What the Christian Believes 1

IN THE BEGINNING

In the beginning God made the heaven and earth. At first there was nothing, only God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. These three are one. When they (heaven and earth) were finished, He made the animals, birds, fish, trees, and everything living on the ground. Then God made one man after His likeness. His name was Adam. He made a woman for the man and her name was Eve.

(At first,) Adam and Eve were friends with God. They never disobeyed (did not disobey) Him. They were very happy in a beautiful garden that God made for them. But (then, one day) they listened to Satan and did evil. Now God sent them away from His garden. Before, they didn't work hard for their food. There was always plenty of food in the garden. Now God punished them, and they had to work hard for their food. Adam and Eve had children of their own. They were like their parents. They lied, stole, disobeyed, killed and talked bad.

All people on earth have taken Adam and Eve's likeness. God made a way for (the descendants of) Adam and Eve to be forgiven. When they were sorry for badness they had done they were to kill a sheep. When God saw the blood of the sheep run down and when they were sorry for their sin, God forgave their sins. Eventually, Adam's descendants turned from God and did not do this. Many did it, but just because it was the custom and not because they were really sorry for their sin. They became proud and did what they thought was right, and not what God commanded. God had told the people to scatter to many countries, but they gathered into one large village and made a great tower. The people wanted to make themselves as God. They all spoke one language. God understood what they were doing. That is why He changed their languages, and scattered them throughout the world. That is why we speak so many languages today.

Because man is sinful he turns away from God, Who is holy. This is why God gave a law to help man know what is good, and what is bad for him. This is God's law: I am the one true God. You must not say God's name in a bad way. Remember to rest from your work on one day of the week. Obey your father and mother. Do not kill another person. You must not take another person's wife and go away. You must not steal. You must not tell lies against another person. You must not want to take that which belongs to another. These are God's commands, but man did not obey. Even now man does not obey. God says that punishment will come to those who do not obey. If you want to obey God's law, Jesus will help you. Pray to Him. He will help you to turn from your sins and follow God's ways.