Incest required for Bible to be true?

[thomas alonarg]

I have a friend who does not believe the Bible is true.

He has a compelling, simple argument. If we are all descended from Adam and Eve, that is, there was no evolution: then at least one of Adam's sons had to have had intimate relations with at least one available female on the planet: either his mother or a sister.

The Bible prohibits incest, and we consider it taboo. ( Deuteronomy 23:3 NAB :"No child of an incestuous union may be admitted into the community of the Lord, nor any descendent of his even to the tenth generation." )

What do I tell this guy? Isn't there some kind of logical explanation that makes the Bible compatible with common decency? :sarcastic

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

I have a friend who does not believe the Bible is true. He has a compelling, simple argument. If we are all descended from Adam and Eve, that is, there was no evolution: then ...

There is no there in your therefore ...

 

[Booko]

I have a friend who does not believe the Bible is true.

He has a compelling, simple argument. If we are all descended from Adam and Eve, that is, there was no evolution: then at least one of Adam's sons had to have had intimate relations with at least one available female on the planet: either his mother or a sister.

The Bible prohibits incest, and we consider it taboo. ( Deuteronomy 23:3 NAB :"No child of an incestuous union may be admitted into the community of the Lord, nor any descendent of his even to the tenth generation." )

What do I tell this guy? Isn't there some kind of logical explanation that makes the Bible compatible with common decency? :sarcastic

1. Definitions of incest change across time and cultures and marriage restrictions do as well.

2. The Genesis story is allegorical.

Ask your friend why he assumes the entire text has to be read literally, and then ask him if he reads poetry the same way.

The problem for your friend may not be that the Bible isn't "true," but that he's trying to read it like a tech manual. Don't.

 

[Aqualung]

1. Definitions of incest change across time and cultures and marriage restrictions do as well.

2. The Genesis story is allegorical.

3. The genesis story happened before incest was prohibited.

Look, that's three reasons right there where the arguement of the OP might fail. Is there any reply to them?

 

[Booko]

3. The genesis story happened before incest was prohibited.

Look, that's three reasons right there where the arguement of the OP might fail. Is there any reply to them?

Actually that's what I had in mind with #1, but I was more circumscribed about it.

 

[Aqualung]

Actually that's what I had in mind with #1, but I was more circumscribed about it.

Oh. Well, that's two reasons right there where the arguement of the OP might fail. Is there any reply to them?

 

[sojourner]

I thought it said "is incense required for the Bible to be true!"
:liturgy:

What incest are you talking about? Adam and Eve is an allegorical story, not a literal fact.