Biblical scholars make it a business of dissecting and interpreting text written by human beings, allegedly beginning sometime around 4000 B.C. Well, you’re no scholar. Also, you hate to invest in scholarly research. It might interfere with your uninformed opinion. On the face of it, Genesis explains Creation which took a mere week to pull off; and in that brief span, God not only created the Earth but also all living things, including your first ancestors Adam and Eve.** With all due respect to those OT authors who labored over excruciating details of family trees, it took less than two chapters to summarize all of Creation — the entire universe. This fact has confused the human race since the beginning of recorded history. But one fact is not confusing. No one on Earth existed to witness and document the Creation. Which leaves the question: Who composed Genesis? The general consensus suggests that around 1500 BC, Moses “wrote” the story of Creation by virtue of God’s “divine inspiration.” Thousands of years later, in 1667, John Milton gave us Paradise Lost, a brilliantly conceived and written epic poem which he based on biblical narrative. Unlike the simple, declarative rendition of the Bible, Milton used stimulating language and artistic structure to paint a vivid picture of Good and Evil and Sin and Death. Also unlike Genesis, Milton’s epic begins in Hell, where he introduces Chaos, Satan’s rebellion, fallen angels, etc. By the way, it’s worth noting that Milton was “a firm believer in the Holy Bible’s truth and would in no way contradict its content . . .” Before you continue with what will be labeled sacrilege, you must witness that you believe in God and in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Now then, for the sacrilege. While you believe God created Heaven and Earth, you can’t buy that He hatched a ruse to tempt Adam and Eve. You can’t rationalize that he created forbidden fruit and placed a serpent in Eden to test their will power. It sounds like the plot of a B movie. About this skepticism, some will say, “Either you believe in the Bible or you don’t. You can’t just pick and choose what’s valid and reject what you don’t understand.” Sorry. The garden, the tree, the serpent and God’s punishment forever affecting all mankind, seems like a pagan curse. It reminds you of ancient Greek mythology. It reminds you of modern day movie producers that take a true story and are compelled to spice things up with dramatized, often salacious, content. Which does make sense. Writers do want readership; producers do want home run box office results. With all due respect to religious scholars everywhere, the creation of Heaven and Earth was, after all, the Beginning of Time. It deserved to be an exquisitely detailed volume unto itself, in scope and content. Instead, Creation quickly gives way to typical human transgression that jump starts the flawed human condition, leading to banishment and the curse of Original Sin. It all sounds very, very human. Moses (or whoever) has given you the essential answer to the eternal question “Why?” He has given you necessary justification for why all humanity is doomed to keep repeating the sin of a place called Eden. You can doubt Eden if you choose, but what thesis can you offer as a substitute? It’s easy enough to pass judgment, less easy to offer a view that challenges Moses’ divine inspiration. In this case, you feel inclined to suggest reverently that within all living things, excluding humans, God created genetic, preconditioned behavior. Within all human beings, He created cognition, the power to choose and the innate sense of right and wrong. Armed with God’s commands, Adam and Eve advanced into the World to do His bidding and glorify His Name. Although well-intentioned, if this outlook is defective, you can only hope He will cut you some slack.

** Genesis suggests that all mankind is descended from Adam & Eve. If Eden is hard for you to absorb, the idea that all people revert to a single union is incomprehensible. You point to scripture. Very early, without explanation of their origins, Genesis introduces Egyptians, Hittites, Babylonians and inhabitants of many other nations. You don’t suggest for a second that this assertion renders Creation null and void. But what it does suggest is that much of OT history may be fragmented and perhaps allegorical.

Note:
You readily admit that this commentary is a type of blasphemy that ignores the New Testament. In Luke’s reporting, Jesus Himself cites Creation, the “marriage” of Adam and Eve, the great flood and many other OT events. But you can appreciate this corroboration, given that Jesus and His Jewish disciples were readers of the Torah, just as you grew up reading the King James version of the New Testament. Ed.

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