Does the Bible Say Generous Overspending's OK?

Continued from page 2

The Hebrew text in question can mean fill, but it is the context which determines the sense of the word, not the dictionary. In the case of the Noah story, it means re-fill, simply because it had already happened before. There is no implication in Genesis 1:28 that people were on the earth before Adam and Eve.

Q: Why are there several places in the Bible where Aramaic is used? Is there a special significance as to why these phrases are singled out and not literally translated with the rest of the text? --Jim B.

The Aramaic phrases that we find in Mark, and in some of Paul's letters, are there to remind us that Jesus and the earliest Christians primarily spoke this language, not Greek. Therefore we are dealing with translation phenomena. Usually such phrases are indeed translated on the spot (Mark 5:41).

Q: It was written that we were made in God's image. What did God mean by "his image"? --Dixie

In my view, the image of God is something which distinguishes us from all the other creatures on the earth. It has to do with the fact that we have a capacity for a personal relationship with God, a loving relationship that other creatures cannot have. We are the religious creatures on the earth, created "to love God and enjoy his presence forever," as Calvin once said.