A Closer Look at Genesis 1

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243 Comments

David of Hawaii says:
November 7, 2011 at 1:51 pm

kenkoskinen says:
“One Hebrew word/term does not make the translation. It is the context that determines its meaning. The entire account is about a creation event/miracle.”

I totally agree with that and I totally amused and amazed by the argument between the Young Earth and the Old Earth groups. Who can prove it either way scientifically, or with archeology or astronomy? Can we duplicate the experiment? After thousands of years can we know what the original authors meant or actually wrote. All we can do is accept the best guess that agrees as closely as possible with our current limited scientific knowledge.

Another thing that amuses me is that certain groups and individuals will argue ad nauseam about the young earth vs old earth theories and totally ignore the verses that state in plain English that Man and Women were created in the “Image Of God” therefore the gods that created men in their own image MUST look EXACTLY like US. Gen 1: 26, Gen 1:27, Gen 5:1. THREE TIMES it says this, so it can not be an error in translation. Two eyes, two ears, one mouth, two hands, two feet.

NO ONE, and I have spoken to many pastors, has ever proven from the Bible that I am wrong on this. They can argue for hours on the Old Earth vs the New Earth theories, which I could care less about because they are unprovable, but they totally ignore the obvious in front of their face information about the creation of man.

I sent similar information to Henry Makow of SaveTheMales.ca re: Judaism’s God and received the following reply, “David, I posted this insightful response. Thanks. I believe God is a Moral force and all others are indeed projections of their wishes. h”

Perry Marshall says:
November 9, 2011 at 5:20 pm

So where does it say, suggest or even imply that men have to look exactly like God?

In all my years of discussing theology you are the first person to ever say this. Where did you get this?

David of Hawaii says:
November 10, 2011 at 5:11 am

Perry Marshall writes: “So where does it say, suggest or even imply that men have to look exactly like God?
Where did you get this?”

From the King James Bible (other translations read the same)

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning (the “Creator”, “The Source,” “The Force,” “The Great Spirit,” etc.) God created the heavens and the earth…

John 4:24 “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”
That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: Jn 17:21
God worketh all in all. ICor 12:26
…that God may be all in all. ICor 15:28
Christ is all and in all. Col 3:11
One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all and in you all. Eph 4:6

THE ABOVE CREATOR GOD IS IN AND IS THE ENTIRE SENTIENT UNIVERSE.

THEN THE SCENE CHANGES AND OTHER LESSOR ALREADY CREATED BEINGS ENTER THE STAGE. Call them gods, angels, extraterrestrials, or what ever.

Genesis 1:26 Then (the) God said, “Let Us make man in OUR IMAGE, according to OUR LIKENESS….

Genesis 1:27 So (the) God created man in HIS OWN IMAGE; in the IMAGE OF (the) GOD He created him; MALE AND FEMALE, He created them.

Genesis 5:1 In the day that (the) God created man, He made him in the LIKENESS OF (the) God. 2 He created them MALE AND FEMALE… (just like the Gods)

Gen 2:15 And the physical gods “took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.” (Slaves/Servants?)

Gen. 2:12 “… the tree of knowledge, thou shalt not eat…”  (Even as slaves were forbidden to learn to read and write?)

Gen 3:21 “…the physical gods made coats of skins, and clothed them.”    (Why skins, what was wrong with fig leaves or cotton?)

Gen 3:22 Who was this god talking to when he said, “…the man has become one of US…” AND WHY WOULD THIS BE A THREAT TO THE CREATOR GOD OF THE UNIVERSE?

Gen 6:2 …the sons of the gods saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.

Gen 6:4 And the sons of the gods came into the daughters of men, and they bare children of them…    (Further proof that the gods were physical and genetically compatible)!

Gen. 4. The story of Cain and Abel is an additional example that these were physical gods. Abel was a keeper of sheep and Cain was a tiller of the ground.

Why would a Spiritual God, the ESSENCE that created, inhabits, runs the entire Sentient Universe consisting of billions of galaxies, with trillions of suns and planets, come to a puny little planet circling a minor sun on the outskirts of a minor galaxy to have more respect for a roast leg of lamb than for a platter of vegetables? Surely this is a trait more befitting a being much lower in the hierarchy.

Who is this LORD that is concerned when Mankind wants to build a city and a tower in the story of the tower of Babel? Gen 11:4 Why is this a threat to him?

How does your research interpret these passages?

It took me more than fifty years to understand that there were many gods lumped under the term “God” in the Bible and understanding this totally opened a new understanding of the Bible and our place in history and the universe. This information has been hidden in front of our eyes for generations. Most theologians won’t touch it.

Jesus said, “By their fruits ye shall know them.” Matt 7:16, 20

David of Hawaii says:
November 24, 2011 at 3:48 am

David writes: “How does your research interpret these passages?”

Well, Perry, I know that you have been lying awake nights, and searching your Bible for scriptures to show that my perceptions are incorrect. Just kidding!

Actually I assume that you are far too busy and have much more important things to do.

However, for me your rebuttal from scriptures showing that my current thinking is in error is vitally important because as Jesus said, “By their fruits ye shall know them.” Matt 7:16, 20 so it has caused my entire understanding on the Old Testament to change.

For instance, I was taught from childhood that the Jews are God’s chosen people.

Now the question becomes, “What God?” Who is this “Lord, your God” who makes Joshua and the Israelites into a band of murderers and thieves who covet their neighbor’s lands, houses, vineyards and olive groves? A God of War, Hatred, and Greed?

Is this the same “God of Laws” who says in Exodus 20, “Thou shalt not kill, steal, covet, etc?”

In the 40 years that the Israelites were in the desert, why did not this God who made water flow from a rock, cause the weather pattern to change so that the Desert blossomed as promised.
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg13818671.100-satellite-uncovers-ancient-arabian-river-.html
Satellite uncovers ancient Arabian river. Geologists studying remote sensing images of Arabia have found a dry riverbed covered by desert sands. The 850-kilometre channel begins in the Hijaz Mountains of western Saudi Arabia and ends in a delta that covers more than two-thirds of Kuwait, says Farouk El-Baz,

I have an avocado tree that had at least a 1000 avocados on it this year, tangerine and orange trees that have hundreds of fruit, and bananas with bunches weighing over 60 pounds. All of which are about 20 years old. I give the excess fruit to the neighbors, the food bank, and hospital personnel where I volunteer. All this plus more on less than 1/4 acre.

What could the Israelis have done with a 600 mile long river if God would have changed the weather pattern back to where it was 10,000 years ago? Plus they would have been sitting of the Arabian oil fields instead of being in the path of marauding armies through out history.

kenkoskinen says:
November 30, 2011 at 8:09 am

David of Hawaii As per the young Earth theory/interpretation science also weighs in on the mater and it is nonsense.

As per the Israelites wandering 40 years in the desert and other related maters download my essay “The Day the Sun & Moon Stood Still ” on http://antspub.com Click on any Downloads button and you can chose the free essay.

zaq.hack says:
December 12, 2011 at 8:46 am

Recently, I’ve wondered the following: What did the author of Genesis see? What was written and why was it written?

I have taken the position that the Bible is literal unless it says otherwise. For instance, it tells us when “Jesus spake to them in a parable,” or if other non-literal speech is used.

As part of my own faith, I believe God has granted me visions a time or two – glimpses of questions I have asked with very enlightening, visual responses. If this is how God communicated with authors of the Bible, how would they interpret what they saw? If some intelligence were to tell the current story of the universe in visual cues, how would an ancient author write that down?

According to the Big Bang, matter and energy would have been so dense during the first 100,000 years of the universe that light would have been everywhere, from edge-to-edge.

Therefore, I wonder if the Big Bang is the “let there be light” portion. Perhaps the first two verses hint at something different. If we look at John 1:1, we have a more abstract account. Both “beginnings” tell of “intent” in your communication model, yes? So maybe Genesis 1:1-2 just establishes that it was God’s intent to create the universe. Perhaps the universe is expanding into a rippling wave (God moved over the face of the deep), and perhaps that explains the “clumping” of matter despite what should be an even spread given the power of the explosion.

I would say that someone watching a video of the origin of the universe with the understanding of ancient times would have a hard time expressing what he saw in words.

kenkoskinen says:
December 19, 2011 at 11:20 am

zaq.hack

The Hot Inflationary Big Bang theory claims the universe was very dense but light was not everywhere, from edge to edge. In fact it is the opposite. Photons or particles of light were in constant interaction with other charged particles and it was a period of absolute darkness. It was not until about 380,000 years from the genesis that the universe and expanded sufficiently for temperatures to have lowered enough for what is called the last scattering. It means that after this point light firstly began to free flow in space/time. The afterglow of the original light is the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation that has and is being extensively studied via experiments like WMAP and Planck satellites.

Realize Genesis 1 speaks to the creation of the heavens and the EARTH. Our planet did not exist for the first 9 or so billions of years after the Big Bang. Attempts like yours and Perry’s are merely wishful thinking. The Genesis myths are completely divorced from what really happened and/or from modern scientific models.

Paradise Holding says:
February 8, 2012 at 2:45 pm

The Dark Dragon posted great questions; and has chosen not to be a theist. God doesn’t have a body in the traditional sense. Jesus Christ was thought to be God in flesh and it got him killed. Dr. Stephen Hawking says the universe works just fine without God and has developed from condensed matter, ” BBT”. Warm fuzziness comes with God. Something to always look forward to. It is more pleasant to think of fuzzes than eternal darkness…or this is it…nothing to look forward to and imagine. The facts are clear we don’t need God to live or die. We will all die someday.
Recently, I heard a group of Rabbi’s discussing the Bible. Their opinion with supported evidence is the Bible is a book of questions…Not the book answers we were taught to believe. I have to agree it’s a book of questions.

shana says:
November 1, 2012 at 7:30 am

what can you say about plasma cosmology ??
BBT always go side by side with theory of evolution , right ??
by the way, your explanation of Genesis is wrong…
Are you a catholic ??

shana says:
November 1, 2012 at 8:15 am

my comment is directed to Perry
thanks

Paradise Holding says:
November 4, 2012 at 4:59 pm

Plasma cosmology is adherence to the gravitational attraction of planets and all matter. We can’t produce the exact elements in a collator today that were present when evolution began. Background radiation(noise) is a record of a colossal explosion. BBT is evolution. I don’t remember what I said about the book of Genesis, it doesn’t break down life in its elementary parts? I was baptized catholic but don’t practice Catholicism.

ndegwa wa kiuma says:
November 19, 2012 at 9:35 am

I am not at the learned level of most of your commentators! But I seek to get from you Perry:
1. Can God the Creator “enter” the time dimension and be able to control the same (time)?
2. Is Jehovah,the God of Israel, the same as God the Creator? I find it curious that a Creator God would “choose” one people over all others (of His Creation!).
3. God has “allowed’ us to work out the beginning of the Universe. Has anybody worked out how it (the Universe(s)) will all end if it will ever end?

David of Hawaii says:
November 20, 2012 at 2:25 am

Hi ndegwa,

I make no pretense of being learned because I am still asking many questions also. All I can give is my limited understanding:

Question #1
John 4:24 “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”
God worketh all in all. ICor 12:26
…that God may be all in all. ICor 15:28
One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all and in you all. Eph 4:6

If God is ALL and in ALL, then He/It must be the SENTIENT UNIVERSE.
There is no other concept that fits the above passages.

That can only mean that God is outside of TIME and that he has created TIME as his playground for Himself and for us, his children to use to learn lessons for our growth and to determine if we will chose Him or if we will be seduced into following the lessor god of this world to choose greed, lust, and murder.

Question #2.
If my findings are correct as made in other comments on this website and thread, that there are several Gods lumped under the term “God” in the Torah, for as Jesus said, “By their fruits ye shall know them.” (I am waiting Perry’s rebuttal on this).

If you read the book of Joshua carefully, you will note that there is a distinction because the author never says that “GOD, the Creator of the Universe” was involved. In fact it plainly says that “…after the death of Moses, the servant of the ‘Lord’, that the ‘Lord” spoke unto Joshua…”. In every passage in Joshua, this god is described as “the Lord, your God”. The Lord said this, the Lord said that, the Lord your God said… This was the god that chose and seduced Israel to worship him. It has therefore MY HUMBLE understanding that this capricious god who recommends murder, genocide, theft, and greed is NOT the same as the LIVING SPIRIT OF THE SENTIENT UNIVERSE.

Question #3
Scientists and astronomers only think that they have worked out the beginning of the Universe. What if the so called “Big Bang” is only one of many “small bangs” in an ongoing series of universes or multiverses? Astronomers are only now beginning to understand a little bit about the “dark matter” that is an overwhelming part of this universe.

Most of them refuse to even consider the possibility of interaction of UFOs, extraterrestrials, angels, etc with mankind from back in prehistory up to the present time.

Many don’t even consider an “afterlife” because they cannot reproduce it, despite the thousands of individuals who have been resuscitated through modern medical miracles and have told many stories of their adventures while supposedly dead.

Will this Universe end? Only if God dies. Then the very atoms which have in perpetual motion since the “Big Bang” will collapse into nothingness and us with it.

Good luck in your search for the truth. The above is only my limited understanding. Don’t take my word for it.

Paradise Holding says:
November 25, 2012 at 10:59 pm

I have studied the Bible seriously for 40 years and science for the last 15 years more in microbiology. I have concluded the Bible is hog wash as is Christianity. But I have been diagnosed with an analytical mind.

Paradise Holding says:
November 25, 2012 at 10:54 pm

It is postulated that the sun will consume the earth in another 5 billion years. The earth will experience another ice age and rearrange the continents again.

David of Hawaii says:
December 3, 2012 at 11:15 pm

Gee, only 5 billion years! Isn’t that about the average human life span?

Actually, I am more concerned about the return of Niburu on or about 12-21-12 as forecast by many profits and see-ers whom I haven’t heard much from recently since it was supposed to be visible in our Southern skies as far back as 2003.

Anyway, it is speculated that Niburu’s passage is the trigger that starts the new tectonic plate movement that in turn rearranges your continent again.

Paradise Holding says:
December 12, 2012 at 12:26 pm

Irony will get you everywhere? 5 billion year life span. In the perspective of the age of the observable universe human life is just a drop in the largest ocean on the planet.

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