Genesis is the first book of the Bible. It is a book that covers some very important questions such as the beginning of humanity and how the world was created. Yet, right from the beginning the reader is exposed to two completely different stories of creation outlined in the first three chapters.
And the confusion for the literal reader continues. Another example of the chaos in Genesis is the story of Noah and the flood.
The overall picture concerning creation of the world and of humanity is thoroughly confusing. It has baffled readers and scholars forever.
Many Christians see a direct conflict between the theory of evolution and the words of Genesis. That conflict represents a crisis of faith. In the United States, it is a burning issue with political implications.
Adam and Eve
The traditional Christian position is that humanity started from Adam and Eve having been kicked out from the Garden of Eden and landing them on earth some 4,000 years before Christ or about 6,000 years ago.
Although that information has been believed for a long time, it is no longer acceptable — not only because of the evidence of active civilizations well before 6,000 years ago, but also because of the evidence that the biblical flood never occurred.
The Hunter-Gatherers
For example, it is scientifically accepted — thanks to modern methods of dating art and artifacts — that the beautiful fresco of animals and hunters in the caves of Lascaux, in Central France, were painted around 15,000 years before Christ. While primitive, they display acute faculty of observation, intelligence, craft, and art. They are the product of hunters who were intelligent beings with undeniable artistic talent.
Before that time and until 12,000 years before Christ, men lived as hunter-gatherers in small bands, moving around to find enough food. But, with the discovery that certain wild plants and animals could be domesticated, a new lifestyle started to emerge.
A new agrarian civilization
An agriculturally driven new way of life had started. It implied being stationary to cultivate fields, and therefore, villages became a necessity. As more people congregated, there was more labor force available to tend to the seasonal duties of planting and harvesting.
As a result of this evolution, by 9,000 BC, there were villages in a number of areas in what is called the Fertile Crescent — the area that runs from current Iran and Iraq to Syria and Lebanon, extending all the way into Upper Egypt.
There is undeniable evidence that by 4000 BC — the traditionally assumed time of the Creation in Genesis — there were already active agriculturally driven societies not only in the Middle East but also in the southern part of North America, in current Peru, in Pakistan, and in north India, as well as in areas that are now part of modern China.
Those assertions are scientifically proven facts. They are supported by modern methods of archeology and of history around the globe. In fact, there is overwhelming evidence that humans have been around for over 100 thousand years although their origin is not yet fully known.
Unfortunately for the literal Bible reader, modern findings collide with commonly accepted Christian views.
An other allegory
As we’ve seen with other Old Testament accounts, the story of Adam and Eve is clearly allegorical and not to be taken literally. And yet for me, as both a Christian and spiritual seeker, the role of God as unconditionally loving Creator is unquestionable. Further, I perceive that modern scientific evidence of ancient, pre-biblical human life and civilization present no conflict to a Divine creation. Of course, many questions and unfathomable mysteries remain, hopefully to unfold more and more as we grow in spiritual awareness and truth.
Many Christians do not accept that the Bible is not a history book. Rather, it is a book of individual stories in the early phase of monotheism. These stories relate to the search for spiritual meaning on the part of individuals and groups. These people did not have the historical perspective we now have.
Noah and the Ark
The Bible outlines a relatively limited number of generations between Adam and Eve and the episode of Noah and the Ark. Using the biblical narrative, Noah would have lived around 1,700 years after the “fall from Paradise” of Adam and Eve. The reason for the limited number of generations is that, as the Bible indicates, during that early period human lives lasted several hundred years.
We learn that Noah was told by God to build an ark in prevision for a God-created flood intended to cover the entire earth and eliminate all live forms, except for a very few exceptions.
The Flood is described in the Bible as a massive worldwide event. Allegedly, its purpose is a purifying action of God who is displeased with the way things have turned out on Earth. God wants to save only Noah, his relatives, and a pair of all species of animals; all else would have to be destroyed. The Bible says that God’s plan was to have Noah build a very large wooden barge to house all the intended human and animal passengers.
By the estimated time of the Flood — traditionally believed to have taken place around 2300 BC — we know that there were many areas of agricultural villages that had flourished. Yet there are no identifiable traces of this massive biblical event.
Archeological evidence
There is clear archeological and historical evidence of a continuum of organized human activity during the alleged time of the Flood. By then, there is ample evidence that in Egypt the first full-fledged empire had emerged. Active civilizations were also evident in China and India from well before the time of the Flood.
We must come to the realization that the episode of the Flood and the alleged intent of God cannot be taken at face value for at least two reasons:
1. The scientific evidence is overwhelming.
2. Because the God that Jesus revealed is a God of love. Even before Jesus the Hebrew prophet Habakkuk had pronounced that, “God is too pure to behold inequity” (Hab. 1:13). That means that God would not conceive such a murderous plan as what is described in the bible.
The story of the Flood, like many other stories in the Bible, such as Adam and Eve, Abraham and Isaac, or the plagues of Egypt, cannot be taken literally. We must understand them as allegories to convey specific ideas.
Oral tradition
The early monotheists had no access to any writings as none existed at the time. Everything was transmitted orally and repeated thousands of times before scribes would commit them to writing.
To impress upon their relatively ignorant audiences we can imagine that hyperbolic statements were used to convey messages that typically illustrated the following ideas:
1. The awesome power of the one and only God.
2. The need to obey God regardless of circumstances.
3. The fear of God ‘s punishments when his commandments are ignored.
This dialectic originated early in the Bible with the more primitive archetypes of monotheism and, although diluted by a number of later prophets, the dialectic remained to an extent throughout the Old Testament.
A new perception of the nature of God
By and large the teachings of Jesus brought to the believers a new perception of the nature of God. Nevertheless, some of the apostles who were steeped in Judaism and the law of Moses, continued at times to speak in the traditional ways of the Old Testament.
Starting with Isaiah, the content of the Old Testament occasionally points to an evolution toward a new level in consciousness. That evolution amongst Hebrew prophets culminates with the advent of Jesus of Nazareth.
First and foremost, Christians must live by the essence of the teachings of Jesus.
The Old Testament should not be the primary source of information for Christians. The primary source of information for Christians should be the New Testament so long as we keep the perspective that the authors of the gospels, as well as Paul were influenced and even raised in and by the spirit of the Old Testament. Their writings reflect that frame of mind.
Therefore, the Bible in its entirety should always be read with spiritual discernment instead of literal interpretation.
Text derived from the recently published book, Religion, Politics, and Reclaiming the Soul of Christianity: A Spiritual Imperative for Our Time and Our Nation, by Jon Canas. Available at: https://Reclaimingthesoul.info
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