The Predator Crouching at Your Door

Cain and Abel - Titian
oil on canvas, 1542-1544
Santa Maria della Salute, Venice

The seemingly arbitrary rejection of Cain’s offering and acceptance of his brother Abel’s offering outlined in Genesis 4 has long been a source of contention for non-believers.  They say this passage speaks of a capricious God that is unpredictable and vindictive. 

Yet though we readily recognize the Messianic symbolism of Abel’s offering, the Mosaic law did allow for bloodless offerings. It was more the attitude that accompanied Cain's offering, than the nature of the offering, which made it unacceptable.  This is taught with greater clarity in the Pearl of Great Price than in any translation of the Bible or it’s accompanying commentaries. 

And Cain loved Satan more than God. And Satan commanded him, saying: Make an offering unto the Lord. And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock, and the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel, and to his offering; But unto Cain, and to his offering, he had not respect. Now Satan knew this, and it pleased him. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. (Moses 5:18-21)

It is argued that Cain had a bad attitude from the start, but when he (and to a lesser extent, his offering) was rejected, he lost it completely.  To say he ‘was very wroth’ in our vernacular is understatement. One commentary translates this phrase literally as “it burned with Cain exceedingly”. 

The account in Genesis describes things rapidly going downhill from this point. But before that point of no return, there was a moment when God reached out to Cain.  I found it helpful to consider other biblical translations of Genesis 4:7 which describes this moment.

KJV		If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
NKJV		“If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.”
ESV		If you do well, will you not be accepted?fn And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.”
NIV		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.”

The metaphor of sin crouching at the door, like an unseen predator that would devour him, is incredibly powerful.  Perhaps it was meant to foreshadow the role Cain would play in the destruction of his brother. In this regard, the ESV and NIV are particularly useful. But even in his outreach, God respects the agency of Cain.

But once again, the Pearl of Great Price is critical in understanding the process by which we make ourselves (and our offerings) acceptable to God. 

If thou doest well, thou shalt be accepted. And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door, and Satan desireth to have thee; and except though shalt hearken unto my commandments, I will deliver thee up, and it shall be unto thee according to his desire. And thou shalt rule over him;   (Moses 5:23)

Ultimately, Cain 'rejected the greater counsel which was held of God’ (Moses 5:25) and remained ‘wroth, and listened not anymore to the voice of the Lord’ (Moses 5:26). This was no crime of passion, but rather obstinate rejection of the outreached hand of the Lord, preferring instead to ‘glory in his wickedness’ (Moses 5:31) in the company of Satan. It is the first recorded Faustian pact in history. Cain didn’t become Perdition by falling victim to some unseen predator lurking in the doorway. He chose it. 

Although Cain’s fall was foreseeable, it was still preventable: do well and be accepted, otherwise sin lies at the door.

Faustianity and the Battle for Souls

Justifying the Means
"Faust Painter"

I just finished reading Faust, by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.  It is touted as one of the greatest works in German literature, and is full of themes about heaven and hell. I liked it, but knew very little about what I was getting in to.  This play puts the "T" in tragedy. Here's a quick overview:

In heaven, God agrees* to allow Mephistopheles (the devil) to try and foil Faust, a brilliant physician that was restlessly searching for inner peace and infinite knowledge. Frustrated, Faust resorts to magic to conjure up a spirit to help him in his search.  Unwittingly, he summons Satan. Mephistopheles initially appears in the innocuous form of a poodle, which Faust brings home to his study. The poodle transforms into Mephistopheles and Faust recognizes him as the devil. Faust is titillated and invites him back not once, but three times. Mephistopheles then persuades Faust to a wager, which he signs in his own blood. The devil will serve Faust and bring him knowledge and power, but at the moment Faust wishes to stay in the moment forever, he will die and forfeit his soul.**

Faust falls for Margaret, a beautiful and virtuous god-fearing girl. With the assistance of Mephistopheles, Faust makes use of magic potions, bribery, lies and flattery to seduce her—and impregnate her.  To make things worse, the potion they used to make Margaret's mother sleep ends up killing her. Things continue to unwind when Faust kills Margaret's brother, who finds out about the sordid affair.  Faust and Mephistopheles flee and when they return, find that Margaret is in prison and sentenced to death for drowning her illegitimate child. Faust immediately offers to free her. But, racked with guilt, Margaret refuses and calls on God for forgiveness.  We hear a voice from heaven announce that Margaret is saved as Faust and Mephistopheles simply run away. It's not exactly a Princess Bride ending.

In the beginning, Faust wanted good things: knowledge and understanding. Yet, he was so desperate to get them that nothing was off-limits. Faust actively conjured up a devil and sacrificed his spiritual values for power and knowledge—things he deemed good. But his methods caused him to rapidly lose sight of his lofty goals.  In no time he was bogged down in things that he would have found abhorrent before his compromise. Nothing good ever happens in this story.

This is by no means the first Faustian pact, but Goethe's story is so memorable that it now defines the genre. Though we may not conjure up a devil and sell him our soul, it is very easy to place ourselves in his company. Our choices and compromises so easily force away the Holy Spirit, leaving us alone with the likes of Mephistopheles. It's not long until we find ourselves comfortable in his presence, and repeatedly inviting him back for a visit.  As Cervantes*** wrote:

"Tell me thy company and I will tell thee what thou art."

So what is my point? It seems that our Christianity is increasingly replaced by Faustianity: the relentless pursuit of our selfish goals without regard to ethics or spiritual values. We take little heed of the casualties we create along the way—so long as we are able to get away safely. I see it as supreme selfishness and blind ambition, and it is very much the up-and-coming thing. It may be the fastest growing religion on earth.

__________

* Shades of Job 1:6-12

** This is one of most famous parts of the work:

When thus I hail the moment flying: 

"Ah, still delay--thou art so fair?" 

Then bind me in thy bonds undying, 

My final ruin then declare

*** Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, The History of Don Quixote de la Mancha, LVI:1021