Genesis

             "Genesis means beginning and introduces the story of man's redemption by God which runs all through the Bible. God is seen as the Creator of life and all things. He made man and gave man a world of wonder and beauty to live in. There Adam and his wife, Eve, were obedient to God's commands-until sin entered their hearts and spoiled their relationship with God. They were tempted by the serpent to eat the forbidden fruit. They fell on the temper. They had to leave the lovely garden where they had been happy in the companionship of God. Their disobedience to God brought them hardship, suffering and unhappiness, but God did not forsake them." (Bible Encyclopedia for Children) 1) Source J was responsible for writing these passages. 2) Genesis 3:1-7 was written in Israel in 1450-1410 B.C. 3) The serpent tempted Eve by getting her to doubt God's goodness. 4) True freedom comes from knowing obedience and what not to do. Learning about our ancestors often helps us understand ourselves. Adam and Eve, our first ancestors, were the highlight of God's creation. This is the very reason God made the world. But they did not always live the way God intended for them to live. Through their mistakes, we will learn an important lesson on how to live right. Adam and Eve will teach us much about the nature of sin and its consequences.
             "The source usually assumed to have been the first written is called J (Yahwist) because the divine name Yahweh (spelled with a "J" in German and so-labeled by the German biblical scholars who first stated the theory) appears in it." (An Introduction to the Bible, 2001) J was called to relate the Yahwism of the desert, with its drive toward monotheism, to the life of Palestine. He was inspired to recognize the values of that life and the insights of its religion. Most of all, he was inspired to begin the fashioning of the national community of Israel into a world-wide community in which all nations would find their true meaning.