A new way of looking at the Book of Genesis

 

Holy Bible. Photo credit: TyshkunVictor

Yesterday I announced that on January 21 I’m launching two new daily newsletters, the Daily Bible Chapter and Daily Miracles.

Here are some snippets from the Daily Bible Chapter.

From the 1st newsletter (Genesis 1):

When I hear the word “light,” I may think of several things:

• A flash, spark, ignition, or explosion that immediately changes the state of things.
• The means to see the physical world through the body’s eyes such as the sun or light bulbs.
• Warmth; the sun may light the way, or a campfire may help us see at night, but they also warm us.
• Lightness, as opposed to heaviness, in terms of weight or mass.
• An emotional state (light-hearted, lighter than air).
• Enlightenment, or a “flash” of understanding

At the start of Genesis, there seems to be water but no light. That is, no warmth. As if before the “beginning,” there was only ice and darkness.

Perhaps God wanted light to melt the ice so it becomes liquid or vapor. Or maybe God wanted to feel lighter. Maybe God wanted to grow, and required light the way life needs light to grow.

Or maybe God wanted to become enlightened.

From the 2nd newsletter (Genesis 2)

So in Chapter 1 we may have a general account of how dry ground in general came to be, and how humanity in general was created. Beginning in verse 4 of Chapter 2 we have a story of a specific part of the earth that was seemingly barren, and here Jehovah God created a man, and made the place a garden, and brought in the animals, and created the woman from the man.

Imagine a book that starts with “In the beginning the human built the automobile.” Then starts with how the human built the wheel, then the wagon, then engines, etc.in a way that implies a general anthropological summary of thousands of years up to the 19th Century Then, in Chapter 2, we get a story, not of how the human built the car, but how Karl Benz, a human, built a car. Is it “contradictory” even when all the details are different? Far from it.

From the 3rd newsletter (Genesis 3)

Let’s say you’re looking for a job. You’re offered a position that “checks all the boxes” for your ideal position. But, it doesn’t feel right. You accept the offer anyway because you think you need the money and you think there are no other options. The job brings stress which affects your health and strains family relationships.

You ate from the Tree of Knowledge. You chose what, by all appearances, seemed like the right thing. The “punishment” that follows isn’t really a punishment (although your intuition — God? — warned you). It’s more like a consequence. Cause-and-effect is at play.

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I hope you join us!

James Leroy Wilson writes from Nebraska. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter. If you enjoy his articles, subscribe and support. You may contact James for your writing, editing, and research needs: jamesleroywilson-at-gmail.com. Permission to reprint is granted with attribution.

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