Caining a Son

[Sushan Ekanayake]

Maybe he would have been a different character if the circumstances were different. Even today we see how peer pressure and the environmental facts influence one's character development

[charlenecraig]

God gave mankind free will at the time Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden. Cain had the same free will to choose his path. He may have let others influence him but again, it was his choice. Much as we have the same choices today. We can let others influence us or choose to follow God's will.

[Chinelookeke]

I wouldn't say it had anything to do with the number 13, but I think that was God's plan and I don't think it should be questioned since it's a story from the Bible and not something someone just came up with.

[Snowflake]

It's not whether or not he believed the number of his birth was unlucky. Everyone around him, including his family, believed it and therefore treated him differently...and probably not in a kind way. I believe babies are born as blank slates. Both nature and nurture affect how they develop. In that environment what child wouldn't grow up resentful of being singled out and 'spat on' (figuratively) because of something he had no control over?

I like the point above. Cain most definitely had free will. However, how we are nurtured has a great impact on how we perceive ourselves and the world around us.

[rwalkup]

There wasn't really a huge society yet or any particular factors to pressure Cain. He was the first person to commit murder so it's not like there was some sort of person who was influencing him to murder his brother.

[taejin jin]

I think it was the fact that everyone knew of the circumstances of his birth, and therefore he grew up with these expectations of wrongdoing. However, it was still his choice to become the way he was.

[Nzube Chizoba Okeke]

I don't believe his name or the fact that he was born as the "unlucky" number of children in his family. I believe that Cain chose to follow his own will rather than listen to God's voice. It's the same today, I can have 3 or 4 children and raise them all the same...and yet one may chose to rebel while another chooses to follow God's word. Believing in circumstances is like believing in old wives' tales. The number 13 is no more unlucky than any other.

Well said! I could not agree more. However, what I never understood is why one chooses to rebel and the another one doesn't... but I do believe number 13 is not the reason.

Obviously, it was Cain's decision to rebel and this had nothing to do with the name or the number 13.

[Nicolene75]

I have to say when I read that passage in the book I thought to myself oh that's opening a can of worms! In my humble opinion (and yes, I could be mistaken): I'm not gonna take it as accurate, I mean this is, after all, a book of fiction ...?

[AnnOgochukwu]

Back then, numbers played a huge role in life. It wasn't so much a superstition but an emphasis placed on them by God himself. Although we can disagree with Cain's treatment today due to research and scientific analysis, I believe Cain's treatment was supported by numbers. I can understand why others acted the way they did base on the numbers surrounded Cain's birth.

This makes a lot of sense. The people of those times and even the Jews till now, name children based on the circumstances of their birth.

[tafta]

Being born on the 13th a 'dark' day is perhaps a pointer so an observer can see a tortured soul. People always talking about him simply exposed what was hidden on the inside of him. Someone else can be treated in the same manner Cain was treated and react differently. It was Cain's choice to fester evil on the inside.

[Ms_Rita30]

I think it's the fact that others knew the circumstances surrounding Cain's birth and thus already had expectations for him that helped fuel his rebellious spirit. Plus his name didn't help matters. These only made him feel worse affected his self esteem a great deal.

[lwahls2]

I found this passage to be very interesting as well. I also didn't realize this was where the stigma of Friday the 13th came from! I definitely think his attitude/actions were a result of the way others treated him. You always see that children are affected by their environment and circumstances. No one is born inherently bad or inherently good in my opinion. Cain is not different.

[keiyoshi]

While the superstitions and expectations about him probably affected his view of himself, let us remember that we don't have to be who we're born to be and what diverts us from our planned path is our choices. Maybe that's where Cain's life is rooted upon.

[Marvin85]

I think the misdeed of Cain was not inspired by the fate that befell his name and other external factors, these are only coincidental in nature. The sin of Cain was a result of his own choice to rebel against God.

[Haywhyre7]

It just might be a factor actually as the number thing may have made a victim to a certain bad vibe around the house that was unused on his brother