Did God write Genesis?

JackRT said:

"God wrote the Ten Commandments twice"

Well, actually three times:

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We're talking about in His own handwriting.

AV1611VET said:

We're talking about in His own handwriting.

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I'm not talking speculation. I'm referring to the fact that there are three versions of the ten commandments in the Bible and each and every one claims to be the authorship of God. However, only Exodus 34 self identifies as "the ten commandments".

JackRT said:

I'm not talking speculation. I'm referring to the fact that there are three versions of the ten commandments in the Bible and each and every one claims to be the authorship of God. However, only Exodus 34 self identifies as "the ten commandments".

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What does this even remotely have to do with what we're talking about?

Are you familiar with the art of amanuensis?

A boss can have his secretary write something that goes out in his authority ... and indeed, he is considered to have written it.

A boss can also write it himself in his own handwriting.

Do you see the difference?

Nicholas Deka said:

It was inappropriate to jump to the conclusion you did

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I didn't...

Tree of Life said:

No one believes that God wrote Genesis. Genesis was written by Moses and inspired by the Holy Spirit.

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That's exactly my understanding of it. Of course, I can't prove it, but I can believe it and I do. Note, also that whenever our Lord quoted from the books of Moses, He never once indicated that any of it was just a myth as some people today believe. If Jesus, creator of all things was happy to treat it as factual then that's good enough for me. No need for any further discussion IMHO.

doubtingmerle said:

Judging by the ineptness of what the "secretary" wrote, and judging by the fact that "the boss" would have been the supreme ruler of the universe, my guess is that the secretary wasn't actually writing what the boss was saying.

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Until you know for sure ...

doubtingmerle said:

Wait. One person says nobody even thinks God wrote Genesis, and the very next post says God wrote Genesis, end of story.

If one is coming here to understand your religion, how can he possibly make sense of all this?

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The Bible is clear. Lean not to your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him. Obviously, God didn't pen the Bible from somewhere in outer space, nor did He drop down to earth, set up an office, and write it. Just as obvious, He chose those who would do the writing, under His tutelage, His revelation, His applications. The writers wrote as they were inspired by Him. Nothing, between Genesis 1 and Revelation 22:21 is the result of human imagination. Each writer was led to write. By who? God. How could they possibly do otherwise? They couldn't. The Bible is divinely inspired. Case closed. (Except I'm saddened that other Christian writers in this forum did not draw this distinction.)

doubtingmerle said:

Including the writer who wrote that it was good for Abraham to set out to kill his son? Obviously that writer was mistaken, for it is not good to set out to kill your son.

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Here we go with that 'kill' stuff again.

Was God asking Abraham to murder his son, in your opinion?

Exodus 20:13 Thou shalt not kill.

doubtingmerle said:

According to Genesis, God was asking Abraham to set out to kill his son, yes. According to Genesis, Abraham was planning to kill his son because he thought it would please God. According to Genesis, it is good that Abraham set out to kill his son.

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Interesting how you prefer "kill" to "murder."

doubtingmerle said:

But Genesis is wrong.

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Romans 3:4a God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar;

doubtingmerle said:

According to Genesis, God was asking Abraham to set out to kill his son, yes. According to Genesis, Abraham was planning to kill his son because he thought it would please God. According to Genesis, it is good that Abraham set out to kill his son.

But Genesis is wrong.

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Humanist, you don't have a clue as to the Spiritual interpretation and application of Scripture. I'm a Christian. I understand, comprehend and embrace that Scripture in all its veracity. You don't, and won't, until you yield to God in Romans 10:8-13, then rejoice in Romans 8:1.

doubtingmerle said:

Huh? You simply ignored the content, and stated that you know the right answers. Let's take my previous statements. Please actually address what I said.

1.According to Genesis, God was asking Abraham to set out to kill his son. Do you or do you not agree that Genesis says this?
2. According to Genesis, Abraham was planning to kill his son because he thought it would please God. Do you or do you not agree that Genesis says this?
3. According to Genesis, it is good that Abraham set out to kill his son. Do you or do you not agree that Genesis says this?

And Genesis, in my opinion, is wrong.

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It is only your opinion. It is not based upon Spiritual, Scriptural Truth.

1. God's instructions to Abraham were a test of his faith. Note that when Abraham was about to carry out those instructions, God stayed his hand. Abram (Abraham) was given the specific assignment of leading the Hebrew folk into the Promised Land through God's Amazing Grace. He could be trusted to carry out that assignment. He made every effort; the Hebrew folk went along, then rejected the very Grace (free gift) of God.

2. Abraham was exceptionally reluctant to carry out God's instructions. He wasn't thinking about "pleasing" God. He was being obedient. Note, again, that God stayed his hand.

3. It was good that Abraham reluctantly set out to kill his son; he did not kill him. The "setting out" was an act of obedience. God intervened, anointing Abraham to be the Spiritual Leader of the Hebrew folk.

Additionally, this entire episode foreshadows the mission of Jesus Christ to intervene on behalf of all humankind, offering His life in their place. The free gift of God in their case would be eternal life for all who believed, Romans 10:8-13. Their calm, confident assurance is found in Romans 8:1.

The Old Testament story of Abraham is the basis of the New Testament teaching of the atonement, the sacrificial offering of the Lord Jesus on the cross for the sin of mankind. Jesus said, many centuries later, “Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad” (John 8:56). The following are some of the parallels between the two biblical accounts:

• “Take your son, your only son, Isaac” (v. 2); “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son…” (John 3:16).

• “Go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there…” (v. 2); it is believed that this area is where the city of Jerusalem was built many years later, where Jesus was crucified outside its city walls (Hebrews 13:12).

• “Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering” (v. 2); “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3).

• “Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac” (v. 6); Jesus, “carrying his own cross. . .” (John 19:17).

• “But where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” (v. 7); John said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29).

• Isaac, the son, acted in obedience to his father in becoming the sacrifice (v. 9); Jesus prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39).

• Resurrection – Isaac (figuratively) and Jesus in reality: “By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, ‘It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.’ Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death” (Hebrews 11:17–19); Jesus “was buried, and . . . was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:4).

In everything give Him thanks!

JackRT said:

We know that Moses did not write the Torah. At least five authors (J,E,P,D and R) have been tentatively identified based on their quite different writing styles and use of vocabulary. "J" used Jehovah exclusively for God and may have been a person in the court of Solomon about 950 BC. "E" used Elohim for God and wrote in the Northern Kingdom about 200 years later. "P" was concerned primarily with ritual and were probably priests writing during the Exile. "D" wrote the entire book of Deuteronomy about 600 BC. "R" were the redactors or editors who cobbled it all together. This whole process took place over some 500 years.

Beyond that, Rabbi Maimonides has commented that a great deal of Genesis is "mythology and borrowed folklore".

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Jack,

To the contrary, we know that Moses wrote the Pentateuch.

The JEDP theory (sometimes called the Graf-Wellhausen or Documentary Hypothesis) was developed in the 18th and 19th centuries by critical scholars of the Bible.


(Documentary Hypothesis, courtesy Wikipedia)

So, the JEDP theory of authorship of the Pentateuch was developed by liberal theology.

The Pentateuch claims in many places that Moses was the writer, e.g. Exodus 17:14; Ex. 24:4–7; Ex. 34:27; Numbers 33:2; Deuteronomy 31:9, 22, 24.

Many times in the rest of the Old Testament, Moses is said to have been the writer, e.g. Joshua 1:7–8.

In the New Testament, Jesus frequently spoke of Moses’ writings or the Law of Moses, e.g. Matt. 8:4; Mark 12:26; Luke 24:27; John 5:46.

One has to do some theological gymnastics to avoid Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch.

Oz

doubtingmerle said:

Some claim that God wrote Genesis, but I think not. After all, Genesis tells us that plants were created before the sun, and birds were created before land animals. One would think the God of the universe would know it was the opposite.

And Genesis says it was all done in six days, or at least it can easily be interpreted as saying that. One would think the God of the universe would be more clear about the billions of years he spent on creation.

So no, I don't think God wrote Genesis. Do you?

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The God of the universe is the sovereign Lord (Psalm 103:19). He does not think and act like a humanist or a 21st century Christian.

The order of what was created in Genesis 1 is inconsequential to the God who spoke the universe into existence, 'By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible' (Heb 11:3 ESV).

Your God is too small. If you want a true picture of who God is, read your Bible and look at the attributes of God displayed in creation (see Rom 1:18ff).

Oz

Kenny'sID said:

I didn't...

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You didn't what? Jump to a conclusion?

Kenny'sID said:

So, I can only conclude from all that, you don't want us to believe our God exists, and want to convince us otherwise.

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See where you made a conclusion? It was a jump because it wasn't based on any real reason. You jumped to a conclusion, bro. Own it, and move on.

doubtingmerle said:

Some claim that God wrote Genesis, but I think not. After all, Genesis tells us that plants were created before the sun, and birds were created before land animals. One would think the God of the universe would know it was the opposite.

And Genesis says it was all done in six days, or at least it can easily be interpreted as saying that. One would think the God of the universe would be more clear about the billions of years he spent on creation.

So no, I don't think God wrote Genesis. Do you?

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Your view of Genesis 1 expressed here is based on a homocentric interpretation of a translation of the original Hebrew that is tantamount to a Strawman fallacy.
I to would reject the story if I understood it in this way, but I do not, and so I do not.

Winken said:

The Bible is clear. Lean not to your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him. Obviously, God didn't pen the Bible from somewhere in outer space, nor did He drop down to earth, set up an office, and write it. Just as obvious, He chose those who would do the writing, under His tutelage, His revelation, His applications. The writers wrote as they were inspired by Him. Nothing, between Genesis 1 and Revelation 22:21 is the result of human imagination. Each writer was led to write. By who? God. How could they possibly do otherwise? They couldn't. The Bible is divinely inspired. Case closed. (Except I'm saddened that other Christian writers in this forum did not draw this distinction.)

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What about writings that didn't make the canon? Is the Talmud inspired? The other gospels? The rest of the apocrypha?

If God inspired the books that eventually became canon, didn't he also have to inspire the process by which the books were cobbled together? Have you investigated this process to determine for yourself if it is plausible that there was divine inspiration guiding such a gradual, organic process?