Splinter Therapy

Genesis - Chapter 2

Verses 1 and 2:
Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.

I am curious as to why the people who created the chapter and verse reference points decided to include verses 1 and 2 in Chapter 2 instead of Chapter 1.  It looks like they are summary statements of Chapter 1.  Verse 3 immediately starts into the Adam and Eve story.   Just curious.

Verses 5 and 6:
5 and no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth and no plant of the field had yet sprung up, for the LORD God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no man to work the ground, 6 but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground-

These are some interesting verses.  Verse 5 looks like it is referencing Day 2 - no vegetation yet (Day 3) and no rain at this point.  The fact that there was no rain affirms that the atmosphere was different at this point than it is today.  Again, this brings us back to the "water above" mentioned in Chapter 1 - Day 2. 

I remember in my church growing up that one of my Sunday School teachers taught us (don't know if it was his idea or part of the official Sunday School curriculum) that there was not any rain until God sent the flood.  I know it is just me, but I would love to know what the "water above" was - high humidity?  thick cloud cover?  if it was actually liquid water of some sort, it seems that it would be too heavy to remain suspended in the air.

Verse 7
the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

As a child I used to picture this in my mind as dust cloud forming and then somehow turning into a human being.  One second there is nothing, the next there is a man standing there.  In fact, if you don't believe in evolution, you have to believe that somehow God is snapping his fingers and magically creating things. 

I now believe that man evolved.  I look at the fossils that archaeologists have given us - Neanderthal, Cro-Magnon, any many others.  I watch the Discovery Channel specials and I truly believe that man has evolved over hundreds of thousands of years.  I think it possible, however, that at an exact moment in time, that man became a spiritual being - he received the breath of life. 

Also, I wanted to point out that there looks like a big jump between verses 6 and 7.  In verse 6, we are in Day 2.  Man was created at the end of Day 6.  So, in one verse, we skip over days 3, 4, 5, and most of day 6. 

Opie:  I wanted to clarify something.  Do you believe the Adam and Eve story or not?

Me:  It depends on what you mean by "believe".  Do I think the story of Adam and Eve are historically accurate events?  Are you asking that if I got into a time machine could I go back and videotape the following:
  -Adam magically created from the dust of the ground
  -Adam going to sleep; God magically opening him up, taking out one of his ribs and then magically creating another human - Eve
  -A talking serpent
  -A angel with a flaming sword guarding the entrance to the Garden of Eden
  -The two magical trees (Tree of Life; Tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil)
No.  I don't believe in the historical accuracy of the story - at least in its entirety.  I think it is a myth.  However, I must clarify.  When most people hear the word "myth" they think of things like the Greek Gods (mythology) or fairy tales.  For most people "myth" means "not true".  I no longer hear the word that way.  Myths and metaphors can be "more than literal" or "more than factual".  Metaphorical language is not inferior to factual language.  I can read the story of Adam and Eve and capture the deeper truths of the story without having to believe in their historical accuracy.

By the way, for those of you who believe in a "young earth", here is something I feel compelled to point out.  Notice that in Chapter 1, that on Day 6, it says God created them - male and female.  Well, in Chapter 2 we learn that before God created Eve that:
-Adam was created
-Adam named all the animals
-Adam realized he was lonely
-Adam went down for major surgery and had a rib removed
Ladies and Gentlemen, that is a LONG day!!!  Adam must have dipped into that silvery liquid that they show on the Comcast High Speed commercials!

I want to close today and talk about the two trees in the garden - The Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.  I think a lot about them. 

God made the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil forbidden.  In fact, he told them if they ate of this tree that they would die.  There are many times in my life I wonder if I am eating off the forbidden tree.  Is this journey of questions I am own, in essence taking bites of the fruit from this forbidden tree?  Does God prefer that we not ask questions.  Is the search for truth unhealthy for my soul?   I convince myself that God is with me on my quest - in fact, I believe he is the one spurring me on.  I could write about this internal struggle at great length, but I will leave that discussion for another day.

Genesis - Chapter 1

There are very few parts of the bible that have been more influential in my life than Genesis Chapter 1. 

Ironically, this one chapter help put me on my journey of asking questions while at the same time affirms my faith in an interactive creator.

Fuel for the Journey of Asking Questions
There are other things that prompted me to begin questioning everything spoon fed to my by my Baptist Church growing up, but I can very easily recall the moment I read Hugh Ross' book, Creation and Time.  You see, I was taught that the universe, the earth, and all living things were created in 6 24 hour time periods.  When I read Creation and Time, it opened my eyes to a new way of interpreting the creation story.  Never say never, but after reading that book, it is hard to imagine any scenario where I will ever go back to believing any "young earth" theory.  After reading this book and then going back and reading Genesis Chapter 1, I began to think, "So, what else have I been taught that is not correct?".  BTW, I highly recommend this book.

Affirming my faith in an interactive creator
Genesis Chapter 1 also helps affirm my faith in God and helps me trust the Bible.  I came across Joseph Campbell a few years.  Prior to his death, he was considered the greatest scholar on "myth" to have ever lived.  His interviews (especially with Bill Moyer in the mid 80's) along with his books, exposed me to the creation myths of several cultures.  Ladies and Gentlemen, there were some crazy ones out there.  Also, when I read the Dalai Lama's book, The Universe in a Single Atom, he talks about the creation story that many Buddhists learned growing up; it was very weird and full of crazy things - things that I think any thinking human would quickly dismiss as literally untrue.

The amazing thing about Genesis Chapter 1 is how someone writing between 2500 and 3000 years ago was able to put the pieces of creation together in almost the exact same order as the natural sciences have confirmed.    When compared to the creation myths of other cultures and religions, the bible, in my humble opinion, clearly outshines all others.  I am amazed by its beauty and symmetry with our modern understanding of physics and biology.  This pushes me toward believing that whoever wrote the biblical creation story was divinely inspired while doing so.

Do I believe in the Big Bang?  Yes

Do I believe in evolution?  Yes (at least it resonates as something that sounds true and makes sense)

Do I believe that there is an intelligent designer behind evolution?  Yes

Do I believe that the universe is billions of years old?  Yes

Do I believe the bible contradicts any of this?  No

Here is a quick summary of each creation day:
Day 1:  Created light - separates light from darkness
Day 2:  Separates the water - water above and water below.  Sky in between.
Day 3:  Land.  Vegetation / plants.
Day 4:  Sun.  Moon.  Stars.
Day 5:  Sea creatures.  Birds.
Day 6:  Land creatures.  Man.
Day 7:  Rest (are we in Day 7 right now?)

Opie:  But wait, I thought you said it affirmed your belief in the Big Bang and even evolution.  How do you explain Day 4 - doesn't that contradict your beliefs?  Those evil and misguided (love their little hearts)  scientists tell us that the sun and stars were created long before there was vegetation.

Me:  Yes.  Science does tell us that.  If you are a "young earth" subscriber, my question to you would be how in the world we had vegetation before there was a sun.  We now know that plant's make their own food from ultraviolet radiation (sunlight) - photosynthesis.   But I digress.  Here is how I answer your question:  You see, the creation story is written from the perspective of the earth.  The sun, stars, and moon were not visible from the earth due to the heavy water content in the atmosphere for billions of years (see Day 2).  Simply, the sun, moon, and stars were created well before there was vegetation on the earth, but they were just not completely visible from an earthly perspective until much later due to heavy water content in the atmosphere.

Day 2 and Noah.
Of all the days mentioned, day 2 is the most intriguing to me.  Water above.  Water below and sky in between.  Water above?  Are we just talking about humidity?  Clouds?  Or, was water in liquid form somehow suspended above the surface of the earth.  Many theologians subscribe to the latter.  They claim that the high water content in the air is why people lived over 1000 years in the early history of man - it protected them from the harmful effects of ultraviolet radiation.  Also, the "water" in the air explains how there could be a global flood as described in the story of Noah - I mean you really need a lot of water to completely cover the whole earth!

Of course, if you think there was a wall of water in the air at the time of Noah, then you have another problem.  How do you describe that the Bible says the sun, moon, and stars are not created until Day 4?  I see two possibilities:  either the wall of water became so thin that the sun, moon, and stars could be seen; or, you have to believe in the literal 24 hour creation days (of course, 24 hour days don't make any sense without the sun, but that is just a small detail).   I choose to believe that the sun, moon, and stars were created (evolved) before vegetation.

Originally Vegetarians?
I have never noticed it before, but it looks like God only gives Adam and Eve permission to eat plants.  If he took the time to tell them that they had permission to eat plants, why wouldn't he, at the same time, give them permission to eat animals as well?  See 1:29-30.  I think that is interesting.