Character Development in the Book of Genesis
Growing up in a very non religious family, I have always seen the bible as something that must go hand and hand with beliefs, church, and religion. However, if there is one thing that I have learned from this course it’s that the bible in itself is not something that one must commit to. The bible can be as unique as the person reading it, from a strict guideline of moral code, to a simple collection stories that have been gathered up over the years for our own enjoyment. Personally I lean towards the ladder, and find many of the stories to be both stimulating and meaningful. Having said that, my next immediate observation of the bible, particularly of the book of Genesis, I find that there are literarily hundreds of names being used. True many do not have much development behind them, but if one wanted to compose a full character list it would go on for quit some time. As I have been asked to conduct a character development/analysis of several major persons in the book of Genesis, the problem of choosing names from that list is not an easy matter. However, after doing research on my first set of choices and subsequently narrowing the list down, the decision to develop the characters Cain, Abraham, and Noah was finally reached.
While reading Genesis, these three characters stood out the most in my mind as individuals who interacted directly (or as close as is possible) with God. Cain we first see as a Farmer soon begins to “cut corners” in his worship to God, and of course as his story proceeds so does his inevitable doom. Abraham in my opinion is the closest thing to a “model” disciple that can be found in the Bible. His devout faith and leadership is the foundation from which the Israelite people build there religious views of righteousness. Perhaps the only remaining memories I have of my youthful days of Sunday school was the story of Noah’s Ark. Noah is perhaps the first instance that we see God acting...