If you've read any of my articles you know I love questions. I so much enjoyed sitting in seminary classes and listening to people much brighter than myself, with much greater theological perspectives, discuss the things of God. Despite the airing of various opinions, answers seldom emerged. I don't remember ever coming away from one of those discussions having been moved closer to one viewpoint or the other, but I always felt listening to the discussion had moved me a little closer to God. I like seeing the truth in both sides of a discussion. What do we lose when we think we know?
I heard Ronald S. Hendel talk about how Able's blood cried out to God. Even after we are dead is there some life force in our blood or is that a metaphor for something else? Do you believe the created cries out to its Creator? In the tragic story of Cain and Able it appears our life force cries out to God on both sides of the river.
Rabbi David F. Wolpe says that Gen 4:9 is the first question human beings ask in the Bible. Sooner or later all of us are confronted by this question. Over and over Jesus deals with this question. Are we our brother's keeper? Are we our neighbor's keeper? Are we the keeper of our fellow human beings?
How do we do this behind gated communities and armed guards? How do we reconcile extreme wealth with poverty and starvation? Do you really think it can be legislated? Do you think Darwinism, survival of the fittest, selection of the youngest, healthiest, brightest will eventually eliminate those who barely survive on the margins of life? This has been tried before. Is it being tried now? Will it be tried in the future?
Wolpe says God did not answer Cain because the entire Bible is an answer to that question. If we are not our brother's keeper why were we created? If we are not our brother's keeper are we not the lowliest of God's creation? If we are our brother's keeper what do we do with the idea of survival of the fittest?
How does survival of the fittest account for human history? Would you agree that history is written by the victor? Is the victor always the strongest, smartest, first to strike, most technologically savvy, quickest? Those who consider themselves experts of history know that many times the obvious course of history has been diverted. Unexplainable mistakes, coincidences, misunderstandings, timing, etc. have changed the direction of history many times. History could have been very different than it is. If history was a tabletop game I would ask what or who keeps us from falling off the table?
So what do you think, are we all sisters and brothers by blood or not? Do you think our shared DNA takes us back to original parents? Even so, if we are all sisters and brothers by blood, but not in spirit, are we sisters and brothers at all? Are we our brother's keeper? Darwinism would say ......
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