Introduction

Lecture 5 in my Psychological Significance of the Biblical Stories lecture series The account of Cain and Abel is remarkable for its unique combination of brevity and depth. In a few short sentences, it outlines two diametrically opposed modes of being -- both responses to the emergence of self-consciousness and the knowledge of good and evil detailed in story of Adam and Eve. Cain's mode of being -- resentful, arrogant and murderous -- arises because his sacrifices are rejected by God.