An Atheistic Bible Study Of Genesis Chapters One And Two - Adam And Eve

Tweet

Verse 26 of the opening chapter of Genesis introduces man, and possibly woman to the creation in the second half of the Sixth day (Friday). God seems to be talking to other beings again when he tells them they should work together to make man, in their own image. Whoah! God is not just talking to an audience here. These other beings seem to be helping him create the World, and mankind. Who are these labourers or architects assisting God? Again the indication is that the God now seen as a monotheistic ruler has an awareness of other god, demi-gods, or possibly his angels (not yet referred to as such). Verse 27 shows in poetry as opposed to the prose shown so far, that God creates man, and woman (together) in his own image. This clearly defines God as a humanoid entity, with physical boundaries and limitations, rather than as an infinite being. If he has hands, a face, legs, or hair or any material form, he is not by definition, infinite. Returning to prose in verse 28, God gives the un-named humans dominion and control over all the animals, vegetation and crops on Earth. There is no mention yet of them being confined to the garden of Eden, they have the entire planet to play with. Chapter Two Creation completed, God takes the Seventh Day (Saturday) off and declares it a holy day of rest, in effect imposing the Jewish Sabbath from the first weekend. Exactly why would God need a day (or even a second) off duty and how does Creation continue to operate without him looking after it? If our universe can exit for one day a week without God, could it not exist for the other six without him too? Why is the one day God sleeps the day most people try to pray to him or contact him through churches, synagogues and temples? Chapter Two now offers a different creation process that totally contradicts what we had in Chapter One. In the preceding chapter, the seas were created first on day two and then land masses added the next day. Chapter Two has the dry barren Earth already existing, devoid of vegetation or life. No specific time span or day by day description is given, but God causes water springs to pour water out through the Earth as if squeezing a sponge. These streams turn the Earth to mud, from which the first man is shaped. God breathes into the nostrils of this mud-doll, and it comes to life as the first man. God now creates the vegetation (rather than just let it be generated by the water, air and light). The first man is not given independence to roam the whole planet. He is relocated to the garden known as Eden, from which flow four rivers, Pishon, Gihon, Tigris and Euphrates. It is not known where the first two rivers are or were but the Euphrates and Tigris both start in Turkey. God puts Adam (as yet still un-named)in the garden of Eden and invites him to eat of any tree he wishes, except for the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil. He tells the man he will die if he breaks this rule. Despite the pending breaking of this rule the threat is never kept. God is lying and bluffing. God now finally decides to give the first man a companion. He invites the man to pick his companion from among the creatures of the garden, suggesting that had Adam chosen he could have had a bestial relationship with anything from a bison to the Serpent that would eventually get him and Eve into so much trouble. As the man isn’t happy to mate with a manatee or a wasp, God puts him to sleep and steals one of his ribs, from which the first woman is made. Just how big was Adam’s Rib that it could be carved into an instant living fully grown adult woman? The man wakes up and immediately label his mate as Woman (of man) effectively seeing her as much his property as she was when merely a rib. Understandably, feminists take exception to this and later attempts to treat women as property of the man. Adam recites his ownership of Eve in verse. The chapter notes that men and women will leave their parents to unite as man and rib (wife) but the book is leaping ahead of itself with this reference. The final note tells us that the first couple on Earth were nudists, with no shame in their naturism. Fair enough, I still find no shame in this. Arthur Chappell