The Book of Genesis lays the foundation for the rest of the Bible. Genesis reveals the world God intends, the destruction caused by disobedience to His ways, and begins to reveal His solution. The enemy, Satan, has always tried to make people distrust God and His Word. So the various attacks against the Bible, beginning with the foundation, shouldn’t surprise us.
PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) is using AI to rewrite the Book of Genesis. They want to produce a version that is more animal-friendly. In their version, animals are not sacrificed in the Garden to cover Adam and Eve. Instead plant fibers are used to make clothing for them. Instead of sacrificing a ram, in Genesis 22, Abraham is shown to befriend a lamb.
This misses the point of the entire Bible. When God placed Adam and Eve in the Garden, He gave them each other, abundant provision, and work to do. He gave them His presence. They had everything they needed. God also gave clear instructions about not eating from a certain tree. He warned of consequences for disobedience.
Yet, despite God’s generosity to them, they dishonored God with their disobedience. They listened to Satan’s temptation to be like God (to be their own god) and ate what God prohibited.
Adam and Eve’s sin was no surprise to God. He knew, before He created mankind, we would use our free will to choose to follow our own ways instead of His. It would be a process for us to learn that God’s ways are perfect and for our best. God knew when He created humanity, we would need a Savior. Sin broke the perfect relationship Adam had with God at creation. God already had a plan to redeem us from ourselves, to forgive sin, and restore the relationship.
When God confronted them about their sin, He hinted at a Redeemer (Genesis 3:15). Then, He provided animal skins to cover them.
From that first animal sacrifice began a system of sacrifice. The animal sacrifices remind us of the seriousness of sin (Romans 6:23). Animal sacrifices cannot redeem us from our sin, they only point us to Jesus. Jesus lived a perfect sinless life, and laid down His life as a sacrifice, for our sake. He took the punishment on Himself that our sins deserve. We cannot save ourselves. He is our only hope. The only way back to God is to trust what Jesus did for us on the cross.
When we study the Bible, God reveals Himself. We learn of His heart and His purposes. The Holy Spirit gives us understanding. God’s heart is for us, not against us. He wants us to come to a relationship with Him. But He is also a God of justice. He will not tolerate sin. He has made one way for us to come to Him. We must come through Jesus or remain separated from Him. Genesis lays the foundation for God’s redemptive plan.
All attacks against the Bible, only reveal a lack of understanding of God, His heart, and His purposes. PETA’s effort will not be the last attempt to replace the Bible with a new version written to match someone’s political or social views. It is a reminder for us to know what the Bible says in order to protect ourselves against attempts to change it.
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23 NLT
For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time. Hebrews 10:10 NLT
How do you hold firm to God’s foundation of truth? Please leave a comment below.
Blessings,
Phyllis
Copyright 2024 Phyllis L. Farringer
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay