite of His perfect righteousness would
manifest itself through a volitional creature.
Therefore, He created the Servant Class
Creature (Angels) first, and allowed them to
rebel, thus setting up an opportunity to create a
second being, the Fellowship Class, to resolve
the Volitional Conflict Issue through Grace and
Regeneration.
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The Antagonistic Environment:
Angelic Conflict
The revolt of the angels: the beginning of the
angelic conflict.
What God had anticipated came about and
the highest ranked angel expressed negative
volition toward God and sinned. Ezk. 28:1516a, 17a, 18a
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The Antagonistic Environment:
Angelic Conflict
 According to Isaiah 14:12, his name was Lucifer
(Latin). The shining one. This was because of his
magnificent beauty.
 When Satan sinned against God, he was sentenced to
the lake of fire for all eternity. Ezek. 28.19b; Mt. 25.41
 Mt 25:41 Then He will say to those at His left hand,
Begone from Me, you cursed, into the eternal fire
prepared for the devil and his angels!
 Satan's ultimate goal to win escape from this sentence is
to totally discredit and destroy the character and
viewpoint of God so as to displace Him as the sovereign
of the universe. Is. 14.14
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The Antagonistic Environment:
Angelic Conflict
When this final judgment was pronounced on Satan,
he then devised what he thought was a "God-proof"
escape plan.
We can call it, Satan's Appeal of Love and Fairness:
It is impossible for a loving God to cast His creatures
into the lake of fire.
It is unfair to judge a creature for failing when you put
into him the capacity to fail, ie, volition.
 Thus, for God to be perfectly fair, he must demonstrate
the perfect compatibility between all three of those
attributes, without compromising any of them.
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The Antagonistic Environment:
Angelic Conflict
The Angelic Conflict
But these concepts are expressed from the viewpoint of a
creature who now has a "distorted" mentality and wisdom.
Ezek. 28:17,"You corrupted your wisdom"
The fallen angel now has a distorted, corrupt, evil "nature."
In his corruption, he failed to consider the absolute nature of
God's righteousness and justice in conjunction with the
"impartiality" of His perfect love.
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The Antagonistic Environment:
Angelic Conflict
Our understanding of Satan's "protest" is based
on four factors.
That Lucifer’s title was changed to Satan, or
Adversary, Accuser, Attorney.
The expression of this very viewpoint by a demon
(fallen angel) who visited Eliphaz at Job 4:1221. (God is unfair and unloving)
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The Antagonistic Environment:
Angelic Conflict
 Job 4:12-21 Now a word was brought to me stealthily, And my ear
received a whisper of it. Amid disquieting thoughts from the visions of the
night, When deep sleep falls on men, Dread came upon me, and
trembling, And made all my bones shake. Then a spirit passed by my
face; The hair of my flesh bristled up. It stood still, but I could not discern
its appearance; A form was before my eyes; There was silence, then I
heard a voice: Can mankind be just before God? Can a man be pure
before his Maker? He puts no trust even in His servants; And against His
angels He charges error. How much more those who dwell in houses of
clay, Whose foundation is in the dust, Who are crushed before the moth!
Between morning and evening they are broken in pieces; Unobserved,
they perish forever. Is not their tent-cord plucked up within them? They
die, yet without wisdom.
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The Antagonistic Environment:
Angelic Conflict
The "fact" that Satan’s sentence was pronounced in
Eternity Past, yet he is not NOW in the lake of fire; the
fact that man was createde after the pronouncement of
his sentence; the fact that angels are so interested in
humanity, and that Satan has such an interest in the
Fall of Man and the prevention of his Salvation,
requires a "reasonable" explanation as to "why?"
The expression of this very viewpoint throughout the
history of the human race under the influence of
Satan's revolution.
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The Antagonistic Environment:
Angelic Conflict
When Satan rebelled against God, God
established some kind of "confrontation" or
"test period" for the other angels to
determine for all time, which angels were on
"God's side" and which wanted to follow in
Satan's revolt.
After this "test period" the lines were drawn,
decisions made and two types of angels
were now in existence in the universe
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The Antagonistic Environment:
Angelic Conflict
The elect or un-fallen angels who adhered to
Divine design. Hebrews 1:6, angels of God .
(1 Tim. 5:21)
The fallen angels, now in active and
perpetual rebellion against God and aligned
under the ruling authority of Satan to
promote his cause. Satan's angels, Rev.
12:7; Mat. 25:41
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The Antagonistic Environment:
Angelic Conflict
Thus we determine that God has delayed execution
of sentence on Satan in order to demonstrate to
him and to all of creation that He is indeed perfectly
fair, righteous and loving.
During this "delay of sentence" period, Satan is
constantly attempting to overthrow God's
sovereignty.
Only when the absolute sovereignty of God is
neutralized can Satan' s volition be independent
and unrestricted by God and His character.
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The Antagonistic Environment:
Angelic Conflict
 God's vindication of His justice began with the creation of the human race
on the very planet that Satan had once inhabited.
 The earth.
 It is likely that Satan had his original Headquarters on the earth, which at
that time was inhabited by non-volitional life forms (such as dinosaurs,
etc).
 So God put a stop to Satan's possession of the earth and totally destroyed
its surface by covering it with water and ice. 2 Pet. 3:5-6
 The earth became: The verb is, hAyAh which is frequently translated,
"became." (Gen. 2:7; 19:26; Isaiah 66:2)
 Formless: a waste = tohu Cf. Is. 45:18, it was not created
this way.
 And empty: bohu - lit., emptiness
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Creation
The time period between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2
is called the “gap”, the period of time between the
original creation and the restoration of the earth.
The length of the gap is unknown and can be
speculated about through geological discussion.
But the existence of this "gap" is both reasonable and
necessary in view of the revealed details of the angelic
conflict.
God made the planet earth "unusable" for Satan by
turning it into "a wasteland and empty," (Hebrew - tohu
and bohu). CF. Isaiah 45:18; Jer. 4:23-26; Psalm 18:715
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Creation
The earth was then restored and prepared for
God's new creation, the human race. Gen. 1:3
through 2:4.
Man was created with the same capacity of
volition and given the clear choice between
acceptance or rejection of Divine policy. Gen.
2:16-17:
"But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil
you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it
dying you shall die”.
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Hypocrites and Backsliders:
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In Genesis (2:4-2:25), we have the account concerning
Adam and Eve, which immediately follows the account
of seven days: In the day that Yahweh made the earth
and the heavens, when no plant of the field was yet in
the earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up--for
Yahweh had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and
there was no one to till the ground; but a stream would
rise up from the earth and water the whole face of the
ground then Yahweh formed man from the dust of the
ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life;
and man became a living being. And Yahweh planted a
garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man
whom he had formed.
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Out of the ground Yahweh made to grow every tree that is
pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in
the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of
good and evil. A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden,
and there it divides and becomes four branches. The name of
the first is Pishon; it is the one which flows around the whole
land of Havilah, where there is gold; and the gold of that land
is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there. The name of the
second river is Gihon; it is the one that flows around the
whole land of Cush. And the name of the third river is Tigris,
which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the
Euphrates.
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Yahweh took the man and put him in the Garden of
Eden to till it and keep it. And Yahweh commanded the
man, "You may freely eat of every tree of the garden;
but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you
shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall
die." Then Yahweh said, "It is not good that the man
should be alone; I will make him a helper as his
partner." So out of the ground Yahweh formed every
animal of the field and every bird of the air, and brought
them to Adam to see what he would call them; and
whatever Adam called every living creature, that was its
name.
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Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of
the air, and to every animal of the field; but for
Adam there was not found a helper as his partner.
So Yahweh caused a deep sleep to fall upon
Adam, and while he slept took one of his ribs
and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib
that Yahweh had taken from the man he made
into a woman and brought her to the man.
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Hypocrites and Backsliders:
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Then Adam said, "This at last is bone of my
bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called
Woman, because she was taken out of Man."
Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother
and cleaves to his wife, and they become one
flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked,
and were not ashamed.
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Creation
Adam and Eve became the subject of the
“Appeal”, the "test case" for the perfect
character of God.
As they remain faithful to divine policy, God's
righteousness, justice and love are
vindicated.
If they reject divine policy, God's justice is
restated and affirmed. "You shall surely die."
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Hypocrites and Backsliders:
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Genesis 2:16-17 (YLT) 16 And Jehovah God layeth a
charge on the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden
eating thou dost eat; 17 and of the tree of knowledge of
good and evil, thou dost not eat of it, for in the day of
thine eating of it dying thou dost die.”
In order for Adam to develop into a responsible and
loving companion to God, not a mere automaton or
slave, it was necessary that God give him a choice: to
accept God’s will -- the way of eternal life; or to reject
God’s will -- the way of eternal death.
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When one realizes the only possible
relationship between perfect Creator and
creature, and the unbelievable
consequences of creature rebellion, there
was no choice on God’s part but to lay
down the ultimate for sin. ･ “Art thou not
from everlasting, O Lord, my God, mine
Holy One? Thou art of purer eyes than to
behold evil, and canst not look upon
iniquity” (Habakkuk 1:12, 13).
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Satan knows that Humans are to determine his
fate -- Lake of Fire or Vindication of his claim of
unfairness against God.
So he immediately sets about to win the Appeal
by enticing the witnesses to join him in rebellion,
to “testify on his behalf”, or, at least, to enlist the
new creatures in his army.
Let us look at his attempt to corrupt the 1st
witnesses:
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Let us look at the Eve and her “beguiling”:
The Bible says: “And the Lord God formed man of
the dust of the ground, and breathed into his
nostrils the breath of lives, and man became a
living soul” (Genesis 2:7).
Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of
the air, and to every animal of the field; but for
Adam there was not found a helper as his partner.
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Hypocrites and Backsliders:
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In Genesis (2:4-2:25), we have the account concerning
Adam and Eve, which immediately follows the account
of seven days: In the day that Yahweh made the earth
and the heavens, when no plant of the field was yet in
the earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up--for
Yahweh had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and
there was no one to till the ground; but a stream would
rise up from the earth and water the whole face of the
ground then Yahweh formed man from the dust of the
ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life;
and man became a living being. And Yahweh planted a
garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man
whom he had formed.
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Hypocrites and Backsliders:
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Out of the ground Yahweh made to grow every tree that is
pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in
the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of
good and evil. A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden,
and there it divides and becomes four branches. The name of
the first is Pishon; it is the one which flows around the whole
land of Havilah, where there is gold; and the gold of that land
is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there. The name of the
second river is Gihon; it is the one that flows around the
whole land of Cush. And the name of the third river is Tigris,
which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the
Euphrates.
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Hypocrites and Backsliders:
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Yahweh took the man and put him in the Garden of
Eden to till it and keep it. And Yahweh commanded the
man, "You may freely eat of every tree of the garden;
but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you
shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall
die." Then Yahweh said, "It is not good that the man
should be alone; I will make him a helper as his
partner." So out of the ground Yahweh formed every
animal of the field and every bird of the air, and brought
them to Adam to see what he would call them; and
whatever Adam called every living creature, that was its
name.
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Hypocrites and Backsliders:
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Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of
the air, and to every animal of the field; but for
Adam there was not found a helper as his partner.
So Yahweh caused a deep sleep to fall upon
Adam, and while he slept took one of his ribs
and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib
that Yahweh had taken from the man he made
into a woman and brought her to the man.
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Then Adam said, "This at last is bone of my
bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called
Woman, because she was taken out of Man."
Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother
and cleaves to his wife, and they become one
flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked,
and were not ashamed.
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Hypocrites and Backsliders:
Human Nature and the Christian Life
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So Yahweh caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam,
and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its
place with flesh. And the rib that Yahweh had taken
from the man he made into a woman and brought her
to the man. Then Adam said, "This at last is bone of my
bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called
Woman, because she was taken out of Man."
Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and
cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh. And the
man and his wife were both naked, and were not
ashamed.
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Hypocrites and Backsliders:
Human Nature and the Christian Life
• "And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to
fall upon Adam, and he slept: and He took one
of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead
thereof; And the rib, which the LORD God had
taken from man, made he a woman, and
brought her unto the man" (KJV)
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Controversy regarding the "rib" continues to the present
day, regarding the Sumerian and the original Hebrew
words for rib.
The common translation, for example, that of the King
ַ means "one of his
James Version, is that ‫ַאחת ִמ ַצלְע ֹתָ יו‬
ribs".
The contrary position is that the term ‫צלע‬ṣelaʿ,
occurring forty-one times in the Tanakh, is most often
translated as "side" in general.
"Rib" is, however, the etymologically primary meaning
of the term, which is from a root ṣ-l-ʿ, "bend", cognate
to Assyrian ṣ人u "rib".
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The Septuagint has μίαν τῶν ｹλευρῶν αὐτοῦ,
with ἡ ｹλευρά choosing a Greek term that like
the Hebrew ṣelaʿ may mean either "rib", or, in
the plural, "side [of a man or animal]" in
general.
The specification "one of the ｹλευρά" thus
closely imitates the Hebrew text.
The Aramaic form of the word is ‫עלע‬ʿalaʿ,
which appears, also in the meaning "rib", in
Daniel 7:5.
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DUE to the pre-eminence of the Adamic creation story
in western civilization, no portion of the human skeleton
has generated more literary consideration than the ribs.
That anatomical part was especially intriguing, before
the rise of modern science, because it is commonly
believed that all human males had one less rib than
females.
The beginning of the clash between biology and
religion can be traced to Andreas Vesalius, the founder
of modern anatomy, who boldly stated that the rib
cages of both sexes contain the same number of
bones.
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• Flesh of His Flesh
• Anatomically, men and women have the
same number of ribs - 24 (unless they have
an extra bi-lateral cervical set of ribs).
• When this fact was noted by the Flemish
anatomist Vesalius in 1524 it touched off a
wave of controversy, since it was thought to
contradict Genesis 2:21:
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In 1543 in De Humani Corporis Fabrica Libri
Septem (1543), he wrote: "The ribs are twelve in
number on each side in man and woman ... The
popular belief that man is lacking a rib on one
side and that woman has one more rib than man
is clearly ridiculous, even though Moses, in the
second chapter of Genesis, said that Eve was
created by God from one of Adam's ribs."
Vesalius received heavy criticism from churchmen
for stating an easily verifiable fact.
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Now, in secular reference, Adam's rib is associated with
little more than facetious comments.
Humor ranges from "woman is only a side issue".
And, "Adam was the earliest electrician because he
furnished the spare parts for the first loud speaker."
Another "side-splitter" states that "woman was taken
from Adam's side, halfway between his heart and his
wallet and has had control of both ever since."
But these misogynist jokes are not as bad as some of
the Biblical commentaries have been:
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