Kekhawatiran Para Malaikat.

Para malaikat ketika diberitahukan oleh Allah s.w.t. akan kehendak-Nya menciptakan makhluk lain itu, mereka khuatir kalau-kalau kehendak Allah menciptakan makhluk yang lain itu,disebabkan kecuaian atau kelalaian mereka dalam ibadah dan menjalankan tugas atau karena pelanggaran yang mereka lakukan tanpa disadari. Berkata mereka kepada Allah s.w.t.:"Wahai Tuhan kami!Buat apa Tuhan menciptakan makhluk lain selain kami,padahal kami selalu bertasbih,bertahmid,melakukan ibadah dan mengagungkan nama-Mu tanpa henti-hentinya,sedang makhluk yang Tuhan akan ciptakan dan turunkan ke bumi itu,nescaya akan bertengkar satu dengan lain,akan saling bunuh-membunuh berebutan menguasai kekayaan alam yang terlihat diatasnya dan terpendam di dalamnya,sehingga akan terjadilah kerusakan dan kehancuran di atas bumi yang Tuhan ciptakan itu."

Allah berfirman,menghilangkan kekhuatiran para malaikat itu:
"Aku mengetahui apa yang kamu tidak ketahui dan Aku sendirilah yang mengetahui hikmat penguasaan Bani Adam atas bumi-Ku.Bila Aku telah menciptakannya dan meniupkan roh kepada nya,bersujudlah kamu di hadapan makhluk baru itu sebagai penghormatan dan bukan sebagai sujud ibadah,karena Allah s.w.t. melarang hamba-Nya beribadah kepada sesama makhluk-Nya."
Kemudian diciptakanlah Adam oleh Allah s.w.t.dari segumpal tanah liat,kering dan lumpur hitam yang berbentuk.Setelah disempurnakan bentuknya ditiupkanlah roh ciptaan Tuhan ke dalamnya dan berdirilah ia tegak menjadi manusia yang sempurna.

Iblis Membangkang.

Iblis membangkang dan enggan mematuhi perintah Allah seperti para malaikat yang lain,yang segera bersujud di hadapan Adam sebagai penghormatan bagi makhluk Allah yang akan diberi amanat menguasai bumi dengan segala apa yang hidup dan tumbuh di atasnya serta yang terpendam di dalamnya.Iblis merasa dirinya lebih mulia,lebih utama dan lebih agung dari Adam,karena ia diciptakan dari unsur api,sedang Adam dari tanah dan lumpur.Kebanggaannya dengan asal usulnya menjadikan ia sombong dan merasa rendah untuk bersujud menghormati Adam seperti para malaikat yang lain,walaupun diperintah oleh Allah.

Tuhan bertanya kepada Iblis:"Apakah yang mencegahmu sujud menghormati sesuatu yang telah Aku ciptakan dengan tangan-Ku?"
Iblis menjawab:"Aku adalah lebih mulia dan lebih unggul dari dia.Engkau ciptakan aku dari api dan menciptakannya dari lumpur."
Karena kesombongan,kecongkakan dan pembangkangannya melakukan sujud yang diperintahkan,maka Allah menghukum Iblis dengan mengusir dari syurga dan mengeluarkannya dari barisan malaikat dengan disertai kutukan dan laknat yang akan melekat pd.dirinya hingga hari kiamat.Di samping itu ia dinyatakan sebagai penghuni neraka.

Iblis dengan sombongnya menerima dengan baik hukuman Tuhan itu dan ia hanya mohon agar kepadanya diberi kesempatan untuk hidup kekal hingga hari kebangkitan kembali di hari kiamat.Allah meluluskan permohonannya dan ditangguhkanlah ia sampai hari kebangkitan,tidak berterima kasih dan bersyukur atas pemberian jaminan itu,bahkan sebaliknya ia mengancam akan menyesatkan Adam,sebagai sebab terusirnya dia dari syurga dan dikeluarkannya dari barisan malaikat,dan akan mendatangi anak-anak keturunannya dari segala sudut untuk memujuk mereka meninggalkan jalan yang lurus dan bersamanya menempuh jalan yang sesat,mengajak mereka melakukan maksiat dan hal-hal yang terlarang,menggoda mereka supaya melalaikan perintah-perintah agama dan mempengaruhi mereka agar tidak bersyukur dan beramal soleh.

Kemudian Allah berfirman kepada Iblis yang terkutuk itu:
"Pergilah engkau bersama pengikut-pengikutmu yang semuanya akan menjadi isi neraka Jahanam dan bahan bakar neraka.Engkau tidak akan berdaya menyesatkan hamba-hamba-Ku yang telah beriman kepada Ku dengan sepenuh hatinya dan memiliki aqidah yang mantap yang tidak akan tergoyah oleh rayuanmu walaupun engkau menggunakan segala kepandaianmu menghasut dan memfitnah."

Pengetahuan Adam Tentang Nama-Nama Benda.

Allah hendak menghilangkan anggapan rendah para malaikat terhadap Adam dan menyakinkan mereka akan kebenaran hikmat-Nya menunjuk Adam sebagai penguasa bumi,maka diajarkanlah kepada Adam nama-nama benda yang berada di alam semesta,kemudian diperagakanlah benda-benda itu di depan para malaikat seraya:"Cubalah sebutkan bagi-Ku nama benda-benda itu,jika kamu benar merasa lebih mengetahui dan lebih mengerti dari Adam."
Para malaikat tidak berdaya memenuhi tentangan Allah untuk menyebut nama-nama benda yang berada di depan mereka.Mereka mengakui ketidak-sanggupan mereka dengan berkata:"Maha Agung Engkau! Sesungguhnya kami tidak memiliki pengetahuan tentang sesuatu kecuali apa yang Tuhan ajakan kepada kami.Sesungguhnya Engkaulah Yang Maha Mengetahui dan Maha Bijaksana."

Adam lalu diperintahkan oleh Allah untuk memberitahukan nama-nama itu kepada para malaikat dan setelah diberitahukan oleh Adam,berfirmanlah Allah kepada mereka:"Bukankah Aku telah katakan padamu bahawa Aku mengetahui rahsia langit dan bumi dan mengetahui apa yang kamu lahirkan dan apa yang kamu sembunyikan."

Adam Menghuni Syurga.

Adam diberi tempat oleh Allah di syurga dan baginya diciptakanlah Hawa untuk mendampinginya dan menjadi teman hidupnya,menghilangkan rasa kesepiannya dan melengkapi keperluan fitrahnya untuk mengembangkan keturunan. Menurut cerita para ulamat Hawa diciptakan oleh Allah dari salah satu tulang rusuk Adam yang disebelah kiri diwaktu ia masih tidur sehingga ketika ia terjaga,ia melihat Hawa sudah berada di sampingnya.ia ditanya oleh malaikat:"Wahai Adam! Apa dan siapakah makhluk yang berada di sampingmu itu?"

Berkatalah Adam:"Seorang perempuan."Sesuai dengan fitrah yang telah diilhamkan oleh Allah kepadanya."Siapa namanya?"tanya malaikat lagi."Hawa",jawab Adam."Untuk apa Tuhan menciptakan makhluk ini?",tanya malaikat lagi.
Adam menjawab:"Untuk mendampingiku,memberi kebahagian bagiku dan mengisi keperluan hidupku sesuai dengan kehendak Allah."

Allah berpesan kepada Adam:"Tinggallah engkau bersama isterimu di syurga,rasakanlah kenikmatan yang berlimpah-limpah didalamnya,rasailah dan makanlah buah-buahan yang lazat yang terdapat di dalamnya sepuas hatimu dan sekehendak nasfumu.Kamu tidak akan mengalami atau merasa lapar,dahaga ataupun letih selama kamu berada di dalamnya.Akan tetapi Aku ingatkan janganlah makan buah dari pohon ini yang akan menyebabkan kamu celaka dan termasuk orang-orang yang zalim.Ketahuilah bahawa Iblis itu adalah musuhmu dan musuh isterimu,ia akan berusaha membujuk kamu dan menyeret kamu keluar dari syurga sehingga hilanglah kebahagiaan yang kamu sedang nikmat ini."

Iblis Mulai Beraksi.

Sesuai dengan ancaman yang diucapkan ketika diusir oleh allah dari Syurga akibat pembangkangannya dan terdorong pula oleh rasa iri hati dan dengki terhadap Adam yang menjadi sebab sampai ia terkutuk dan terlaknat selama-lamanya tersingkir dari singgahsana kebesarannya.Iblis mulai menunjukkan rancangan penyesatannya kepada Adam dan Hawa yang sedang hidup berdua di syurga yang tenteram, damai dan bahagia.

Ia menyatakan kepada mereka bahawa ia adalah kawan mereka dan ingin memberi nasihat dan petunjuk untuk kebaikan dan mengekalkan kebahagiaan mereka.Segala cara dan kata-kata halus digunakan oleh Iblis untuk mendapatkan kepercayaan Adam dan Hawa bahawa ia betul-betul jujur dalam nasihat dan petunjuknya kepada mereka.Ia membisikan kepada mereka bahwa.larangan Tuhan kepada mereka memakan buah-buah yang ditunjuk itu adalah karena dengan memakan buah itu mereka akan menjelma menjadi malaikat dan akan hidup kekal.Diulang-ulangilah bujukannya dengan menunjukkan akan harumnya bau pohon yang dilarang indah bentuk buahnya dan lazat rasanya.Sehingga pada akhirnya termakanlah bujukan yang halus itu oleh Adam dan Hawa dan dilanggarlah larangan Tuhan.

Allah mencela perbuatan mereka itu dan berfirman yang bermaksud: "Tidakkah Aku mencegah kamu mendekati pohon itu dan memakan dari buahnya dan tidakkah Aku telah ingatkan kamu bahawa syaitan itu adalah musuhmu yang nyata."
Adam dan Hawa mendengar firman Allah itu sedarlah ia bahawa mereka telah terlanggar perintah Allah dan bahawa mereka telah melakukan suatu kesalahan dan dosa besar.Seraya menyesal berkatalah mereka:"Wahai Tuhan kami! Kami telah menganiaya diri kami sendiri dan telah melanggar perintah-Mu karena terkena bujukan Iblis.Ampunilah dosa kami karena nescaya kami akan tergolong orang-orang yang rugi bila Engkau tidak mengampuni dan mengasihi kami."

Adam dan Hawa Diturunkan Ke Bumi.

Allah telah menerima taubat Adam dan Hawa serta mengampuni perbuatan pelanggaran yang mereka telah lakukan hal mana telah melegakan dada mereka dan menghilangkan rasa sedih akibat kelalaian peringatan Tuhan tentang Iblis sehingga terjerumus menjadi mangsa bujukan dan rayuannya yang manis namun berancun itu.

Adam dan Hawa merasa tenteram kembali setelah menerima pengampunan Allah dan selanjutnya akan menjaga jangan sampai tertipu lagi oleh Iblis dan akan berusaha agar pelanggaran yang telah dilakukan dan menimbulkan murka dan teguran Tuhan itu menjadi pengajaran bagi mereka berdua untuk lebih berhati-hati menghadapi tipu daya dan bujukan Iblis yang terlaknat itu.Harapan untuk tinggal terus di syurga yang telah pudar karena perbuatan pelanggaran perintah Allah,hidup kembali dalam hati dan fikiran Adam dan Hawa yang merasa kenikmatan dan kebahagiaan hidup mereka di syurga tidak akan terganggu oleh sesuatu dan bahawa redha Allah serta rahmatnya akan tetap melimpah di atas mereka untuk selama-lamanya.Akan tetapi Allah telah menentukan dalam takdir-Nya apa yang tidak terlintas dalam hati dan tidak terfikirkan oleh mereka. Allah s.w.t.yang telah menentukan dalam takdir-nya bahawa bumi yang penuh dengan kekayaan untuk dikelolanya,akan dikuasai kepada manusia keturunan Adam memerintahkan Adam dan Hawa turun ke bumi sebagai benih pertama dari hamba-hambanya yang bernama manusia itu.Berfirmanlah Allah kepada mereka:"Turunlah kamu ke bumi sebagian daripada kamu menjadi musuh bagi sebagian yang lain kamu dapat tinggal tetap dan hidup disan sampai waktu yang telah ditentukan."

Turunlah Adam dan Hawa ke bumi menghadapi cara hidup baru yang jauh berlainan dengan hidup di syurga yang pernah dialami dan yang tidak akan berulang kembali.Mereka harus menempuh hidup di dunia yang fana ini dengan suka dan dukanya dan akan menurunkan umat manusia yang beraneka ragam sifat dan tabiatnya berbeda-beda warna kulit dan kecerdasan otaknya.Umat manusia yang akan berkelompok-kelompok menjadi suku-suku dan bangsa-bangsa di mana yang satu menjadi musuh yang lain saling bunuh-membunuh aniaya-menganianya dan tindas-menindas sehingga dari waktu ke waktu Allah mengutus nabi-nabi-Nya dan rasul-rasul-Nya memimpin hamba-hamba-Nya ke jalan yang lurus penuh damai kasih sayang di antara sesama manusia jalan yang menuju kepada redha-Nya dan kebahagiaan manusia di dunia dan akhirat.

Kisah Adam dalam Al-Quran.

Al_Quran menceritakan kisah Adam dalam beberapa surah di antaranya surah Al_Baqarah ayat 30 sehingga ayat 38 dan surah Al_A'raaf ayat 11 sehingga 25

Pengajaran Yang Terdapat Dari Kisah Adam.

Bahawasanya hikmah yang terkandung dalam perintah-perintah dan larangan-larangan Allah dan dalam apa yang diciptakannya kadangkala tidak atau belum dapat dicapai oelh otak manusia bahkan oleh makhluk-Nya yang terdekat sebagaimana telah dialami oleh para malaikat tatkala diberitahu bahawa Allah akan menciptakan manusia - keturunan Adam untuk menjadi khalifah-Nya di bumi sehingga mereka seakan-akan berkeberatan dan bertanya-tanya mengapa dan untuk apa Allah menciptakan jenis makhluk lain daripada mereka yang sudah patuh rajin beribadat, bertasbih, bertahmid dan mengagungkan nama-Nya.

Bahawasanya manusia walaupun ia telah dikurniakan kecergasan berfikir dan kekuatan fizikal dan mental ia tetap mempunyai beberapa kelemahan pada dirinya seperti sifat lalai, lupa dan khilaf.Hal mana telah terjadi pada diri Nabi Adam yang walaupun ia telah menjadi manusia yang sempurna dan dikurniakan kedudukan yang istimewa di syurga ia tetap tidak terhindar dari sifat-sifat manusia yang lemah itu.Ia telah lupa dan melalaikan peringatan Allah kepadanya tentang pohon terlarang dan tentang Iblis yang menjadi musuhnya dan musuh seluruh keturunannya, sehingga terperangkap ke dalam tipu daya dan terjadilah pelanggaran pertama yang dilakukan oleh manusia terhadap larangan Allah.

Bahawasanya seseorang yang telah terlanjur melakukan maksiat dan berbuat dosa tidaklah ia sepatutnya berputus asa dari rahmat dan ampunan Tuhan asalkan ia sedar akan kesalahannya dan bertaubat tidak akan melakukannya kembali.Rahmat allah dan maghfirah-Nya dpt mencakup segala dosa yang diperbuat oleh hamba-Nya kecuali syirik bagaimana pun besar dosa itu asalkan diikuti dengan kesedaran bertaubat dan pengakuan kesalahan.
Sifat sombong dan congkak selalu membawa akibat kerugian dan kebinasaan.Lihatlah Iblis yang turun dari singgahsananya dilucutkan kedudukannya sebagai seorang malaikat dan diusir oleh Allah dari syurga dengan disertai kutukan dan laknat yang akan melekat kepada dirinya hingga hari Kiamat karena kesombongannya dan kebanggaaannya dengan asal-usulnya sehingga ia menganggap dan memandang rendah kepada Nabi Adam dan menolak untuk sujud menghormatinya walaupun diperintahkan oleh Allah s.w.t.

[googlevideo=http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=-3601682653729434420]

I am really trying to ignore the fact that I only have $6.98 in my checking account right now, and I just got paid on Monday. Not having anyone to split the bills with sucks. Especially when you get hit with an electric bill that was TWICE the amount it was last month. How the hell did that happen? I keep the thermostat on 78. SEVENTY. EIGHT. When Murray was around, he kept that shit on 73. How could it possibly DOUBLE in one month?  Also, I've been doing HALF the amount of laundry as usual because it's just MY clothes. WHAT. THE. FUCK.

I guess it goes without saying, I really need that stimulus check. PRONTO. It was supposed to be mailed out by June 20th, and it still hasn't gotten here. I suppose I should be lucky to be getting anything at all, but seriously, IRS? Fuck you.

Anyone want to purchase, like, EVERYTHING I OWN?

Also, Adam leaves today for his five week long trip. I am going to miss the shit out of him. I just wish he wasn't so damned strange. He has been sending me all sorts of mixed signals. I'm actually pretty tired of it. I'm to the point where I don't even want to know if I am going to contact him when he gets back. I think I'm just going to let him contact me. If he doesn't, well I'll be hurt like hell, but then there will be my answer of what he really feels.

Here's an example of his passive-aggressiveness:

Yesterday I got a text from him . . . one of those blank ones that just says [Page]. Those messages can mean one of two things (I think La may have mentioned the blank text in one of her recent entries):

1. He is paging me to call him (not likely), or
2. He was thinking of texting me, decided not to, and sent a blank message instead by accident.

I am thinking it was number two. Either way, his fingers were poised over his keypad with my number in plain view, contemplating getting in touch with me.

So I texted back, "What's up?"

He texted, "What's up?" (This is him being a smartass. Not one of his most attractive qualities).

Me: "Not much . . . just got a blank text from you. Did you want something?"

Him: "No."

Again. WHAT. THE. FUCK. He does this crap all the time. He will text me, I will reply, and then he will act like I am this clingy man trap who will not leave him the eff alone. YOU MESSAGED ME FIRST, ASSHAT. These games have got to stop.

I guess I still put up with him because he's fun and cute and great in bed. That, and the fact that I am incredibly lonely. In the first couple of weeks I started hanging out with Adam, he was a good way for me to forget about my failed relationship with Murray for a little while. We just enjoyed being around each other. Somewhere along the way, though, he got the wrong impression of me. Apparently, he thinks I want to be his wife and have his babies or something. That is most DEFINITELY not the case. This is all just so frustrating and confusing. I am very vulnerable right now because of the breakup and all, and I do not need someone fucking with my emotions. I have let this boy get to me in ways that I never should have. I am fairly certain it would have been different had I not just gotten out of a long-term relationship. It makes me that much more susceptible to being hurt.

On top of Adam being either REALLY HAPPY TO SEE ME or either OMG WOMAN GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME, then leaving for over a month, Claire is also going to be out of town this weekend. She has been my rock through this. When I boo-hooed last week over the shit storm my life has become in the past couple of months, she was there to light my next cigarette and write sweet little notes to put up on my wall. This weekend, she is going to be gone to the beach with her family.

Luckily, I will have a few distractions this weekend in the form of a 4th of July party and a friend's surprise 30th birthday party. I really hope I can overcome this funk I've been in as of late. I know it's my own fault. I've done this all to myself. But can't it just hurt a little less?

 Source: http://www.islamonline.net/

I completed my week at the church with a certain someone remaining on my mind. I don't remember what it was but something he did completely tipped me off the sane scale and I became extremely P.O.'ed. I refused to talk to him and I told him I was mad. We tried to work it out, and at least he confirmed that he indeed still has feelings for me. Still, I feel as though that's not enough. Through the past few weeks, I realized I am extremely greedy. I want his love, however for the time being I want someone else on the side. Not necessarily to "fool around" with, because that would make me sound like a slut, but just someone to comfort me. Just someone to be there for me because HE can't be.

There's someone, and I feel bad about this, but there's someone who's caught my interest here. His name is Adam. However there are quite a few problems with the scenario that I know will be presented. The first obviously being that I am still in love with someone else and I'd feel worse, not to mention who knows what HE'd feel about all this. The second being that I have a friend who also likes Adam, well at least she used to. She tries to convince everyone that that is certainly not the case anymore, but I'm not buying it. In the past, I have done an awful thing and taken one of her crushes from her, and I refuse to do the same thing again.

Unfortunately, I'm extremely tempted.

Anyway, returning back to the one I actually love, our plans to meet up in December are still strong. I just need to come up with the money for this spectacular event to occur. Some would say its not worth it to spend all my money in order to bring some guy from a different state to mine for my birthday, but I don't care. I want to see him, it would be the best birthday gift anyone could ever give me. He's staying for a weekend and I'm so excited! Oh, my piercings have gone from seven to eight, courtesy of my best friend. It was a spur of the moment thing but hell, it was probably one of the funnest...decisions I have ever made. I'm quite satisfied with the naval piercing of mine. I just have to keep it hidden from my parents.

Anyway, to quickly sum up the past few days. I went to birthday party where we played spin the bottle...and yes, I did indeed meet lips with Adam, a few times. Which I have yet to tell HIM, I'm not sure how I should approach it, or even if I should at all. I have such a guilty unconscious. Moving on, I've stayed up late and slept in late. I met a fellow Australian, named Mikey, whom I've been speaking to on a daily basis. I also attended a church pool party with my best friend. I have a pool party planned for this weekend, and I applied at McDonalds as a desperate attempt for work. If that doesn't work out then I have classes in August for a refereeing position. We'll see what happens.

And on that note, I bid you farewell.

7 

click for mp3 of this sermon  <--This is something new we're trying for the first time.

Lesson 1: We are special to God.  Human beings are made in God's image and likeness (Gen 1:26-27).  What does that mean exactly?  I'm not even sure.  People will tell you what it means, but truthfully, we don't really know for sure.  We do that no other being in creation is described this way.  Paul says of Jesus to the Colossians that "he is the image of the invisible God."  We are all in God's image, Jesus even more so.  Also notice that God was physically involved when he formed Adam out of the dust of the earth.  Everything else was spoken into existence.  That was also the only creative act done on day 6 of the creation week.  Each of these point to the fact that we, the human race, and special to God in a way that separates us from the rest of all he created.

Lesson 2: God created vocation.  Before the curse is pronounced in Gen. 3, Adam was given a job to do.  In chp. 2 v. 15, he is placed in the garden and told to keep it.  Finding fulfillment and satisfaction in your job is a God-given thing.  God created vocation, profession, before the curse.  As a result of sin, God made Adam's job work. 

Lesson 3: Satan is a liar.  Of course you already know that, but we learned it here for the first time.  In the first 5 verses of Gen. 3, the serpent begins by questioning what God really said.  He moves on to telling outright lies by the 4th and 5th verse.  The Scripture identifies Satan as the Father of Lies, and he was so from the very beginning. 

Lesson 4: Where was Adam?  Much has been made out of where Adam was and what he was doing while Eve was conversing with the serpent.  Was he asleep?  Was he off doing his job elsewhere?  Why wasn't he protecting Eve and/or keeping her in line?  In the first place, she was not in subjection to her husband yet.  That was a part of the curse.  It wasn't Adam's job to watch over her yet.  Secondly, why did anyone ever ask where Adam was.  It's right there in the text.  Gen. 3:6 reads "So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, [1] she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate."  She gave to her husband who was with her.  He doesn't say anything, but he was right there.  He also ate of the fruit same as her.  So there is no one any more to blame than anyone else.

Lesson 5: God has a plan.  No of these events caught God by surprise.  He knew before the dry land appeared that man would fall from his first estate.  The plan of salvation was in the mind of God before the foundation of the world was laid.  The first hint of prophecy is in Gen. 3:15.  The offspring of the woman, or seed of the woman in the King James, is Jesus Christ.  Bruising his head is prophetic of the ultimate defeat of the devil by Christ.  There it is, all the way back at the very beginning of Genesis.  Notice also the God isn't speaking to Adam and Eve in verse 15, but to Satan himself.  He hasn't revealed his plan to humanity yet, but everything was going according to his plan and purposes. 

Lesson 6: God is righteous in judgment and merciful.  The perfect fellowship between humanity and God was broken by sin, but he didn't throw them out like yesterday'spaper.  The curse is given in Gen 3 as the result of sin, but they do not die physical death that day.  Eve is told she will bear children in sorrow, but she will have children.  That's a blessing.  Adam must work to eat, but they still get to eat.  The best example of Lesson 6 is not in Gen 3, but rather Romans chp. 5.  Paul explains to the Romans that just as sin entered the world through one man's sin (Adam), so does life enter by one man's righteousness (Jesus).  The gospel story may not be spelled out in Gen. 1-3, but God's righteous judgment as well as his mercy can clearly be seen.

If our nature is corrupted as a result of one man's choice, then how can we be judged as if the decision to be corrupted was ours alone?  If we are born fallen, then our nature is not a result of personal choices - rather, our personal choices are a result of our nature.  How is this translated to willful disobedience? 

Wouldn't that be a bit like God instituting a command for us to not breathe air, but water, and then punishing us for not doing so? 

So, if sin is a decision of each individual, then sin is an offense that is justly punishable.  But then, the notion of it being inherited is tossed out the window. It is unust to make you go to jail if your father or mother committed murder.

If sin is a disease, then it must be healed, not punished.  But where does that leave us with notions such as hell, and rebellion against God, and such?

Just some preliminary thoughts on the subject.

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Die biblische Urgeschichte erzählt nicht nur von Anfängen, sie ist ein Anfang – derjenige des Alten Testaments, der Hebräischen Bibel. Gemäß der These dieser Studie erfolgte die literarische und theologische Arbeit an der Urgeschichte im Bewusstsein, dass es sich um den Prolog zu einem Textcorpus aus Tora, Propheten und Schriften handelt. Ein diskursiver Durchgang durch Gen 1–11 zeigt die Auseinandersetzung der verschiedenen Stimmen der Urgeschichte (Priesterschrift und nichtpriesterliche Texte) insbesondere mit den prophetischen und weisheitlichen Traditionen, die schließlich im Rahmen des Tanak kanonisiert wurden.

Auch in anderer Hinsicht erweist sich die Urgeschichte als Prolog: Es finden sich Einflüsse mythologischer Traditionen mesopotamischer und griechischer Provenienz. Dies wird dahingehend interpretiert, dass die Autoren der Urgeschichte die literarischen Traditionen Israels und Judas gezielt in den Kontext antiker Literatur zu integrieren suchten.

Andreas Schüle, Dr. phil. Dr. theol. habil., Jahrgang 1968, ist Professor für Altes Testament und biblische Hermeneutik am Union Seminary & Presbyterian School of Christian Education Richmond, Virginia.

Table of contents:
0. EINLEITUNG … 1
0.1 DIE ANFÄNGE DER WELT UND DER BEGINN EINES BUCHES … 1

0.2 ÜBERGREIFEND HERANGEZOGENE LITERATUR … 6

1. ZUR FORSCHUNGSGESCHICHTE … 11
1.1 DAS FORSCHUNGSGESCHICHTLICHE PROBLEM DES JAHWISTEN … 11
1.1.1 Die Frage nach dem Werden einer literarischen Quelle und die Urgeschichte … 11
1.1.2 Unabhängigkeit oder Intertextualität? – Die literarische Einordnung
von J in den Entstehungsprozess des Pentateuch … 14
1.1.3 Modifikationen der Quellen- und Redaktionshypothesen zu J … 20
1.1.4 J als Kommentar zur priesterlichen Urgeschichte … 24
1.1.5 Zusammenfassung … 31

1.2 DIE KOMPOSITION DER URGESCHICHTLICHEN STOFFE IM RAHMEN EINER ERGÄNZUNGSHYPOTHESE … 32

1.3 LITERATUR … 40

2. DIE GENEALOGISCHE THEOLOGIE DER PRIESTERSCHRIFT …43
2.1 DIE TOLEDOTFORMEL UND DER PRIESTERLICHE TEXT … 43

2.2 DIE PRIESTERLICHE GENESIS ALS GESCHICHTSBUCH … 51

2.3 DIE URGESCHICHTE ALS TEIL DER PRIESTERLICHEN GENESIS … 54

2.4 DIE GLIEDERUNGSEBENEN DER PRIESTERLICHEN URGESCHICHTE … 57

3. DIE NATÜRLICHE THEOLOGIE DER PRIESTERSCHRIFT … 59
3.1 ALLGEMEINE MERKMALE NATÜRLICHER THEOLOGIE … 59

3.2 NATÜRLICH-THEOLOGISCHE ELEMENTE DER PRIESTERLICHEN URGESCHICHTE …62
3.2.1 Der Text von Gen 1,1–2,3 … 65
3.2.2 Die mythische Rede vom Anfang und von der Menschenschöpfung …67
3.2.3 Die Urgeschichte als Einweisung in die Tora … 74

3.3 DAS VERSTÄNDNIS DES MENSCHEN ALS BILD GOTTES … 84
3.3.1 Hermeneutische Vorüberlegung … 84
3.3.2 Ebenbildlichkeit und Bilderpolemik … 86
3.3.3 Das Bilderkonzept der Inschrift vom Tell Fekheriye … 89
3.3.4 Die Personwerdung des Menschen als Bild Gottes … 91

3.4 GOTTES FERNE UND DIE KOSMISCHE ORDNUNG … 102

3.5 DAS DOMINIUM TERRAE UND SEINE AUFHEBUNG … 106

3.6 DER KÖNIGLICHE MENSCH? DIE IMAGO DEI IM VERGLEICH MIT PSALM 8 … 117
Exkurs: Der «überlegend-entscheidende Mensch» (maliku amelu) in neubabylonischer Tradition … 121

4. DIE PROPHETISCHE THEOLOGIE DER PRIESTERSCHRIFT … 125
4.1 WELLHAUSENS TRENNUNG VON PROPHETISCHER UND PRIESTERLICHER ÜBERLIEFERUNG … 125

4.2 NEUERE FORSCHUNGSPERSPEKTIVEN … 126

4.3 SCHÖPFUNG ALS WORTGESCHEHEN … 130

4.4 GOTTES ATEM ALS GRENZE DES CHAOS … 134

4.5 ZWISCHENREFLEXION I: DER PROLOGCHARAKTER VON GENESES 1,1–2,3 … 137

4.6 LITERATUR ZU K. 2–4 … 138

5. VON ADAM UND EVA ZU KAIN: DIE WEISHEIT UND IHRE FOLGEN … 149
5.1 DIE MENSCHEN IN EDEN … 149
5.1.1 Der Text von Gen 2,4–3,24 … 149
5.1.2 Synchrones und diachrones Textprofil … 152
5.1.3 Gen 2–3 und die Erzählung vom Urmenschen im Garten Eden … 156
5.1.4 Das Bild wird Mensch … … 161

5.2 DIE KAIN-ÜBERLIEFERUNG … 178
5.2.1 Der Text (Gen 4) … 178
5.2.2 Die Kainerzählung als weisheitliche Reflexion auf das Werden des
Gewaltmenschen … 180

5.2.3 Die literarische und theologische Interdependenz der Eden- und
der Kain-Erzählung … 191

5.2.4 Die siebenfache Rache für Kain und das priesterliche Tötungsverbot
(Gen 9,5f.) … 199

5.2.5 Zwischen Gottesgarten und Wüstenland: das Leben in Eden als Aufgabe des Menschen … 204
5.2.6 Die Überleitung zur Flutgeschichte: der Kainstammbaum als Genealogie des Gewaltmenschen … 207

5.3 ZWISCHENREFLEXION II: DER PROLOGCHARAKTER DER EDEN-ERZÄHLUNG … 210

5.4 LITERATUR ZU K. 5 … 213

6. DIE ENGELEHEN UND DIE EPOCHALISIERUNG DER URGESCHICHTE … 219
6.1 DER TEXT UND DIE THEMEN VON GEN 6,1-4 … 219

6.2 DER RELIGIONSGESCHICHTLICHE HINTERGRUND VON GEN 6,1-4 … 222

6.3 SCHÖPFUNG ALS ANTHROPOGONIE … 232

6.4 DIE BEGRENZUNG DER MENSCHLICHEN LEBENSDAUER AUF 120 JAHRE … 237

6.5 GOTTES GEIST UND DAS LEBEN … 239

6.6 LITERATUR ZU K.6 … 244

7. DIE SINTFLUTGESCHICHTE … 247
7.1 SYNOPSE DES PRIESTERLICHEN UND NICHT-PRIESTERLICHEN TEXTS VON GEN 6,5–9,17.28 … 247

7.2 DIE STRUKTUR DER PRIESTERLICHEN SINTFLUTGESCHICHTE … 254

7.3 DAS LITERARGESCHICHTLICHE VERHÄLTNIS VON PRIESTERLICHEM UND NICHT-PRIESTERLICHEM TEXT … 258

7.4 DAS THEOLOGISCHE PROFIL DER PRIESTERLICHEN FLUTGESCHICHTE … 260
7.4.1 Die degenerierte und die restaurierte Welt … 260
7.4.2 Die Taxonomie des Lebens: Fleisch, Seele, Geist … 269

7.5 DIE NICHT-PRIESTERLICHEN TEXTE … 271
7.5.1 Die erste Bearbeitungsschicht … 271

7.5.2 Die zweite Bearbeitungsschicht … 292

8. DIE FLUTERZÄHLUNG UND DAS PROPHETISCHE GESCHICHTSBILD … 303
8.1. DIE PRIESTERLICHE REZEPTION … 303
8.1.1 Gewalt auf der guten Erde. Die Begründung der Sintflut … 303
8.1.2 Zerstreuung (Gen 9,19) – die Umwertung eines Begriffs prophetischer Gerichtspredigt … 311
8.1.3 Noahbund und Neuer Bund … 316

8.2 DIE NICHT-PRIESTERLICHE REZEPTION … 320
8.2.1 YHWHs Reue … 320
8.2.2 YHWH und die mythische Götterwelt … 323
8.2.3 Die Götterwelt im Wandel … 328
8.2.4 Das alte Herz bleibt – Gen 8,20-22 als weisheitliche Kritik am prophetischen Weltbild … 335

8.3 ZWISCHENREFLEXION III: DER PROLOGCHARAKTER DER FLUTGESCHICHTE … 345

8.4 LITERATUR ZU K. 7 U. 8 … 348

9 DIE VÖLKERGESCHICHTE … 355
9.1 DIE VERFLUCHUNG KANAANS … 355
9.1.1 Der Text von Gen 9,20-27 … 355
9.1.2 Die Gliederungsfunktion des Texts als Zäsur zwischen Urzeit und
Völkergeschichte … 355
9.1.3 Die Brüder- als Völkerbeziehungen … 360
9.1.4 Gen 9,20-27 und die deuteronomistische Bannideologie … 364
9.1.5 Israel zwischen Kanaanäern und Großmächten … 366

9.2 DIE VÖLKERTAFEL … 367
9.2.1 Die ethnische Darstellung der Völkerwelt … 372
9.2.2 Die Nimrodepisode … 374
9.2.3 Die zweite Semitenliste (Gen 11,10-26) … 376

10. DIE BABELERZÄHLUNG ALS ABSCHLUSS DER URGESCHICHTE … 379
10.1 DER TEXT VON GEN 11,1-9 … 379

10.2 DIE BEDEUTUNG DER BABELERZÄHLUNG ALS MYTHOS … 380

10.3 DIE NARRATIVE STRUKTUR VON GEN 11,1-9 … 384

10.4 SPRACHVERWIRRUNG ODER ZERSTREUUNG? DIE FRAGE NACH DEM DIACHRONEN TEXTPROFIL … 386

10.5 DER VERLUST DER EINEN SPRACHE … 389
10.5.1 Sprach- und Textsemantik … 389
10.5.2 Sprache als Einheitsmerkmal … 392

10.6 DIE EINBETTUNG DER BABEL-ERZÄHLUNG IN DIE URGESCHICHTE … 394
10.6.1 Motivische Verbindungen mit Gen 2–3 … 395
10.6.2 Motivische Verbindungen mit Gen 4 … 397
10.6.3 Texte des Anfangs: Die Gibborim, Nimrod und die Entstehung der Völker in Babel … 400
10.6.4 Die Babelerzählung im Kontrast zur priesterlichen Sicht der Völkerwelt … 402
10.6.5 Der Ausgang der Sintflut und die Zerstreuung der Menschheit …403

10.7 STÄDTEBAU ALS SKLAVENARBEIT? BABELERZÄHLUNG UND ÄGYPTISCHE GEFANGENSCHAFT … 406

10.8 WELTREICH UND MENSCHHEIT – DIE BABELERZÄHLUNG ALS SUMME GESCHICHTLICHER ERFAHRUNG … 410

10.9 AUSWERTUNG: SUGGESTIVE HETEROGENITÄT ALS MERKMAL DER BABELERZÄHLUNG … 416

10.10 DIE FRAGE DER LITERARGESCHICHTLICHEN EINORDNUNG … 419

10.11 LITERATUR ZU K. 9 U.10 … 421

11. ABSCHLUSS … 425

REGISTER … 431
SACHREGISTER … 431
STELLENREGISTER … 437

My review of this book (in English) will be published in the Review of Biblical Literature later this year.

It's DanNation, wishing you a final "Happy Pride 2008"!  Fun was had by all this weekend as Jimmi traveled from Phoenix to join the festivities in San Francisco.  You can see more at his blog (once he posts) and at Adam's blog here.

Can anyone please tell me what is going on here?

With July less than three hours away, it's good-bye to Pride 2008.  Until next year...

By George Pitcher
Last Updated: 12:01am BST 30/06/2008
Courtesay daily Telegrpah http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2008/06/30/do3005.xml

This week sees the anniversary of one of the greatest landmarks in the history of science. Tomorrow we commemorate the great day, exactly 150 years ago, that Charles Darwin unveiled his theory of evolution by natural selection, the most authoritative scientific challenge to Biblical accounts of our origins in, well, the history of the universe.
• Read more from George Pitcher
So we can expect the celebrations of Darwin's genius to start this week and run through next year, the 200th anniversary of the great man's birth and the 150th anniversary of the publication of his On the Origin of Species.

Charles Darwin: not a man easily pigeon-holed
Less happily, there will doubtless be jolly parties with themes like "The Death of God", at which Professor Richard Dawkins will appear in human form alongside his apostle, Christopher Hitchens, to the rapture of his atheistic disciples. Sinful bishops and rabbis will be forgiven, so long as they repent, and secularists will move among the people, with Darwin's sacred text to guide them, singing "Happy Birthday to Reason."
But wait a minute. Or, indeed, a millennium. As the wonderful Oxford don John Hedley Brooke puts it, we should be careful about pigeon-holing the man who wouldn't pigeon-hole pigeons.
Wasn't Darwin also a man of God, who wrestled with some form of faith throughout his life? Was he not intensely respectful of the relationships between science and faith? Should atheists, such as Dawkins, really adopt Darwin as their champion?
Yes, yes and no, in that order. But I just want to suggest that Darwin wasn't the father of atheism; that his story is far more complex than that and that his contribution to the relationship between faith and reason is what really counts, rather than whether he came down firmly on one side or the other, like Sir Alan Sugar deciding whether to hire or fire God.
This ambition will not be achieved by a simple narrative of the arc of his life, from going up to Cambridge to take holy orders, to his early Bible-quoting evangelism on HMS Beagle during his scientific Grand Tour, to a deistic position when he wrote On the Origin of Species, and his later agnosticism (and very probably atheism in the face of family tragedy).
Far better to see Darwin in the theological context of his time. The prevalent Victorian religious mindset was Natural Theology and, if its principal proponent, William Paley, would forgive the paraphrase, it ran that life, the universe and everything was too ordered, too complex, too coincidental and too downright beautiful to have come about by accident. It followed that it all must have had a benign and purposeful creator.
Little wonder that Darwin's revelations about evolution undermined that. But he was still able to write this intriguing confession, about the effects of contemporary theology on him, in The Descent of Man: "I had not formerly sufficiently considered the existence of many structures [which are] neither beneficial nor injurious, and this I believe to be one of the greatest oversights as yet detected in my work." Darwin was apparently unable to annul his former belief that each species had been created on purpose. And this led him to assume that everything "was of some special, though unrecognised, service."
But it wasn't his science that destroyed his residual faith; it was the death of his 10-year-old daughter, Annie. Darwin's alienation from his former faith was driven by bitter personal experience, not cold, scientific analysis, as those who hail him as faith's nemesis might like to claim.
In later life, Darwin refrained from committing himself to atheism. He tended to have theistic moments, such as when contemplating how the universe came to be here at all. Darwin intuitively understood the pre-Enlightenment relationship between faith and reason, or the idea of a reasonable faith that is as old as Augustine. Unlike today's posturing and positioning, he was a brave and honest explorer of all that makes us work. That's what we should be celebrating and aspiring to recapture this week.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2008/06/30/do3005.xml

paarsurrey comments to the daily Telegraph :

Hi

It is very satisfying to note that Darwin was not a father of the Atheists/Agonostics; and he could not be one as atheists existed before him. If someone thinks that he was one, he must be taking it metaphorically.The Creationists similarly, in my opinion, take Adam as their father only symbolically as human beings existed before Adam. Adam was the first perfect man with whom GodAllahYHWH conversed directly.

I think it would be more appropirate to say that doubt or confusion are the father and mother of the Atheists/Agnostics, while certainty is the father/mother of the theists who believe in OneGod.
http://paarsurrey.wordpress.com/

Thanks

I am an Ahmadi peaceful Muslim

Se lige her:

Adam Saks

Christian Finne 

Christian Finne hos Galleri Egelund.

Se lige det her billede af Finne:

The Atlantic

I

I have been thinking of you in England,

And how the others, here with me now,

Seem to patter on like an unwanted rain.

It is true, isn’t it, that the water is needed

By the fields, that without the weight

The world would turn to dust.

And the laws of the earth do not halt,

Even for the lonely among us—

So I turn my eyes from the Atlantic.

II

Bound by the same laws, the farmer,

Awake in his bed, listens to the lack of wind

Like one who has lost a lover.

In the famine grip of stillness

(That I have said is like death)

He prays for a miracle to rise,

For the gusts of wind to stir his soul

Like a window-rattling opera—

For the rain to quench his unsleeping heart.

III

Of course the farmer cannot command a storm.

But if life was only the slow acceptance

Of our own limitation, who could love?

Of course more than our prayers

Escape the chains of time and distance.

I am speaking of the Atlantic,

Of standing here on the Eastern shore

With your presence in my memory,

Like a rainbow after a storm.

At least that's how his story starts.

In Book 1 of the Gilgamesh Epic, an animal trapper reports to his father:

Father, there is a man, unlike any other, who comes down from the hills. He is the strongest in the world, he is like an immortal from heaven. He ranges over the hills with wild beasts and eats grass; he ranges through your land and comes down to the wells. I am afraid and dare not go near him. He fills in the pits which I dig and tears up my traps set for the game; he helps the beasts to escape and now they slip through my fingers.

Enkidu, in other words, is Greenpeace Man on steroids, disrupting the expansion of civilization and siding with the animals, liberating them wherever he finds them trapped. He is human literature's first hippie eco-warrior, even the first terrorist, who would have driven the ratings of Fox News through the roof.

But the trapper's father, through wisdom based on experience and reflection, does not suggest to his son a direct confrontation with the wild man. Instead, the trapper's father offers his son astute psychological and sociological advice on how to deal with Enkidu:

My son, in Uruk lives Gilgamesh; no one has ever prevailed against him, he is strong as a star from heaven. Go to Uruk, find Gilgamesh, extol the strength of this wild man. Ask him to give you a harlot, a wanton from the temple of love; return with her, and let her woman's power overpower this man. When next he comes down to drink at the wells she will be there.

There are two things to note about the father's saavy advice:

• First, the father is a clever diplomat, bringing on allies in the fight against the wild man. The father understands that Gilgamesh will take the tale of this Dionysian wild man as a provocation to his own Apollonian power, and will arouse his pride to fight on behalf of the trapper, generating a "coalition of the willing."
• Second, the father is, at heart, not only a cunning psychologist, but a sociologist. He understands that wild men are invariably single, without kids, and that the surest route to weakening the energies of the wild male against conservative civilization is to attach him to a woman.

And sure enough, on meeting the woman, Enkidu is seduced and "knows" the woman. Like the biblical Adam, sex is the route from innocence to experience, and Enkidu rapidly moves from adolescent spontenaity and harmony in magical nature to adult irony, hesitation, and alienation. Like the boxer whose knees are stereotypically drained away by love, so Enkidu's strength is diminished:

For six days and seven nights they lay together . . . Then, when the gazelle saw him, they bolted away; and when the wild creatures saw him they fled. Enkidu would have followed, but his body was bound as though with a cord, his knees gave way when he started to run, his swiftness was gone. And now the wild creatures had all fled away; Enkidu was grown weak, for wisdom was in him, and the thoughts of a man were in his heart.

Enkidu, now bound to his woman as if by an umbilical cord, submits to her:

So he returned and sat down at the woman's feet, and listened intently to what she said, 'You are wise, Enkidu, and now you have become like a god. Why do you want to run wild with the beasts in the hills? Come with me. I will take you to strong-walled Uruk, to the blessed temple of Ishtar and of Anu, of love and heaven: there Gilgamesh lives, who is very strong, and like a wild bull he lords it over man.'

The chords of civilization are slowly entwining Enkidu, giving new meaning to the phrase, "sex and the city." Sex and the city are the civilizing forces that tame wild men, and now his woman is even wanting him to start going to church with her! The woman will bring him behind the "strong walls of Uruk" (the city) and bring him to "the blessed temple of Ishtar and of Anu" where he will learn about "love and heaven."

But Enkidu has not lost his wildness entirely. He imagines the city as a place that he might yet conquer for wildness, and put forth a Whitmanian barbaric YAWP in. Enkidu, in terms familiar to any young and innocent revolutionary, prepared to Oedipally overcome the city fathers, boldly announces:

I will cry out aloud in Uruk, 'I am the strongest here, I have come to change the old order, I am he who was born in the hills, I am he who is strongest of all.'

Ironically, even as he makes this declaration, the woman is mentally sizing him for appropriate and stylish clothes. He can't just go into the city all smelly and ungroomed!:

O Enkidu, there all the people are dressed in gorgeous robes, every day is a holiday, the young men and the girls are wonderful to see. How sweet they smell!

And he needs table manners, which the woman, with the assistance of some shepherds, teaches him:

Enkidu could only suck the milk of wild animals. He fumbled and gaped, at a loss what to do or how he should eat the bread and drink the strong wine.

And that matted, wild hair. It has to be tamed too!:

He rubbed down the matted hair of his body and annointed himself with oil. Enkidu had become a man.

Here's wild Enkidu's transformational markers in a nutshell: sex, city, religion, cultivated eating habits, clothes, and grooming. 

Lastly, the family resemblence of this Mesopotamian story with the opening chapters of Genesis is rather striking:

• Like Adam, Enkidu is created from clay.
• Like Adam, Enkidu is alone of his kind in a rather innocent, harmonious, and Edenic garden world.
• A woman introduced into Adam's world brings Adam to sexual gnosis and alienation from the harmony of the garden. Ditto Enkidu.
• The move from innocence to experience in the Bible is accompanied by the covering of the body. Likewise Enkidu.
• Adam's expulsion from the garden is accompanied by the development of the lifestyle of cultivation (labor by the sweat of one's brow) and, ultimately, city-dwelling. Likewise, Enkidu learns to eat and drink the products of cultivation (bread and wine) and leaves his wild paradise for the city.
• On leaving the garden, consciousness of death accompanies Adam; likewise, Enkidu.  

Poor wild Enkidu, Horatio, I knew him well!

Hey everyone:)

So, last night was a new episode of "The Next Food Network Star." I don't know about you guys, but I had a good time watching it. So, in this episode it was quite the deal. There was actually a lot of people that I would have sent home last night, but nonetheless we now have five finalist. It was a fun night last night and there was a guest judge. It was Iron Chef Cat Cora. I really like her a lot. Although she is a perfectionist as a chef, she seems like a very nice person and that is a plus.

Alright, so for the first challenge all six contestants were given a basket. Inside the basket was six ingredients and they were told that they not only had to make a dish out of it, but they also had to describe it to the camera. That is actually a little harder than it seems. So, everyone went to work making their dish and at the same time trying to make up what they were going to say about their dishes. I don't know about you guys, but Aaron's shortcake looked really, really, really good. The twist was that once they made their dish Cat Cora had them switch places in front of dishes and told them that not only did they have to describe a dish, but that they had to describe another person's dish.

Shane did really good talking about the flavors and really giving the home audience a way to taste the food. He was the one that won that challenge. Aaron didn't do so hot, because spent about 10 seconds of his time tasting the dish. That would not be cool with the home viewer. Jennifer did terribly poor, because she kept saying "what is this?" Not the best thing to say to an audience. Plus, she didn't even know what the food was. Not a great idea.

Then came the second challenge. It teams of two they are supposed to take a dish that takes a really long time to make and make it accessible to the home viewer by creating a version of it in 45 minutes. Shane and Kelsey picked the beef wellington and then Shane designated the other two dishes to the other parties. That chicken stuffed inside a duck, stuffed inside a turkey thing was absolutely huge and I feared for Lisa and Jennifer. They then had to present it to the judges and a board of editors from "Bon Apetit" magazine. The award for winning this challenge was that they become the featured recipe in the next issue of "Bon Apetit."

Adam and Aaron were up first. I don't think that I would want to be in a team with Adam. He has a problem cooking food. He was cooking bone in chicken that would take way more than 45 minutes and then decides during the last 20 minutes that it is not such a great idea so he begins cooking the fillets. The problem is that their plating looked so awful. I mean it was so sloppy.

Lisa and Jennifer just do not go together. I mean they don't. Lisa is a perfectionist and Jennifer hardly knows about food. They were doing just fine and half way through cooking, Jennifer tried to open the apricot juice for her side dish and begins tapping it on the counter to open it, when the glass and everything explodes on the grill. If you have ever cooked you know that you have to throw out everything on the grill including Lisa's Duck comfit. It was awful, but Lisa was very nice about it although upset. As you can imagine, it didn't go over well with the judges and they thought the turkey was bland and needed a sauce (also Jennifer's fault).

Now comes Shane and Kelsey who won the challenge. They did a very good job. The only thing really bad about the whole thing was the plating. The colors were definitely not that appealing with each other. They did a great job though. They had the pastry, beef, and beautiful sides for the beef wellington. They worked well together and the judges and editors loved the food. Yay! They are the two youngest in the competition too. The only thing the judges had to say was that Kelsey has to stop saying she just came from culinary school. Home cooks want to see an expert and not someone who just graduated.

The elimination round was very intense. Obviously Kelsey and Shane were safe and they got to leave the room. Who was left was Jennifer, Lisa, Aaron, and Adam. The first person they let go back to the room was Lisa. She has extraordinary expertise so she was left to go back where Shane and Kelsey were. Then they let Aaron go, because they gave him a lot of advice this week. He definitely has to open up a little more and look less scared. It's the truth! So, he went back to the room. Then there was Adam and Jennifer. Adam has had a terrible record with food, but they love his personality. Jennifer has had a terrible record of apologizing and making mistakes like she did with Lisa, but they love her warmth. Jennifer ended up going home and I say rightly so. I do wish her the best of luck. Alright, well, 'til next week!

I'm off to make my terrific day!

Have a good one:)