Was the book of Genesis meant to be taken literally?

Question

When the scriptures say God made us in his own image, do they literally mean God has a belly button, wisdom teeth, etc. or was this intended to be understood as a symbol of God putting true consciousness or a spirit like his in an animal that evolved over millions of years?
Was there really a talking snake or could this have been a metaphor for evil tempting early man with his newfound ability to know right from wrong?
Genesis was written by Moses who would have been educated and had access to the Pharos' library. Might he have been recording thousands of years of the oral history of the Jewish people as inspired to by God, while using symbolism for things people wouldn't have readily understood until his entire plan was revealed through future scriptures?

GLSigma3,
C. S. Lewis tackles the problem of how sin might have originated in _Mere_Christianity and _The_Problem_of_Pain_. I hate to butcher Lewis' argument that he puts so elegantly, but I think the basic idea is that if bad things couldn't happen to good people, then there could not be a world where we have free will. If every time some one picked up a baseball bat to play baseball it worked fine, but when you lifted it to hit someone it disappears, then you wouldn't be free to make your own decisions. What if every time you opened your mouth to say an insult, the air that carry’s sound disappears, leaving your insult unheard? If bad people couldn't choose to be bad because the universe wouldn't allow it, we'd just be puppets doing the only thing we could do, be good. If bad things only happened to bad people and good things only happen to good people, then every one would be forced to be good at gunpoint. God wanted a world where we may be free to choose our own destiny.

Everyone that has pointed out that we don't really know who wrote the book of Genesis is correct. Many scholars do believe it could have been Moses. I'm sorry I didn't clarify that in my question.

Answer 1

the worlds could be taken alegorically or literally.
the sword cuts both ways. it could me one or the other or both, there is much debate on this topic.
but im pretty sure when it says in genesis that god created man in his own image he was talking about a soul, consciousness and the power to create. but im not sure if moses was the writer of genesis. ive seen cuneiform texts with stuff from the torah. there is even design in the torah that make it hard for me to see that it was written by the word of man. like the prophesizing of jesus's life in the names of the prophets and kings, translated these names go like this.
Hebrew English

Adam Man

Seth Appointed

Enosh Mortal

Kenan Sorrow;

Mahalalel The Blessed God

Jared Shall come down

Enoch Teaching

Methuselah His death shall bring

Lamech The Despairing

Noah Rest, or comfort.

so the sentence would be

Man (is) appointed mortal sorrow; (but) the Blessed God shall come down teaching (that) His death shall bring (the) despairing rest.

something to think about.

Answer 2

This is a question that’s been asked by many, and my answer would have to be that no, don’t take the book of genesis literally, or anything from the bible for that matter. Why because according to the bible, things such as space, other planets and stars, the galaxy does not exist, why because it was written before all the modern scientific founding accord. Its funny that while we know all the modern new founding’s and scientific break through, we still seem to forget that the bible has now become irrelevant, if your argument will be that it is all about morals etc, then why not just watch the news read the constitution, morals are found every where, and the more you look into it, the more you find that god was just a way to explain things that we could not, such as the sun, rain, the earth, life its self, night and day, and the fear of death. But its time to see that its no longer the correct answer, we have found out how humans are created, why they are the way the way we are, what the sun is, why it rains, night and day, life and death, even the creation of the universe, can be now explained scientifically, so its time to grow up, and live life as good people, not out of fear of the devil, or going to hell, but because we're a modern society that has grown into accepting differences, but sadly can that happen, no, why because there are to many religious fundamental crazy people out there, who refuse to believe in reason, and find that death for a "GOD" is what we are here to do.

Answer 3

Robert Anderson who was the inspector for Scotland Yard (who caught Jack the Ripper) took the book of Daniel as providing the date Messiah was to come. He did not allegorize any of it--he took it as a literal proclamation. His incredible calculations pinpointed the DAY Jesus rode in to Jerusalem. For this he was knighted by Queen Victoria and became Sir Robert Anderson.
However, he read other prophesies regarding Israel becoming a nation again and thought that this was WAY too preposterous. No nation, after being conquered and scattered, EVER returned again to form a nation and a people. So it must have had some "allegorical" meaning to it. Well, in 1948, Sir Robert Anderson was proven wrong. Sir Robert Anderson believed the Bible, but his doubt in a wild claim such as Israel becoming a nation was too much for him. THAT is how accurate prophecy is. Before the fulfillment took place, Anderson assumed it was wrong (having lived in the Victorian era pre 1948). He twisted nothing, but assumed it was something else entirely.

Say what you will. I believe that my God created the world as He said in Genesis, and that Satan appeared as a walking/talking dragon (as depicted on the Ishtar gate) who was then cursed without legs in the form of a snake, and that the book was written by God through the hand of Moses.

Now, go back in time and tell the ancient people of old that gray parrots today can talk and converse with humans, or sing songs like "I Lost My Heart in San Francisco", or chimps and apes can communicate with sign language. Stranger things have happened in our own day, and we say, "Wow, isn't that interesting." Yet when the BIBLE says it, oh no, it must be allegorical! Give me a break.

2 Peter 1:16-21 (condensed)
For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty...and so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place...for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved

Answer 4

ALL of the Bible is meant to be taken literally. When it says god made us in his own image, it means that He gave us characteristics like Himself. There was a talking snake in the Garden, but this serpent was possessed by the devil. Moses probably did get a lot of what he recorded from Pharaoh's library.

Answer 5

Yes. Moses was with God for 40 days and 40 nights on a mountain top.

Answer 6

God made us in his sinless image. The snake has to have been real, because there's no other way that sin could have emerged.

Find me some proof that says Moses wrote Genesis.

Answer 7

The 1st q: we were made in the image of God's character. I also wondered about that :-)
The 2 q: The Hebrew word for snake or serpent (1 of the 2, I can't remeber) means "shiny one". Paul says -- somewhere in the NT -- that Satan can transform himself into an angel of light. (Islam and Mormons hav angels of light in their doctrines, ironic, isn't it?) Eve was "hypnotized" by Satan's "beauty". When it says the serpent, it's talking metaphorically, but he was there

Answer 8

Christians think so.

They believe that God creating Adam and Eve before AND after he created other animals makes perfect sense.

They also believe that things that defy the laws of physics must be 100% true.

Answer 9

If the snake was possessed by the devil, why did God punish the snake, and every snake after it by taking away it's legs? That's unfair to snakes isn't it, what if you were possessed by satan and God took your legs away?

Oh wait, Genesis is the most ludacris thing I've ever heard, that's why.

Answer 10

literally yes
"image" of God
not millions of years
yes talking serpent
not sure who wrote Genesis