The Skeptics Annotated Bible (924 page)

(15.21-22) Nothing died before Adam sinned. In Christ all will have eternal life. (Christ died for the animals.)
157 Does hell exist?

21
For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.

(15.21)
“For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.”

22
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

(15.22)
“For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.”

23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.

24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.

25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.

26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

27 For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.

28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him,
then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him
that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

(15.28) “Then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him.”
349 Is Jesus God?

29
Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?

(15.29) “Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, If the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?” This is the verse that the Mormons use to justify their belief in the baptism of the dead.

30 And why stand we in jeopardy every hour?

31 I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.

32 If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for to morrow we die.

33 Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.

34 Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.

35 But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come?

36
Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die:

(15.36a) “Thou fool.”
297 Is it OK to call someone a fool?

(15.36b)
“That which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die.”
Paul also shows his (and God’s) ignorance of biology by saying that only dead seeds will germinate. Actually, a seed must be alive to germinate.

37 And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain:

38 But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body.

39 All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds.

40 There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.

41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.

42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:

43 It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:

44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.

(15.45) “The first man Adam” Young Earth Creationists use this verse to support a literal reading of Genesis.

46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural;
and afterward that which is spiritual.

(15.46)
“And afterword that which is spiritual.”
Asa Gray, the foremost American botanist in the 19th century and close friend of Charles Darwin, used this verse to support the idea that the Bible is not inconsistent with human evolution.

47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.

48 As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.

49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.

50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

(15.51-52) Paul expected the end of the world to come before he and his followers died.