The Book of Genesis Essay -- Bible Religion Papers

The Book of Genesis Genesis tells us that; in the beginning, God created the heavens, separated light from dark, and gave earth life. God also created two trees in the Garden of Eden. One was the â€Å"tree of life† and the other was the â€Å"tree of the knowledge of good and evil.† Adam was given life for the first time, and as a special gift, God created Eve. Moreover, God gave mankind freewill, allowing them to do whatever they pleased, so although God had forbidden Adam and Eve to touch the tree of knowledge of good and evil, He knew that it was their own choice whether or not to obey Him. In the story of the First Sin we see this first sign of LUST. lust n. Intense or unrestrained sexual craving. An overwhelming desire or craving: a lust for power. Intense eagerness or enthusiasm: a lust for life. The crafty serpent convinced Eve into eating the forbidden fruit by telling her, â€Å"You will not die; for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil† (Genesis 3.4). Eve was curious to know what this â€Å"evil† was, and hence she lusted for knowledge to be powerful like the almighty God. Eve took her chances and put her faith in the serpent and not the Lord. After she ate the forbidden fruit, she offered it to her husband who was also curious as to what it would do to them. Now the Lord came down to confront Adam, and for the first time, Adam was afraid and hid. They were punished accordingly and now had to live knowing the darker half to life -- evil. wrath n. Forceful, often vindictive anger. Punishment or vengeance as a manifestation of anger. Divine retribution for sin... ... because he was Jacob’s favorite son. envy n. A feeling of discontent and resentment aroused by and in conjunction with desire for the possessions or qualities of another. Anyone would have loved to take his place, but there was no separating Joseph from his father. The envious brothers got together and conspired to kill him, but instead ended up selling their youngest sibling to slavery. In the end, Joseph prospered while all the others ended up where they started; envying their brother. As you can see, the original examples of each of the Deadly Sins are present in Genesis. From the beginning, we read about Lust in the story of Adam and Eve and end up with a story about Envy in Joseph and his brothers. Today, modern day people have to deal with choices between good and evil just like the times of Adam and Eve.