User Comments

1. 

   9/17/08

   timethief

   I will comment on your post and then write one of my own.
   Edit: I changed my mind because I scanned your post and noted that you have not detected that there are two accounts of creation in Genesis written by two different authors. Moreover, you do not comprehend that the books of the bible were never intended by their authors to be read literally, but instead their intent was that they were to be read as they were written ie. figuratively.
   
   The true meaning of scripture can never be wholly comprised in a literal reading of the text, since the text points beyond itself to a reality which cannot be adequately expressed in the words and language. The tales were written in figurative language and likewise ought to be read figuratively.
   
   The authors of Genesis do NOT give us historical information about life in Palestine during the second millenium BCE. In fact, as many scholars have shown time and time again, the authors knew nothing about this period at all and made frequent mistakes when setting their tales in this time period. For example, we can isolate their referring to the presence of the Philistines, who did not arrive in the country until long after this early biblical era. They speak of towns such as Beersheva which did not exist. They make no mention at all of the extremely strong Egyptian presence in Palestine at this time. The authors of Genesis were NOT interested in historical reality, consequently, they did NOT set about to present an actual historical account.
   
   The two biblical authors of the book of Genesis force us to make an imaginative effort. They imply that it was a hard struggle to discern a sacred reality in which they lived. When we attempt to compare the hard struggle and sacred reality in which the two authors lived in their own historical times to our own, and to rise above the problems of no commonality of language and word meanings, it means that our experience will often be contradictory and/or disconcerting.
   
   The Bible does not present truths to us in a literal way and was never meant to. Reading it demands the same kind of meditative and intuitive attention that we give to the figurative language in a poem.

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2. 

   9/17/08

   gtcathey

   I'm not saying that Moses was the only one who had his hands in Genesis. Many transcripts of earlier biblical peoples were put into that, and I even read somewhere where Joshua had some part in Genesis. But what I am getting at is pretty much the gap between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2. I know a lot of christians/Jews hold to the "Earth is only 6,000 years" thing. I happen to disagree because I believe that there was a gap of time in between those verses. This post was to bring more details to that point and show that God didn't create an earth that was in chaos which has been conveyed by the improper interpretation of Genesis 1:2.

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   1. 

      9/17/08

      timethief

      @gtcathy
      I really don't know where to start. Moses did not write any part of Genesis. He was not one of the actual authors of this book of scripture. And, I'm going to choose to quit posting on this. No offense intended.
3. 

   9/17/08

   gtcathey

   Not a problem at all. Certain people will read "studies" by other people and claim to believe those theories. While at the same time a whole other group of "researchers" will say that somebody else wrote this, and they will have a "camp" of believers. And then time goes by and somebody totally different will do the same thing and will have followers. I respect your opinion and the fact that you don't claim to follow the Christian belief anyhow. Maybe some christians would like to discuss this instead.

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4. 

   9/17/08

   Jeunelle

   If we're talking beginnings I would go back as far as Enoch.
   He was a scribe of the God's after all and he gave us an inside look at the Nephlims,
   mating of earth women with fallen angels, which should be closer to the early beginnings.
   I have two rare books on Enoch in my possession and I wonder why he is not being discussed more when it comes to creation?
   He had full access to this stuff as he was right there in the thick of it.
   He just seems to fall out of the Bible hidden from view as if tucked away from view, not wanting to be discussed period.

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5. 

   9/17/08

   timethief

   According to Jewish and Christian tradition, the first five books of the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) were written by Moses under the inspiration of God. God inspired Moses to write the truth and prevented him from making any errors. Many conservative Christians and Jews continue with this belief. However, mainline and liberal theologians generally accept the "Documentary Hypothesis" which asserts that the Pentateuch was written by a group of authors, from diverse locations in Palestine, over a period of centuries. Each wrote with the goal of promoting his/her own religious views:
   bullet J: a writer who used Yahweh/Jehovah as the divine name.
   bullet E: a writer who used Elohim as the divine name. *
   bullet P: a writer who added material of major interest to the priesthood.
   bullet D: the author of the book of Deuteronomy. *
   bullet R: a redactor who welded the contributions of J, E and P together into the present Pentateuch.
   
   * Not present in Genesis.
   
   The authors of Genesis seem have picked up part of their story from Hindu legends of the creation and early history of humanity. Stories of Hindu heros Adimo, Heva, Sherma,, Hama and Jiapheta apparently were replicated into legends about Adam, Eve, Shem Ham, and Japeth.
   
   References:
   1. Kesey Graves, "The World's Sixteen Crucified Saviors: Christianity Before Christ," Adventures Unlimited Press, (2001), Page 291. Read reviews or order this book safely from Amazon.com online book store
   2. The book of Genesis from the King James Version of the Bible.
   3. R.E. Friedman, "Who Wrote the Bible?" HarperCollins, (1997), Pages 246-247. Read reviews or order this book safely from Amazon.com online book store
   4. R.E. Friedman, "The hidden book in the Bible: The discovery of the first prose masterpiece," Haper San Francisco. Review/order this book. The author traces the "J" component of the first four books of the Bible. He writes: "Readers have an opportunity to see the first great prose writer's full achievement; an epic work of the struggle between God and humans. and between good and bad."

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6. 

   9/17/08

   DrowseyMonkey

   What happened to not putting religious threads on the main board?

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   1. 

      9/17/08

      timethief

      Here's the link to the February 2008 thread that I think you are recalling www.blogcatalog.com/discuss/entry/the-removal-of-religious-topics-from-blog...
      FWIW I didn't register here until March 2008.
   2. 

      9/17/08

      DrowseyMonkey

      I guess it's tricky when it's in shameless blog promotion ... he does have a right to promote his posts. It's just with my background I get frustrated when highly respected Biblical scholarship is so obviously ignored.
      
      *Takes deep breath and reminds herself everyone's entitled to believe whatever they want*
   3. 

      9/17/08

      gtcathey

      Oh, I've been off of the board for a few days and didn't know what rule changes there were Drowsey. So if something was changed, I apologize. I have this under Shameless because it points to a post on my blog, but if I did that wrong, I am sorry.