The Significance Of Redemption In Richter's The Epic Of Eden

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INTRODUCTION AND CHAPTER ONE 1-A.“A great deal of information is in there, but as none of it goes together, the reader doesn’t know how to use any of it.” (Richter 18) “Facts are stupid things until brought into connection with some general law.” (19) In the introduction of her book The Epic of Eden, Richter argues that there are three main reasons that hinder Christians from reading the Old Testament: 1) the belief that the redemptive story is not present in the Old Testament and that God has changed since the New Testament, 2) the great barrier (differences in culture, history, geography, etc.), and 3) the “dysfunctional closet syndrome.” Of these, she believes the last is most challenging and most widespread among Christians today. Her …show more content…

God created Adam and Eve in order to have a personal relationship with them. However, after the Fall, man became separated from God’s family and thus needed someone to step in and pay the price for him to be restored to a relationship with God. The fact that God sent His firstborn in order to redeem us is important because of the significance of the firstborn in the Israelite culture. It shows just how much God loves us and wants us to be restored to His original plan of a …show more content…

However, Adam is also significant to the redemptive history because he and Eve were responsible for the barrier created between God and man due to man’s sin. Man’s sin became so unbearable to God that he finally decided to get rid of humanity through a Flood. As the sole survivors of the Flood, Noah and his family mark the transition from the Adamic Age to the current age. With the appearance of Abraham we enter into datable history. Abraham (known as “the father of the Jews”) is also significant because the nation of Israel are his descendants. Moses appears at a burdensome time for the Israelites: slavery in Egypt. God uses him in the miraculous exodus of the Israelites. It is during the time of Moses that the Israelites finally become a nation. David is the first king that God chooses to lead His people (Saul was chosen by the Israelites). God makes a covenant with him that there will always be a descendant of his on the

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