How did we get the story of Genesis?

Question

Did God leave a little note outlining the creation of the universe?

Answer 1

I can see it now.

"So you've never actually seen this guy."

"No, but I have this book right here that proves it!"

"That's your handwriting."

"Of course! He dictated it to me!"

Answer 2

I don't know precisely how it came to be written the way it is in the bible, but here's how I think it could have happened...

A question that almost every child asks at some point is, "where did I come from"...at some point, it would have been natural for a human (probably Adam or Eve) to ask God this question. The story in Genesis was God's answer. That story may have then been passed down from generation to generation until someone (Moses perhaps) wrote it down and made it part of the earliest religious texts.

I understand why some people reject the story of Genesis as a "fairly tale" but I accept it as the truth because of the way it is told not in spite of it. When a young child asks his mother or father where he came from, a loving parent will tell the child the truth not some ridiculous lie (like we found you under a cabbage leaf or the stork brought you). However, that same loving parent will tell the truth in a manner than can be understood by the child. A toddler can't possibly understand an explanation of life that included a full discourse on how sex works and the biological details about the way the sperm and egg become a child...instead, the child get's something like "mummy and daddy love each other and wanted a child so daddy put something in mommy so a baby could grow and that's how we got you"! The parent will then add details to the story as the child's ability to comprehend them grows.

When God first gave the answer (as the story in Genesis), it was entirely consistent with the level of knowledge and comprehension of the person that asked it. When it was first told, people would not have understood talk of atoms, elements, and methods...at that time, even the simplistic knowledge required to explain evolution would have been beyond the comprehension of man.

The story of Genesis came from God and is the truth but I don't think it reflects the complexity of how it actually took place. Did it really take six days (six twenty-four hour periods), in some sense, yes it did in the grand scheme of things...and perhaps God use the terminology of "days" to explain the fundamental steps in the process (step one, let there by light, step two, create the sky, etc...). Perhaps the steps did only take one day...or perhaps each step took hundreds or even thousands of years to complete. Not my call and I would not presume to think that the creation can understand that scope of the knowledge of the creator. The story reflects a simplicity of knowledge that seems entirely appropriate for a young child...and didn't Jesus say that we needed to humble ourselves as little children to enter God's kingdom?

Answer 3

Just like the stories the Indians pass down.

It was passed down by the patriarch of the family until it was written by Moses c. 1400 BC.

Answer 4

No, he told what happened to Moses in about 1400 BC. He recorded what God spoke.
And don't go giving me that so God could have made it up crap. If he did, he lied, therefor he couldn't exist, and Moses would have never written it.

Answer 5

It is my understanding that under devine spiritual inspiration, Moses wrote the first 6 books of the bible.

Answer 6

actually the bible is written not from history but from prophecy... where we are headed is like a plan and a reminder of the devil constantly trying to muck it up...


http://gypsys-emporium.com/

Answer 7

Actually he gave it twice. Chapter one tells it one way. Then Chapter 2 tells it differently. And there you have the inerrant inspired word of God.

Thank God I'm and atheist.

Answer 8

Moses was told what happened.