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I watched a really interesting program the other night about Cain and Abel.

Much dialogue took place regarding different interpretations of the "mark of Cain" that God placed upon him after he killed Abel and was sent into the wilderness.

What opinions do you have on "the mark" ?

The program stated/argued that God had placed the mark on him because Cain told God he was frightened of the wilderness and of the "people" in the wilderness.

It went on to make the point that if this was correct and on the assumption that the Bible is correct in that the only people on the earth was Adam/Eve and Cain and Able, then who were the people that Cain stated he was scared of?.

This then created a second point of discussion in that if there were in fact only 4 people on the earth at that time, then could it be argued that Kane could not have known the concept of "killing someone or Murder", because at that time then no one on the earth had actually "died".

Any thoughts??

what's the name of the program?

There are some Christians that take this story literally but I would say that most modern Christian scholar's view of Cain and Abel (and Adam and Eve) is that these characters belong to a mythological story, a creation myth to be precise. Now in this context mythology does not equal a lie but rather it equals a made up story full of relevant (in one way or another) symbolism that explains a truth.

The mark of Cain, I can't fully explain what it was but one possibility is that the mark was not physical but spiritual. God punished Cain for his sin (for killing his brother) but since Cain thought he would get killed by others he expressed this fear to God and God placed a mark on him - the mark was his protection. It might be something like saying: God doesn't like sin but at the same time he doesn't abandon sinners if they seek him out.

i dont know the name of the program it was on UK Discovery Science. If it on again i will note it.

The program made suggestions that the "mark" was infact the colour black as in negro black skin.

arniegang wrote:i dont know the name of the program it was on UK Discovery Science. If it on again i will note it.

The program made suggestions that the "mark" was infact the colour black as in negro black skin.

I've heard of this theory before but really it wouldn't make sense for God to "mark" someone who committed murder with black skin color. I don't even think Abel and Cain existed, I think it's all symbolic.