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Letters to Levon the Christian Lion: #17
Translations provided by the Avenger; both letters were written in Armenian.
Dear Levon:
While I am a Christian, I also consider myself as a humanist. Humanism is defined as attaching prime importance to the person rather than divine or supernatural matters. Cain and Abel were the first two sons of Adam and Eve, making them brothers. When God accepted Abel's sacrifice, Cain was jealous. Cain could have asked God for an explanation, or figure out what went wrong. But instead, he allowed his jealousy to control him into killing his own brother. If God made people, why did He give them a consciousness to commit murder if they wanted to? That's how I view this situation as a humanist.
Today, humanism is an emphasized philosophy because people are expected to be responsible for their own actions. This is also heavily emphasized in the United States of America, where individualism is one of their values. So what are your thoughts on humanism?
Karapet Gasparian, age 32, (male human being)
Gavar, Gegharkunik, Armenia
Levon's reply:
Dear Karapet:
What you have to bear in mind is that when God created the world, He made man in His own image. Sin didn't enter the world until Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Only then did man gain that sort of free will to make a conscious choice to sin. Indeed, Cain consciously chose to kill his brother because he was jealous, and when God questioned him about it, he infamously said, "I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?" So I do not see it as God giving people to consciousness to murder somebody. Instead, it is part of their sin nature which all of us are born with as a result of the sins of Adam and Eve. Yes; even I have done stupid things.
Humanism is indeed defined as an outlook or system of thought attaching prime importance to human rather than divine or supernatural matters. Humanist beliefs stress the potential value and goodness of human beings, emphasize common human needs, and seek solely rational ways of solving human problems. This is nothing something I entirely agree or disagree with, though, because while it is true that God gave humans the gift of the mind and the ability to use it to solve problems, ultimately is the ones who trust in the Lord who find the best advice on how to solve problems. As it says in Proverbs 3:5-6:
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.
Thus, whenever humanity has doubts about something, the best thing it can do is put its trust back in the Lord. Don't put your faith in the world, for Jesus has overcome the world.
Hope that helps; if not, let me know where I went wrong and I'll fix the error. May the Lord bless you and your family as He guides you in life.
In His Service,
Father Levon Zakaryan, a.k.a. Levon the Christian Lion
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Letters to Levon the Christian Lion: #17
Translations provided by the Avenger; both letters were written in Armenian.
Dear Levon:
While I am a Christian, I also consider myself as a humanist. Humanism is defined as attaching prime importance to the person rather than divine or supernatural matters. Cain and Abel were the first two sons of Adam and Eve, making them brothers. When God accepted Abel's sacrifice, Cain was jealous. Cain could have asked God for an explanation, or figure out what went wrong. But instead, he allowed his jealousy to control him into killing his own brother. If God made people, why did He give them a consciousness to commit murder if they wanted to? That's how I view this situation as a humanist.
Today, humanism is an emphasized philosophy because people are expected to be responsible for their own actions. This is also heavily emphasized in the United States of America, where individualism is one of their values. So what are your thoughts on humanism?
Karapet Gasparian, age 32, (male human being)
Gavar, Gegharkunik, Armenia
Levon's reply:
Dear Karapet:
What you have to bear in mind is that when God created the world, He made man in His own image. Sin didn't enter the world until Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Only then did man gain that sort of free will to make a conscious choice to sin. Indeed, Cain consciously chose to kill his brother because he was jealous, and when God questioned him about it, he infamously said, "I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?" So I do not see it as God giving people to consciousness to murder somebody. Instead, it is part of their sin nature which all of us are born with as a result of the sins of Adam and Eve. Yes; even I have done stupid things.
Humanism is indeed defined as an outlook or system of thought attaching prime importance to human rather than divine or supernatural matters. Humanist beliefs stress the potential value and goodness of human beings, emphasize common human needs, and seek solely rational ways of solving human problems. This is nothing something I entirely agree or disagree with, though, because while it is true that God gave humans the gift of the mind and the ability to use it to solve problems, ultimately is the ones who trust in the Lord who find the best advice on how to solve problems. As it says in Proverbs 3:5-6:
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.
Thus, whenever humanity has doubts about something, the best thing it can do is put its trust back in the Lord. Don't put your faith in the world, for Jesus has overcome the world.
Hope that helps; if not, let me know where I went wrong and I'll fix the error. May the Lord bless you and your family as He guides you in life.
In His Service,
Father Levon Zakaryan, a.k.a. Levon the Christian Lion
Letters to Levon the Christian Lion: #17
Levon's seventeenth letter.
Character joint-owned by me and Chuong; he wrote the original letter, and I did the reply.
Character joint-owned by me and Chuong; he wrote the original letter, and I did the reply.
Category Story / All
Species Unspecified / Any
Gender Any
Size 120 x 80px
Listed in Folders
Thank you; some are harder to answer than others.
Chuong: *Uses the G-52 app to look at the Yuxi litmus gauge.* Gauge is green so excellent response here!
V-Fox: So how was Cain punished for this?
Zax: From my understanding, he was forced to live in exile where even if he started his own family, the guilt is still with him. Nobody at the time would kill him as that would be sparing him from this guilt.
V-Fox: So how was Cain punished for this?
Zax: From my understanding, he was forced to live in exile where even if he started his own family, the guilt is still with him. Nobody at the time would kill him as that would be sparing him from this guilt.
Levon: You got it exactly right, Zax. You can find this in Genesis 4:3-16, and I include the whole passage so that nobody will be confused.
3 In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord.
4 And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering,
5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.
6 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast?
7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”
8 Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.
9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”
“I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
10 The Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.
11 Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.
12 When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.”
13 Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is more than I can bear.
14 Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”
15 But the Lord said to him, “Not so; anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.” Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him.
16 So Cain went out from the Lord’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
Leo: So Cain killed him out of his jealousy.
Cripto: And the fact the Lord refused his offering but accepted his brother's.
Levon: Indeed. Abel therefore qualifies as the first recorded person to be murdered. And Cain did spend the rest of his life in exile, and he did start a family.
3 In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord.
4 And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering,
5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.
6 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast?
7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”
8 Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.
9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”
“I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
10 The Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.
11 Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.
12 When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.”
13 Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is more than I can bear.
14 Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”
15 But the Lord said to him, “Not so; anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.” Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him.
16 So Cain went out from the Lord’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
Leo: So Cain killed him out of his jealousy.
Cripto: And the fact the Lord refused his offering but accepted his brother's.
Levon: Indeed. Abel therefore qualifies as the first recorded person to be murdered. And Cain did spend the rest of his life in exile, and he did start a family.
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