Hey guys, this is my first topic so hopefully I did everything alright. This topic has been on my mind recently.
I have difficulty understanding how, if Adam & Eve are the sole biological parents of humanity, that God purposely brought about humanity through incestuous means?
Incest is condemned as a wicked thing in Leviticus 20:17.
One might argue that God used incest at the beginning, and by the time Moses came around it was considered sinful. But the problem is that chapter 20 of Leviticus lists many forms of sexual immorality, that most Christians would consider universally sinful.
For example you have homosexuality (Leviticus 20:13). You have bestiality (Leviticus 20:15,16). You have adultery (Leviticus 20:10). As well as general rules and precepts about not cursing your mother and father.
In Mark and Matthew, when Jesus talks to the Pharisees and Sadducees about Divorce, he says (paraphrasing here) that at the beginning a man shall leave his mother and father, and cleave to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh (quoting Genesis 2:24).
Along with answering their questions about divorce, the meaning to this is twofold:
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Godâs definition of marriage was limited to that of one man and one woman (aka hetero-monogamous). This excludes polygamy and homosexual relations.
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Although this was the original intent people inevitably ended up doing their own thing. Lamech of Genesis 4 was a polygamist. As well as Abraham, Jacob (and possibly Lot).
Why are these practices condemned?
Leviticus 18 says bestiality is âconfusionâ. The same chapter says homosexuality is an abomination (Romans 1 gives further detail saying itâs unnatural and a vile affection).
All of these, most Christians would agree, are dangerous to the basic structure of family (and bestiality to that of nature). But what about incest?
Going back to Genesis 2:24 it says âWherefore shall a man leave his mother and father, and cleave to his wife, and the two shall become one fleshâ â this to me is basic moral instruction for how family-units should be. However, in the case of Adam and Eve, one can hardly be expected to âleaveâ his father and mother, and âcleaveâ to his wife, if that same wife is also your sister, who is in all likelihood still living in the same household, with your father and mother.
It seems to me that incest does the same damage to family-units, in a similar fashion, to that of polygamy or homosexuality. How is it that God brought about humanity in this fashion?
One might argue that the original human genome was much stronger than it is now, and thus the original human family wouldnât suffer such horrible defects as people do now. However, that is the scientific justification. We are still left with the moral question of why God would create Adam and Eve, tell them to âbe fruitful and multiplyâ (Genesis 1:28), knowing full well that brother-sister unions (as well as more extreme cases, such as mother-son and father-daughter unions) would inevitably take place?
Itâs not the same as polygamy, because in that situation you still have a choice to have multiple spouses. In the Adam and Eve scenario you have no choice but to interbreed.
Iâm curious to hear your thoughts on this - and if anybody thinks my logic is lacking.
Thanks!