Should Genesis be taken literally?

[-57]

Part 5:

This view isn’t benign or wacky: It’s poisonous and medieval. Creationists reject not just evolution but most of the Enlightenment and pretty much all intellectual development since. Rather than celebrate the brilliance of the human mind, they disparage free thought as dangerous and sinful. Instead of extolling the virtues of creativity and imagination, they malign all unorthodox ideas as immoral and wicked. For all creationists’ insistence that evolution denigrates humanity, creationism is fundamentally anti-human, commanding us to spurn our own logic and cognition in favor of absurd sophism derived from a 3,000-year-old text. It turns our greatest ability—to reason—into our greatest enemy. Using our brains, according to creationism, will lead us to sin; only mindless piety can keep us on the track to salvation.

It’s easy to scoff at all this, to giggle at the vivid weirdness of young Earth creationism and then shrug it off as an isolated cult. But the 40 percent of Americans who reject evolution, as well as the tens of thousands of children or more who are being brainwashed with it in publicly funded classrooms, aren’t laughing. Creationism is built to metastasize; those who believe it won’t rest until everyone else believes it, too. True believers yearn for the rest of us to be locked up in the same mental prison where they have consigned themselves and their children. They insist that evolution has robbed us of our humanity. But in reality, it’s their twisted gospel that aims to strip us of the very thing that makes us human.

As a christian why do you keep contradicting your christian views? You keep telling us science has proven the bible wrong...bash the creationist...YET, you seem to believe in what science says can't happen....A dead man rose from the grave after being killed on the cross...three days later.

You sicken me with statements such as...."But in reality, it’s their twisted gospel that aims to strip us of the very thing that makes us human" .....You state that our gospel is twisted because we believe the bible? Seriously? Because we read Genesis and believe Adam was formed directly from the dust. Our gospel is twisted because we can explain our sin nature...by quoting the bible....and you need to impose non-biblical concepts to explain our sin nature....THEN YOU ACCUSE US OF TWISTING SCRIPTURE????

 

[-57]

That it was generally historical. However, they also tolerated the figurative interpretations of others and were not vicious and nasty about it like modern YECs. and, of course, the Protestant doctrines of Sola Scriptura, literal inerrancy, self-intepretability, perspicuity and plenary verbal inspiration which the YECs use to justify their nastiness were still 1500 years or more in the future.

If the bible is a ...bad..mistaken....errored...as you seem to present it...why do you even read it?

 

[Speedwell]

If the bible is a ...bad..mistaken....errored...as you seem to present it...why do you even read it?

I wouldn't if I thought so. And, of course, I don't present it as such. That's just a lie you enjoy telling, like any typical YEC.

 

[joshua 1 9]

The garden of Eden and its location would have been lost during the flood of Noah.

Right now they believe the garden of Eden is under the Persian Gulf.

 

[-57]

I wouldn't if I thought so. And, of course, I don't present it as such. That's just a lie you enjoy telling, like any typical YEC.

Then why do you distort the bible? Why did you post your previous post which said the bible is full of error?

 

[Archivist]

Those are two similar origins. They are also not biblical origins.

Similar, perhaps. But the post to which I was responding said that evolution claimed that man is descended from monkeys. That is incorrect according to the current theory of evolution.

So, why do you think He told us that He formed man with His hands and created the first female human from this man's rib?

Because I believe the creation stories in Genesis to be an allegory.

Why tell your children how you dug the hole, pored the foundation, laid the block wall, and built the rest of your house if you purchased it, turn key, from a contractor or developer?

Not sure how that applies. I'm not saying that what the Bible says isn't true, I'm saying that it is an allegory. If you want to believe that Genesis is an accurate account you are free to do so. Unlike some in this thread I don't call people liars or false teachers simply because they don't agree with my interpretation.

Seems a bit deceptive. Is that what you think of God?

No, it is an allegory. Was Jesus being deceptive when he told the story of the Good Samaritan, since there was probably no such person? No, he told the story to prove a point.

But, how do you see that Genesis indicates, in any way, that we should not take it as it is written?

Because I view it as an allegory.

 

[-57]

Right now they believe the garden of Eden is under the Persian Gulf.

Perhaps it was. Then again it could be under Pittsburg.

 

[Paul of Eugene OR]

No. Because the evidence would be wrong. Because no matter what 'truth' is uncovered, the Bible is still the ultimate truth. And anything contradicting what is clearly taught in the Scriptures is a lie.

You confess that no evidence will change your mind and therefore you confess your faith in Scripture is not based on evidence. So since you have no reasons for your faith, how can you persuade others to adopt it?

 

[Paul of Eugene OR]

Your OP was not about your undertaking to come up with scientific discovery to benefit mankind like electricity, telephones, cars, computers or running water did. Your OP was publicly voicing doubt on Christian site about what we have as only written account of God's word about our creation. So no need to go to inventors of electricity when you don't like the answer to your question.

Would God, who is love, let that accepted account of His words through thousands of years be fraudlent? God gave us the sun, and the moon, and the water, and air, and food, and talent, and creativity, and love above all. And He gave us account of how we came to be. But it's not enough, we want more, and more, and more. That's what being fallen is.

Why do you speak of "THE" accepted account of His words? Aren't there many alternate "accepted" accounts of His words? Accepted by alternate populations, of course.

 

[-57]

Because I believe the creation stories in Genesis to be an allegory.

I would imagine you trust what Paul wrote.....Why would Paul write to Timothy instructions on how women should present themselves in church....and base his reason on an allegorical situation? This makes no sense.
1st Tim 2:12 I do not permit a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man; she is to remain quiet. 13 For Adam was formed first, and then Eve. 14 And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman who was deceived and fell into transgression.

 

[writewords]

Yes. Should be taken literally. Failure not to causes big problems in correct understanding in the sinfulness and fall of the human race.

 

[-57]

Isn't it possible that it's the truth but not the whole truth? As in, we were given the basic idea, but we had to write out the full equation? The first verse of Genesis says, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth..." Ok, but how? I don't believe science is trying to prove God didn't do it...I mean, I'm sure there are some scientist that this is there purpose...but I believe there are also many that are just trying to figure out how.

Doesn't Genesis say God formed man from the dust...then woman from mans rib? Many try to figure it out by introducing descent with modification into the Word of God. In doing so Adam goes way...or who Adam is must be modified into another individual.

 

[Paul of Eugene OR]

Abraham was born, raised and educated in the city of Ur. He had the best education you could get in his day and the people of UR were very advanced at that time in science. Just like Moses as the adopted son of a pharaoh had the best education you could get in Egypt at the time and he had full access to the library there at the time. Also Moses studied religion under his father in law Jethro a priest of Midian. We know that Abraham had contact with melchizedek. Jesus is considered a priest in the order of Melchizedek.

The bible doesn't tell us about Abraham's education, but, hey, that part is probably true. But Abraham would not have carried a bunch of clay tablets in his trek from Ur to Palestine.

 

[Not_By_Chance]

Well, I'm absolutely shocked by some of the comments here about creationists and the attitude of some claiming to be Christians to other Christians. Did not Jesus say that his followers are to love one another? Also, I have watched countless DVD's produced by Creation Scientists and I have not seen any of the nastiness referred to and I certainly would not call it "poisonous" or anything of the kind. All I have seen is well-reasoned arguments against some of the claims of the secular scientists (some of what they put out, such as the Big Bang stuff is not even bad science but anti-science because it is self-refuting) and if there is any nastiness around, it invariably comes from the secular camp (just look at what Prof. Richard Dawkins writes for starters). Do you hear Satan laughing while all this is going on?

 

[Archivist]

I would imagine you trust what Paul wrote.....Why would Paul write to Timothy instructions on how women should present themselves in church....and base his reason on an allegorical situation? This makes no sense.
1st Tim 2:12 I do not permit a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man; she is to remain quiet. 13 For Adam was formed first, and then Eve. 14 And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman who was deceived and fell into transgression.

Because I regard it as an allegory; Paul apparently did not. I certainly disagree with Paul's statement that women are to remain quiet and not teach, but that is a topic for another thread.

 

[W2L]

Because I regard it as an allegory; Paul apparently did not. I certainly disagree with Paul's statement that women are to remain quiet and not teach, but that is a topic for another thread.

`Yes, woman should preach, and do it topless is they wish.

 

[Archivist]

`Yes, woman should preach, and do it topless is they wish.

I've never seen a man preach topless; why would I want a woman to do so. And this is off topic in this thread.

 

[W2L]

I've never seen a man preach topless; why would I want a woman to do so.

So its ok to run around topless, as long as its not in Church? Never mind, off topic

 

[Archivist]

So its ok to run around topless, as long as its not in Church? Never mind, off topic

If you knew it was off topic why did you raise the point?

 

[Speedwell]

Then why do you distort the bible? Why did you post your previous post which said the bible is full of error?

Quote the post or shut up.