Ryan was having a lot of doubts,
He wasn't sure what to believe.
He said, "I was looking for answers.
But found only questions instead."

Gabriel had been an enigma
As long as Ryan could recall.
He would just show up in times of need.
When fear and doubt would take its toll.

"Perhaps I could answer your questions."
He said, with reassuring tone.
"I have some knowledge of such matters.
Why not ask your questions of me?"

Ryan considered the man's offer,
And thought of a question to ask.
He wanted to make it difficult,
And put an end to this nonsense.

"Who was that someone Cain referred to,
Who might find him and do him harm?
Why did God put a mark on his brow,
When he was cast out of the fold?"

Gabriel did not waste a moment.
"Seek your answer in the Bible,
But you must know just where to look.
It must be an older copy."

"For it has been changed since the first print.
God created man in his image,
Man and woman is what it will say.
This all occurred on the sixth day."

"In the old book there is no mention
Of Eden, until God rested.
It is only after this occurs,
That Adam is formed from the dust."

"You seek an answer for your question,
And that is what I will provide.
But many questions are found herein,
So many answers I will give."

"You wonder about Neanderthal,
And other fossils man has found.
You think also of the dinosaurs,
How could they have all just vanished?"

"Let us look at one mistranslation,
You are not the 'image' of God.
The original word was 'tselem',
The meaning of which is 'to shade'."

"You were created in God's shadow,
Protected by its warm embrace.
You are shaded by His love for you,
But you are the 'image' of man."

"Now God created man and woman,
The plural was obviously used.
Yet Adam was made singularly,
And Eve was created later."

"Fossil records prove without a doubt
Other hominids walked the Earth.
The first creation explains that fact,
As does the need for marking Cain."

Neanderthal was not much different,
Than Adam's Homo sapiens.
There was one way to tell them apart,
The difference was found in their brow."

"Did you think the mark was a tattoo,
A brand or some kind of a rune?
He was made to look like those he feared,
God only had to change his brow."

"As far as dinosaurs are concerned,
Are meteors that selective?
Do they kill off just one form of life?
The Bible explains this as well."

"Eve was coerced back in the Garden,
By a serpent, not just a snake.
It had to be great in countenance,
Its stature, a sight to behold."

"It convinced Eve that God was lying,
and for that deed its kind was cursed.
Their lives would be spent on their bellies.
Nevermore would they walk upright."

"And so it has gone for all reptiles,
Since the dinosaur disappeared.
Yet they've survived throughout the ages,
Why did they not also die off?"

Gabriel reached for Ryan's shoulder,
And told him, "Seek and ye shall find.
A man who accepts another's word,
Risks following one who is blind."

With that, Gabriel said his goodbyes,
And handed Ryan a Bible.
It was well preserved, yet very old.
Ryan sat and began to read.

He was given a new perspective,
And there were questions yet to ask.
The answers to which, he now could find.
His quest would no longer be blind.

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