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Are there Two Creation Events in Genesis?

Windwalker

Veteran Member
Premium Member
Meat and forage, no agriculture, nothing would grow for them. Basically they had to live like cave men, hunter gatherers.
Oh I see your reasoning. Humans live as hunter gathers to this day however, and they are far better off in many regards dietarily, as well as physically, to their human counterparts living in industrialized societies. You have no argument from anthropology that we lived as a whole as hunter gatherers until the Agricultural Revolution around 10,000 BCE. The AR can be understood as actually a trap for humans, forcing them to work longer hours and restricting their diets. Some view the AR as a curse in this way.

But back to what the Bible says, it doesn't say that humans ate animals until after the flood (Gen. 9:3,4). Is your saying that since they couldn't produce wheat crops through agriculture that they therefore must have hunted animals, as an assumption? Or do you have a verse that indicates they ate animals before the flood? After is there, that I referenced above. I'm not aware of any before.
 

Kemosloby

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
Oh I see your reasoning. Humans live as hunter gathers to this day however, and they are far better off in many regards dietarily, as well as physically, to their human counterparts living in industrialized societies. You have no argument from anthropology that we lived as a whole as hunter gatherers until the Agricultural Revolution around 10,000 BCE. The AR can be understood as actually a trap for humans, forcing them to work longer hours and restricting their diets. Some view the AR as a curse in this way.

But back to what the Bible says, it doesn't say that humans ate animals until after the flood (Gen. 9:3,4). Is your saying that since they couldn't produce wheat crops through agriculture that they therefore must have hunted animals, as an assumption? Or do you have a verse that indicates they ate animals before the flood? After is there, that I referenced above. I'm not aware of any before.

Yeah your right, no mention of eating animals until after the flood. They did have agriculture but the curse on Adam meant they had to work hard for it. And the curse on Cain was nothing would grow for him.
 

jhwatts

Member
No it is not about the "validity" of scripture. Understanding it through a modern framework is a valid reading of scripture. It absolutely has place in a debate about scripture. Reading it literally causes problems, which to me actually invalidates scripture. The literalist invalidates the Genesis story.

Then validate or invalidate with specifics as it related to what scripture I have shown. The scriptural debate is concerning two possible creation accounts in the Bible. Show me specifically the invalidation of this by literal interpretation.
 

Windwalker

Veteran Member
Premium Member
Then validate or invalidate with specifics as it related to what scripture I have shown. The scriptural debate is concerning two possible creation accounts in the Bible. Show me specifically the invalidation of this by literal interpretation.
There are two creation accounts. But the approach to this is not a "literal interpretation" as you are placing as a demand. This is not a "fundamentalists only" club debate. Where I see you running into problems is at the outset with a literalist presupposition that the stories MUST be creating a "big picture" that God wants us to figure out. I reject that presumption. There is no "big picture" hidden in there, and you are trying to take the two stories and "harmonize" them in some meta-narrative of sorts.

My response to this is simple. Modern scholarship. I accept the Documentary Hypothesis to be largely valid. If you are unfamiliar with it, here's a brief explanation of how this pertains to these two creation stories:

The Torah (or Pentateuch) is the collective name for the first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. According to tradition they were dictated by God to Moses, but when modern critical scholarship began to be applied to the Bible it was discovered that the Pentateuch was not the unified text one would expect from a single author. As a result, the Mosaic authorship of the Torah had been largely rejected by leading scholars by the 17th century, and the modern consensus is that it is the product of a long evolutionary process.

In the mid-18th century, some authors started a critical study of doublets (parallel accounts of the same incidents), inconsistencies, and changes in style and vocabulary. In 1780 Johann Eichhorn, building on the work of the French doctor and exeget Jean Astruc's "Conjectures" and others, formulated the "older documentary hypothesis": the idea that Genesis was composed by combining two identifiable sources, the Jehovist ("J"; also called the Yahwist) and the Elohist ("E"). These sources were subsequently found to run through the first four books of the Torah, and the number was later expanded to three when Wilhelm de Wette identified the Deuteronomist as an additional source found only in Deuteronomy ("D").Later still the Elohist was split into Elohist and Priestly ("P") sources, increasing the number to four.

<snip>

The supplementary approach was dominant by the early 1860s, but it was challenged by an important book published by Hermann Hupfeld in 1853, who argued that the Pentateuch was made up of four documentary sources, the Priestly, Yahwist, and Elohist intertwined in Genesis-Exodus-Leviticus-Numbers, and the stand-alone source of Deuteronomy. At around the same period Karl Heinrich Graf argued that the Yahwist and Elohist were the earliest sources and the Priestly source the latest, while Wilhelm Vatke linked the four to an evolutionary framework, the Yahwist and Elohist to a time of primitive nature and fertility cults, the Deuteronomist to the ethical religion of the Hebrew prophets, and the Priestly source to a form of religion dominated by ritual, sacrifice and law.
The two creation accounts were written by the Priestly and Yahwist sources. There are scholarly works out there which go into detail in the texts showing the different authors. Here's one I found in a simple Google search (once I got past all the apologist site drivel whining about it) Link. That both were spliced into the scripture does not mean there is some grand picture from above you are supposed to figure out how to fit together like puzzle pieces. I don't think it concerned the original readers too terribly much, because it's not about historical facts and science. It's about the message of the various stories and the cultural significance and relevance they provide. Reading it literally destroys that message, and hence why I say, you invalidate scripture.
 
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Skwim

Veteran Member
Yes, in the beginning God gave men plants to eat.

Gen 1:29 Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.
Okay, animals are not mention, which I can see as perhaps indicating that they were not meant to be food; although, one must still grapple with god's declaration that man have "dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth." If this was not meant to mean that they serve as food, then in what sense does man have "dominion" over them, and why would this be important?

After they sinned God cursed the ground so nothing would grow for man. So man ate the animals.
Actually not. Aside from no mention that they started eating animals we have this.

Genesis 3:17-19, 23
17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in toil shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; 18 thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 19 in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground;

23 therefore Jehovah God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
which clearly indicates things were growing for man.

.
 

Skwim

Veteran Member
The corresponding scripture as it relates to each creation is shown. The creation “in the likeness of God made he him” occurred during Genesis 1:1 and is not part of what most claim as the first day of creation but occurred before at some unknown length of time.

Genesis 1:2 - Genesis 2:3 corresponds to the generations of “in the likeness of God made he him” (See Genesis 5:5) and occurs during Genesis 1:1

Genesis 2.4 – Genesis 4:26 corresponds to the “generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created” (See Genesis 2:4) and occurs after Genesis 4:26

OMG! If this isn't trying to fit a square peg into a round hole I don't know what is. But thanks for the smile anyway.

.
 

DavidFirth

Well-Known Member
OMG! If this isn't trying to fit a square peg into a round hole I don't know what is. But thanks for the smile anyway.

.

You thinking that you understand scripture is like trying to fit a round peg in a square hole that doesn't exist. You read but you do not understand.
 

Skwim

Veteran Member
You thinking that you understand scripture is like trying to fit a round peg in a square hole that doesn't exist. You read but you do not understand.
Well, I do understand jhwatts' need to make sense of the two accounts of Genesis no matter how screwball his concocted scenario has to be.

In any case, should I take this to mean you buddy-up with jhwatts and his two creations?

.
 

DavidFirth

Well-Known Member
Well, I do understand jhwatts' need to make sense of the two accounts of Genesis no matter how screwball his concocted scenario has to be.

In any case, should I take this to mean you buddy-up with jhwatts and his two creations?

.

If that is your conclusion you may think what you will. Anybody who puts the least bit of faith in abiogenesis is liable to think anything.
 

Skwim

Veteran Member
If that is your conclusion you may think what you will. Anybody who puts the least bit of faith in abiogenesis is liable to think anything.
Boy, if you have trouble with a simple "Yes" or "No" question, you best prepare yourself for high school where some questions actually require you to answer in complete sentences. Sentences that

1. Begin with a capital letter
2. Have at least one main clause (a clause that contains an independent subject and verb)
3. Express a complete thought.​

So, get out your pencil and start practicin'. ...................................................................or not. :D

.
 

DavidFirth

Well-Known Member
Boy, if you have trouble with a simple "Yes" or "No" question, you best prepare yourself for high school where some questions actually require you to answer in complete sentences. Sentences that

1. Begin with a capital letter
2. Have at least one main clause (a clause that contains an independent subject and verb)
3. Express a complete thought.​

So, get out your pencil and start practicin'. ...................................................................or not. :D

.

Ad hominem. Your tactics are consistent, I'll give you that. ;)
 

jhwatts

Member
There are two creation accounts. But the approach to this is not a "literal interpretation" as you are placing as a demand. This is not a "fundamentalists only" club debate. Where I see you running into problems is at the outset with a literalist presupposition that the stories MUST be creating a "big picture" that God wants us to figure out. I reject that presumption. There is no "big picture" hidden in there, and you are trying to take the two stories and "harmonize" them in some meta-narrative of sorts.

My response to this is simple. Modern scholarship. I accept the Documentary Hypothesis to be largely valid. If you are unfamiliar with it, here's a brief explanation of how this pertains to these two creation stories:

The Torah (or Pentateuch) is the collective name for the first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. According to tradition they were dictated by God to Moses, but when modern critical scholarship began to be applied to the Bible it was discovered that the Pentateuch was not the unified text one would expect from a single author. As a result, the Mosaic authorship of the Torah had been largely rejected by leading scholars by the 17th century, and the modern consensus is that it is the product of a long evolutionary process.

In the mid-18th century, some authors started a critical study of doublets (parallel accounts of the same incidents), inconsistencies, and changes in style and vocabulary. In 1780 Johann Eichhorn, building on the work of the French doctor and exeget Jean Astruc's "Conjectures" and others, formulated the "older documentary hypothesis": the idea that Genesis was composed by combining two identifiable sources, the Jehovist ("J"; also called the Yahwist) and the Elohist ("E"). These sources were subsequently found to run through the first four books of the Torah, and the number was later expanded to three when Wilhelm de Wette identified the Deuteronomist as an additional source found only in Deuteronomy ("D").Later still the Elohist was split into Elohist and Priestly ("P") sources, increasing the number to four.

<snip>

The supplementary approach was dominant by the early 1860s, but it was challenged by an important book published by Hermann Hupfeld in 1853, who argued that the Pentateuch was made up of four documentary sources, the Priestly, Yahwist, and Elohist intertwined in Genesis-Exodus-Leviticus-Numbers, and the stand-alone source of Deuteronomy. At around the same period Karl Heinrich Graf argued that the Yahwist and Elohist were the earliest sources and the Priestly source the latest, while Wilhelm Vatke linked the four to an evolutionary framework, the Yahwist and Elohist to a time of primitive nature and fertility cults, the Deuteronomist to the ethical religion of the Hebrew prophets, and the Priestly source to a form of religion dominated by ritual, sacrifice and law.
The two creation accounts were written by the Priestly and Yahwist sources. There are scholarly works out there which go into detail in the texts showing the different authors. Here's one I found in a simple Google search (once I got past all the apologist site drivel whining about it) Link. That both were spliced into the scripture does not mean there is some grand picture from above you are supposed to figure out how to fit together like puzzle pieces. I don't think it concerned the original readers too terribly much, because it's not about historical facts and science. It's about the message of the various stories and the cultural significance and relevance they provide. Reading it literally destroys that message, and hence why I say, you invalidate scripture.

My responses are noted below.


1. There are two creation accounts. But the approach to this is not a "literal interpretation" as you are placing as a demand. (Please explain why this cannot be the? You can take a literal approach when you realize that the authors at that time conveyed what they thought in a different way than we do now, also translational errors, and degradation of manuscripts over time really have yielded a different document. This still doesn’t change their literal perception and how they recorded it. There are many differences from the original to deal with, people often assume by abstraction or symbolism a different message than the original literal intention.)

2. This is not a "fundamentalists only" club debate. (Agreed.) Where I see you running into problems is at the outset with a literalist presupposition that the stories MUST be creating a "big picture" that God wants us to figure out. (How do you know that this is not the case?) I reject that presumption. (Ok.) There is no "big picture" hidden in there and you are trying to take the two stories and "harmonize" them in some meta-narrative of sorts. (You assume this to be the case with little basis, however I feel different as it is single story that is typically perceived as two.)

My response to this is simple. Modern scholarship. I adhere to the Documentary Hypothesis to be largely valid. If you are unfamiliar with it, here's a brief explanation of how this pertains to these two creation stories:

The Torah (or Pentateuch) is the collective name for the first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. According to tradition they were dictated by God to Moses, but when modern critical scholarship began to be applied to the Bible it was discovered that the Pentateuch was not the unified text one would expect from a single author. As a result, the Mosaic authorship of the Torah had been largely rejected by leading scholars by the 17th century, and the modern consensus is that it is the product of a long evolutionary process.

In the mid-18th century, some authors started a critical study of doublets (parallel accounts of the same incidents), inconsistencies, and changes in style and vocabulary. In 1780 Johann Eichhorn, building on the work of the French doctor and exeget Jean Astruc's "Conjectures" and others, formulated the "older documentary hypothesis": the idea that Genesis was composed by combining two identifiable sources, the Jehovist ("J"; also called the Yahwist) and the Elohist ("E"). These sources were subsequently found to run through the first four books of the Torah, and the number was later expanded to three when Wilhelm de Wette identified the Deuteronomist as an additional source found only in Deuteronomy ("D").Later still the Elohist was split into Elohist and Priestly ("P") sources, increasing the number to four.

< snip>

The supplementary approach was dominant by the early 1860s, but it was challenged by an important book published by Hermann Hupfeld in 1853, who argued that the Pentateuch was made up of four documentary sources, the Priestly, Yahwist, and Elohist intertwined in Genesis-Exodus-Leviticus-Numbers, and the stand-alone source of Deuteronomy. At around the same period Karl Heinrich Graf argued that the Yahwist and Elohist were the earliest sources and the Priestly source the latest, while Wilhelm Vatke linked the four to an evolutionary framework, the Yahwist and Elohist to a time of primitive nature and fertility cults, the Deuteronomist to the ethical religion of the Hebrew prophets, and the Priestly source to a form of religion dominated by ritual, sacrifice and law.

The two creation accounts were written by the Priestly and Yahwist sources. There are scholarly works out there which go into detail in the texts showing the different authors. Here's one I found in a simple Google search (once I got past all the apologist site drivel whining about it) Link. That both were spliced into the scripture does not mean there is some grand picture from above you are supposed to figure out how to fit together like puzzle pieces. (That doesn’t necessarily mean they are not. Even if they were separate authors, it doesn’t mean they wasn’t trying to convey the same message.).

I don't think it concerned the original readers too terribly much, because it's not about historical facts and science. It's about the message of the various stories and the cultural significance and relevance they provide. (This is an assumption made on your part; how did you come to this conclusion? Again, the message is literal however, many choose to assume an abstraction or a symbolic interpretation due to the documents changes over time.) Reading it literally destroys that message, and hence why I say, you invalidate scripture.

I agree to some extent as certain other books outside of Genesis do have a specific tone and utilize a similar language (specific terms) as the content of the first 10 chapters of Genesis. I have found differences, however these in the first few contain certain similarities that show their relations.


On a side note, I am very seriously considering running some text analysis to isolate specific authors work based on certain word frequencies and patterns. This is something I have debating on and really now see a real need. If I survive the course of this thread I will post my results.
 

It Aint Necessarily So

Veteran Member
Premium Member
Absolute proof that there were indeed unicorns has been provided for us by the Irish Rovers:

Play-An-Accordian.jpg
 
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