Atheist Bible Study 1: Genesis

[GrandizerII]

No, the sky is the separator between the waters below it and the waters above it

Nice try, anyhow.

[Bahana]

You mean people in the 1st millennium BCE didn't know this?

[Shell B]

So, I guess it didn't create the sun when it created the heavens. How did the Earth stay in place? Did everything fall in line when the stars were created?

[vulcanlogician]

There is reason to think that modern evangelicals take the text more literally (in some respects) than did the early Israelites. Sure Deuteronomy was a law they lived under, one that supposedly had divine origins. But the ideas of strict literal interpretations (for example: all scripture is inerrant) came much later. You also have to take into account that many of the early Israelites couldn't read, and got many of these stories via an oral tradition. When received this way, listeners undoubtedly encountered variance in the stories when they heard them away from home. If you travel two towns over and hear the story of Abraham being told with certain details being different, you might know better than to take one particular telling of the story literally.

In further contrast, Christian fundamentalism is an invention of the modern era; the final Christian temper tantrum as the Enlightenment finished taking hold. It's the worst of the worst, but I think all literalists (including rank and file evangelicals) need to reorient their brains concerning their holy book.

[GrandizerII]

There is reason to think that modern evangelicals take the text more literally (in some respects) than did the early Israelites. Sure Deuteronomy was a law they lived under, one that supposedly had divine origins. But the ideas of strict literal interpretations (for example: all scripture is inerrant) came much later. You also have to take into account that many of the early Israelites couldn't read, and got many of these stories via an oral tradition. When received this way, listeners undoubtedly encountered variance in the stories when they heard them away from home. If you travel two towns over and hear the story of Abraham being told with certain details being different, you might know better than to take one particular telling of the story literally.

The way I see it, for believers, inerrantism is just one type of literalism. I agree with you that the early Israelites would not have been inerrantists, but it doesn't mean they were allegorists at the same time either. Still, they may have thought the guys two towns over may have got it slightly wrong.

Allegorical interpretations, from my limited reading and understanding, often tend to be later "post hoc" interpretations rather than the original author's intent.

[Shell B]

28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

Wait, aren't they forbidden to be fruitful and increase in number later or is that just the OT?

hen God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.

He lied. See: Eden

[Shell B]

No, the sky is the separator between the waters below it and the waters above it

Nice try, anyhow.

But, but there is no water above it. There is only sky and then more sky and then space. I mean, you know that. What about where we are? Is that sky? It's certainly not water. We must be in the vault, which makes the sky farther above us water or just more vault. Did they think the Earth had a bunch of water above it is what I'm saying.

[Mystic]

I think it's about justifying morality and what it was from the beginning.

Why aren't Angels ruling us instead? Why is it certain humans who God created his image and made them Kings?

Water - Light - Sky - Sun - Star - Moon all can be parables of what morality was at it's origin, before physical form of the world....

As we know morality had to embrace both hidden beings (demons, Angels) and humans, in the same way, and this showing some reasoning.

And nurturing feature and growth with respect to the light, this important as well.

Anyways, the literalist approach even if was let's say scientifically proven, it would not have been proven to Israelites at that time.

You should be looking for proofs in holy books, not things that cannot be proven one way or another.

[Minimalist]

According to the story, water existed on the first day.  Water contains oxygen.  Oxygen is only formed in stars and only dispersed at the end life of some of those stars.  According to the story, stars were not created until the fourth day.  Therefore, no oxygen was available on days 1-3 to form water.

That's a little deep for bronze age goat herders, man.

[Bahana]