Bible Studies/Genesis

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Expert: Mr. McClellan - 1/4/2010


Question
Hey there! :-)

As a part of my new years resolution, I have decided to read the Bible in its entirety and actually get any questions I have answered, instead of just letting them sit there (which I made the mistake of doing last year as part of a reading plan!). So I'm sorry to say that you might just be so unlikely to have to put up with a few more questions from me over the year! haha :) I'll be writing them all down in a book, (hopefully) along side their answers to make sure that I stick to it!

I've only recently gone from being a "Christian" who did his own thing to dedicating my life to Christ and getting stuck into his word, so I'm sorry if some of my questions come off as a bit silly! :)

The first ones for the year, (not so surprisingly I guess) come from Genesis - it is the beginning after all!

In Genesis 1:11, it describes God producing all the plants of the earth, however in Genesis 2:4-5 it says that the earth has no plants. What am I missing here?

My second question comes from Genesis 4:15-17. Simply put, where did these people being described come from, specifically anybody who would want to kill Cain and all the sons' wives.

My third (and last) question comes from Matthew, chapters 1&2. How does the author know that these events took place? Particularly the conversations with Herod which I'd assume took place in private.

That just about sums my confusions up for the first couple days - sorry this question was so long. I really, really appreciate any insight that you can shred :)

God Bless,
Chris

Answer
Hi Chris,
On the Genesis questions, I recommend that you download the free commentary on Genesis from the college press web site. They have a whole set of Bible study books and commentaries written by some very competent scholars that are quite good and they're all free.
Now, my personal thoughts. If Adam and Eve were literally the first man and woman on earth, then all those other people were their children, grand children, great grand children, and so on. Remember, they lived a very long time and had lots of sons and daughters. See Genesis 4.
The differences between Genesis 1 and 2 can be explained on the basis of how "they" wrote so long ago and how they put emphasis in their writings. Check out that work on Genesis I mentioned. It's good.
As for the Question on Matthew; it's hearsay that was considered very reliable because of the miracles involved and known about by numerous trustworthy people. The commentary by College Press does a good job of explaining things. It would take quite a while here to be sure I satisfied your curiosity on these questions. Here's the web site where you can get the free books: http://www.collegepress.com/storefront/node/13
I hope this helps.
Sincerely,
Mr. McClellan.

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Mr. McClellan

Expertise

I can answer questions concerning Christian doctrine as well as other kinds of questions relating to religion. One important thing, among many, that needs clearing up is the meaning of religion. Religion is any system of belief that tries to explain how people should think and behave so that life is the best it can be. The definition found in the dictionary is seriously in error being based on popular but wrong ideas. Email me at and.the.truth.is@GMX.com for a free PDF 5 page introduction to my just completed book, "And The Truth Is?" It's uniquely different and interactive, designed to show you that you can actually know the way, the truth, and the life Jesus spoke of and what he expected people to do to participate in it as well as what to expect if they did.

Experience

My education puts me second to none in this area and I have had over forty years experience in the area of teaching Christian theology, doctrine, apologetics, hermeneutics, history, and philosophy. Publications: Among the things that I have written is a summary of the entire Bible that is intended to help people put it all together and quickly understand exactly what the writers of the Bible intended for everyone to understand. By reading it and then reading the Bible, the correct understanding should become quite clear and a sincere student will recognize that they have received an invaluable aid to knowing how to correctly interpret the Bible so that they can know, with certainty, that they are understanding it correctly. At the same time, they will be able to recognize the vast number of false doctirnes that are being called Christian doctrines but are only the teachings of men and have no more authority than any oridinary man can give them.

Organizations
I belong to no officially recognized organizations. I'm simply a person with a deep and lifelong desire to know the truth, a desire so strong that I have, for more than 50 years, poured myself and a lot of money into finding it and making sure of it. I believe that life is too short and valuable to waste it believing a lot of stuff that isn't true. Everyone can't be right and be in disagreement at the same time and the claims made by the writers of the Bible are simply too serious to guess about.

Publications
It's quite obvious that the Bible is not easy to comprehend thus all the divided opinions about what it teaches. I am finalizing a short treatise on the Bible that I believe will help a lot of people who seriously want to get a clear understanding of what the Bible actually has to say to everyone, a treatise that should take the mystery out of it and show that it really makes sense. People deserve help in recognizing the truth about what the Bible says because there is so much false teaching about it that is actually leading people away from God instead of to God. It should be ready to send out by the end of this year, 2011 or before. Now, you can purchase a PDF copy of my book "And The Truth Is?" on CD. It's very unique and it's interactive. If you're tired of living with a best guess and want to learn for certain what the truth is, this, the result of over 50 years of research and serious study, is what you're looking for.

Education/Credentials
I have two degrees in education, including religious belief systems. I also have many years of experience and many thousands of hours of study and research on which I've based my new book, "The Bible Actually Makes Sense."

Awards and Honors
All of my awards and honors are in the form of compliments from people who've read or listened to my attempts to help them understand what the Bible is about and how to comply with what it actually says. So many have said, in one way or another, that I helped them more than anyone they had ever met. It's comforting to know that my efforts to be of value to others is appreciated.

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