Ask the Pastor: The Wives of Adam's Sons, the Pieta, and Living Together
by the Rev. Walter Snyder
Religion Columnist

Q: I'm interested in different religions, and try to find out more about Christian beliefs. My
question: If Adam and Eve were the first people and had only two sons, how is it that people
believe we come from them? This really doesn't make sense. It would have been incest, which
is wrong! If you take the Bible literally, what is your explanation for that?

A: I do accept the Bible as historically and theologically correct. Thus, we must deal with questions
such as you ask. A short answer is that only a few (three, actually) of Adam and Eve's children are
named in the Bible. These were Cain (Genesis 4:1), Abel (Genesis 4:2), and Seth (after Abel's
murder, Genesis 4:25). We do not know how many other boys and girls may have been born to our
first parents. The genealogies are not complete and thus we cannot know the total number of
children born to these first generations.

It seems that not until after the great Flood that incest was treated as sinful. Scriptural prohibitions are
finally given during Israel's time in the Wilderness in Exodus and Leviticus. Thus, the children of
Adam and Eve---brothers and sisters---married, then cousins married. Finally, we can say that all
marriages are now "cousin marriages" because of our common ancestry in Adam and Eve and
because it was through Noah and his wife and his three sons and their wives that we all descend.

Q: I'm doing a paper on Michelangelo's Pieta. Is there any Biblical reference to a time when
Jesus' dead body would have been held by Mary in mourning? Does this popular art theme
have any written (Biblical) basis, or has it been "conjured up" by the faithful?

A: For the readers who don't know the word, a pieta is a statue or other art showing the Virgin
holding the dead Jesus. We know that Mary was present at the Crucifixion (John 19:25--27). She
may have stayed with her Son until his death or she may have left, unable to bear more pain. In this
watching came the fulfillment Simeon's prophecy to Mary in the Temple: "A sword will pierce your
own soul, also. (Luke 2:35)" It may well be that she held his lifeless body in her arms before Joseph
of Arimathea and Nicodemus took him to his grave, but we have no Scripture that tells us this. A
pieta is then, as you suggest, a representation by the faithful of a mother's love and grief at the unjust
death of her son. So also, we may use it in our devotional thought to remind us of our own grief at
the Savior's death, especially since it was for our sins that he was crucified.

Q: Is there anything in the Bible that says that it's not wrong to live with someone (my
girlfriend) before marriage? If so, where in the Bible would it say that?

A: As you ask, the question, so I answer: Nothing in the Bible says that it is not wrong. If you look at
all Scriptures that speak of marriage or sex, it appears plain that there are two types of sexual
relationships: One is that of husband and wife living a true, committed marriage and the other is a
sham, a false marriage, or something even more shameful.

While premarital sex is not so harshly condemned as adultery or homosexuality, it is clear that God
intended sex to be of the essence of marriage from Eden on. The word often translated "fornication"
in older Bibles often includes in its definition any sex outside of marriage.
Instead of focusing on the negatives, consider the positives: God blesses marriage and intends it for
our comfort, strength, and joy. So consider how one is to "leave his father and mother" and be
united with his wife, becoming "one flesh." Glowing words such as these are found in Genesis 2:18--
24, Ephesians 5:21--33, and Matthew 19:4--6. This is not only a matter of grudgingly doing the right
thing, it is joyfully doing the best thing and living life as God intended it to be lived.

To Ask the Pastor, please write Ask the Pastor, PO Box 12, Emma, MO, 65327 or send email to
askthepastor@aol.com. I look forward to hearing from you.

Walter Snyder is the pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Emma, Missouri and coauthor of the book
"What Do Lutherans Believe."