Analysis - Genesis 1-5
So I wanted to do something a little different. Up to now my reading of the Bible has been surface level. Working under the assumption that the Bible is inerrant (perfect) and should be taken as historical fact. When reading I’d generally gloss over things that were contradictory or didn’t make sense to me. Based on some of the podcasts I’ve been listening to recently (Jordan Peterson Biblical Series) I wanted to think more critically about the Bible stories I was reading. Challenging the orthodoxy of each story and trying to pull out any relevant meaning to me.
As a new believer I still have a lot of questions, and the answer of “because the Bible tells me so” really isn’t sufficient. Nor can I accept the answer that anytime there is a contradiction that the Bible isn’t meant to be literal, when in most circumstances we are told that it is, indeed, meant to be literal. Context must be considered in totality, not just when something doesn’t make sense. I will no longer ignore these questions and contradictions. I must approach them head on and either strengthen my faith or disprove it.
With that said I’m going to begin here with Genesis Chapters 1-5. There are some questions I will answer in this post, some that I will likely answer in subsequent posts, and some that I will leave open. I’m going to try to organize the questions into two categories. First things that challenge the validity of what I’ve been taught and second things that likely require a deeper philosophical analysis. Anyway, here we go...
Fundamentally, there are two creation stories within the Bible (chapter 1 and 2 being different accounts). The sequencing of creation in both accounts differs. For example in the second creation story God created man before the plants, whereas man was created last in the first story.
Then what about the aspect of the story where Adam and Eve are the first and only humans? What I find quite interesting is a number of verses lead me to believe they weren’t the only humans. For example Cain and Abel, Adam and Eve’s first offspring were able to marry (who did they marry exactly?). After Cain killed Abel, he feared murder from others (whom did he fear murder from?). Cain even went on to build a city (who populated that city?).
For these reasons, and many other scientific ones, I don’t believe we can take the creation story as historical fact. This leads to a few questions:
As I write these statements, it makes me wonder if Genesis should even be my starting place of study. Rather I should go directly to the source documents of Jesus and conduct this level of analysis there.
Specifically, why does God seem so unaware? For example why doesn’t he know about the snake in the garden, of Adam and Eve hiding, or of Cain’s murder of Abel? This is one topic that I struggle with constantly. How does a perfect being create a flawed creature? And then doesn’t have any responsibility for that creature not living up to their own standards?
This is not something I’m going to come to a conclusion on now. Rather it's something I’m going to need to explore and learn about as I continue to study.
For me, I don’t really have an interest in the afterlife. First, the idea of living for eternity doesn’t sound pleasant (or even the idea of Heaven, a place without struggle). Secondly it's hard enough to keep on top of day to day life in this world. I’m going to do the best I can here today, and let tomorrow worry about tomorrow. For those reasons I’m not going to spend much time analyzing this. Perhaps it will be something that I find of interest to look into later.
As a new believer I still have a lot of questions, and the answer of “because the Bible tells me so” really isn’t sufficient. Nor can I accept the answer that anytime there is a contradiction that the Bible isn’t meant to be literal, when in most circumstances we are told that it is, indeed, meant to be literal. Context must be considered in totality, not just when something doesn’t make sense. I will no longer ignore these questions and contradictions. I must approach them head on and either strengthen my faith or disprove it.
With that said I’m going to begin here with Genesis Chapters 1-5. There are some questions I will answer in this post, some that I will likely answer in subsequent posts, and some that I will leave open. I’m going to try to organize the questions into two categories. First things that challenge the validity of what I’ve been taught and second things that likely require a deeper philosophical analysis. Anyway, here we go...
Questions of Validity
The creation story(ies) are a historical account
Fair warning, I’m not sure I have even been specifically told that the creation story is a historical account, however when the orthodoxy is that the bible is infallible and inerrant, this story has to come along for that ride too. I’m going to spend less time on things that scientifically don’t make sense and more on contradictions either directly within the writing or how the story is generally told in churches.Fundamentally, there are two creation stories within the Bible (chapter 1 and 2 being different accounts). The sequencing of creation in both accounts differs. For example in the second creation story God created man before the plants, whereas man was created last in the first story.
Then what about the aspect of the story where Adam and Eve are the first and only humans? What I find quite interesting is a number of verses lead me to believe they weren’t the only humans. For example Cain and Abel, Adam and Eve’s first offspring were able to marry (who did they marry exactly?). After Cain killed Abel, he feared murder from others (whom did he fear murder from?). Cain even went on to build a city (who populated that city?).
For these reasons, and many other scientific ones, I don’t believe we can take the creation story as historical fact. This leads to a few questions:
- Is the Bible truly perfect?
- To me, the jury is still out on this. It's hard for me to take a position on it without reading the whole thing. I’m not sure I need to even have a position on this. While the Bible being imperfect does help reconcile some of the issues identified above (amongst other things), an imperfect book, like every other piece of literature, can still have value.
- If the Bible isn’t perfect, can it then be God’s word?
- This ties into my next overall question of validity, God being omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent. In my mind, if God is all those things the Bible must either be perfect or completely wrong, there couldn’t be an inbetween (how could a perfect God allow a book to be written that describes him imperfectly?). Similar to the question above, I’m not sure this really matters. God’s word or not, if value can be obtained from the book then it should be leveraged.
- What can I learn from the Bible if it is not perfect?
- This question is much easier than the previous two. Simply, there is wisdom that has been passed down for thousands of years in this book. It can help an individual grow spiritually and improve themselves in this life if studied, understood, and applied to their unique circumstances. Even more so if you wanted to understand God, I don’t believe there is a better source document in which to evaluate.
- How should I read the Bible if it is imperfect?
- Right now, I believe the best approach is to assume that what is written is each author’s opinion instead of absolute truth. When I run into things that don’t make sense or are contradictory to other items in the Bible I’m going to need to be more cognizant of who the author was, who their audience was, what contextual events were happening at the time, and what cultural perspectives should be considered. From there we can try to move from understanding surface level statements, to underlying principles and truths.
God is Omniscient, Omnipresent, and Omnipotent
Even in the very first book of the Bible the passages call into question God’s omniscience (all knowing), omnipresence (He is everywhere), and being omnipotence (He is all powerful).Specifically, why does God seem so unaware? For example why doesn’t he know about the snake in the garden, of Adam and Eve hiding, or of Cain’s murder of Abel? This is one topic that I struggle with constantly. How does a perfect being create a flawed creature? And then doesn’t have any responsibility for that creature not living up to their own standards?
This is not something I’m going to come to a conclusion on now. Rather it's something I’m going to need to explore and learn about as I continue to study.
The Afterlife
Christianity puts a heavy emphasis on the afterlife. Essentially it's the only thing that really matters. However in Genesis God makes no reference to the afterlife when he tells Adam that he will die. God only states that Adam will return to dust.For me, I don’t really have an interest in the afterlife. First, the idea of living for eternity doesn’t sound pleasant (or even the idea of Heaven, a place without struggle). Secondly it's hard enough to keep on top of day to day life in this world. I’m going to do the best I can here today, and let tomorrow worry about tomorrow. For those reasons I’m not going to spend much time analyzing this. Perhaps it will be something that I find of interest to look into later.
Philosophical Questions
I’ve already written more in this post than any of my others. So I’m going to show you my list of philosophical questions and provide my thoughts on them at a later time.
- Can you find the underlying meaning of the Bible without knowing the key tenants of the faith?
- What is the significance of light being made twice in the first creation story? Is it only an error, or can it mean something else?
- If the sea creatures and birds were meant to increase in number, did that mean death existed from the beginning?
- What does it mean for humans to be made in God’s likeness? Especially when He is introduced as a spirit. How do we reconcile that with other Christian tenants such as God being omni-present?
- Why did God not bless the animals of the land? Was His blessing of land animals done simultaneously to His blessing of humans? Is there significance to this (either way)? If so, what is the significance?
- Why does the creation story say God created only plants for food, and not other creatures?
- Why did God need to create a helper / companion for Adam? Why was Adam lonely? Wasn’t God enough?
- When Cain had offered his sacrifice to God it is said that “but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.” (Genesis 4:5). Then God said to Cain “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.” (Genesis 4:6-7). Is there something to interpret here between favor and acceptance?
- Genesis 2:23-24 what is the relevance of this?
- 23 The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” 24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.
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