About the Book
Table of Contents
Part I
Part II
Part III
Part IV
Part V
Part VI
|
Vol.6: Time and Eternity
PART VI
CAIN'S WIFE:
AND THE PENALTY OF INCEST
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
Chapter 1. Cain marries a Sister
Chapter 2. Was Cain's Wife of the
Line of Adam?
Publication History:
1967: Doorway paper No.51, privately published by Arthur C. Custance
1977: Part VI in Time and Eternity vol.6 of The Doorway
Papers Series.
1997: Arthur Custance Online Library (HTML)
2001: 2nd Online Edition (design revisions)
pg.1
of 3
Whenever
the evidence from Archaeology is unmistakeable, it tends always
to support the most literal interpretation of Scripture.
Archaeology has not supported allegorical interpretations of
Scripture but
it has encouraged the most literal interpretatation that
the text will allow.
INTRODUCTION
ALMOST
AS FAR back as I can remember, I have heard casual critics ask,
somewhat cynically, "Where did Cain get his wife?"
To the answer "He married his sister, of course," the
usual reply was, "That's not likely. The Bible expressly
forbids incest and modern research shows that incest is deleterious."
Curiously enough, this question
of long standing has a significance quite beyond the mere satisfaction
of curiosity. It can be used to illustrate a number of important
aspects relating to the accuracy and inspiration of Scripture
and the reasonableness of the Christian faith as a whole.
For one thing, the findings of
modern research, as we shall show, do not merely bear out the
undesirable effects of consanguineous marriage -- a fact entirely
in keeping with the prohibition in Leviticus 18:9 introduced
many centuries later than Cain -- but also bear out the fact
that as we retreat into the past, the cause of this currently
deleterious result is progressively reduced so that with perfect
reason we may extrapolate backward until we reach a time when
such consanguinity would almost certainly not be harmful at all.
The second point is that Scripture
does not leave us in the dark on the matter, but provides us
with data capable of statistical analysis which shows that --
while the writers themselves may not have been aware of the significance
of some of the things they set down -- they were nevertheless
guided by inspiration to set forth the data they did record in
sufficient detail that modern researchers into human genetics
might, had they had sufficient faith in the Word of God and perception
of its potential as a source of information, have at least anticipated
certain current findings in genetics by merely studying it. Thus,
far from being outmoded and childishly inaccurate, the Bible
proves to contain information which, when properly understood,
is completely up-to-date and scientifically of predictive value.
pg
2 of 3
The third thing which we may observe
is that problems of this kind can often be solved by an appeal
to Scripture itself, provided we accept the basic principle that
the whole of Scripture is a dependable source of 1ight
upon itself. In other words, the Bible is one Book, self-consistent,
and most illuminating when it is most completely and wholly believed.
It is safe to accept the whole, but not safe to pick and choose
what one will accept and what one will reject. If we trust the
record throughout, we are on safe ground and ultimately will
find our faith vindicated.
pg.3
of 3
Previous Chapter Next Chapter
|