Results 1 - 5 of 5
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Creation Account: Mythical or Not? | Gen 1:27 | Hank | 85170 | ||
Before we approach the book of Genesis and ask, "Are the opening chapters fact or fiction, mythical or historical?" let's define what the English word "mythical" means. Most reasonably educated people, I believe, would agree that the dictionary is a fairly good choice when one wishes to learn the standard definitions of words, so let's go to the current edition of Webster's Collegiate and look up the word "mythical." Here's what it says: "mythical or mythic 1 based on or described in a myth, esp. as contrasted with history 2 existing only in the imagination: fictitious, imaginary 3 having qualities suitable to myth: legendary. synonym: see fictitious. ..... Now let's apply the dictionary definition of "mythical" to the events described in the creation account and ask ourselves whether each event is to be interpreteted as factual or as mythical (fictional). ..... Gen. 1:1: God created the heavens and the earth. Fact or fiction? ..... Gen 1:4-31: God's creation activity spanned six days. Fact or fiction? ..... Gen 1:27: God created man in His own image. Fact or fiction? ..... Gen 2:8: The garden of Eden. Fact or fiction? .... Gen 2:9: The tree of knowledge of good and evil. Fact or fiction? ..... Gen 2:11: Havilah and its gold: Fact or fiction? ..... Gen 2:14: The Euphrates river. Fact or fiction? ..... Gen 3:1: The serpent. Fact or fiction? ..... Gen 3:6: The fruit that Eve ate: Fact or fiction? ..... Gen 3:8-19: The fall of Adam and Eve: Fact or fiction? ..... Gen 3:22-24: The expulsion from Eden: Fact or fiction? ...... Conclusion: If the events described in the opening chapters of Genesis are read as mythical, allegorical, or fictitious, we cannot be sure that God created man or anything else. We cannot know whether there was any such thing as a serpent who beguiled Eve, or that Eve even existed. We have no historical proof of Eden or the fall of Adam and Eve. Without any reliable account of the fall, therefore, the doctrine of original sin falls apart and with it the idea that we need a savior, thus making Christ's death on the cross superfluous. ..... So which is it? The account of creation is real, factual, historical, true -- or it is mythical, allegorical, fictitious. Does it make more sense to take God at His word and to believe that what He says is the way it is, or to invent ways of explaining away the things we don't understand or feel uncomfortable with or just flatly refuse to believe or accept? --Hank | ||||||
2 | Creation Account: Mythical or Not? | Gen 1:27 | Scribe | 85193 | ||
Having experienced the Living Word I am not in a condition to need to find any scientific proofs for the Creation story of Genisis. However if I could put myself in the shoes of an honest intellectual who wants to know whether or not he can rely on the scientific accuracy of Genesis or if it is a story far removed from the original account that contains some hints of the original but not to be taken literally I would start my investigation in the area of archealogy, astronomy, and geology, and see if there are evidences of the account that Genesis gives. We will learn that as it relates to the way stars are born their is the possibility of light before the actual formation of the sun just like this account gives, we find that the order of creation, water, land, vegetaion,etc agrees with scientific knowledge on the order of the way things came about, we see that there are archaelogical finds in the oldest civilizations such as the sumerians (same area as Babylon but older) that extend to the time of nimrod after the flood that reveal stories and records of a flood, and also possible first man and woman stories associated with a serpent, However the stories in babylonia is childish and grotesquely ridiculous showing, that it was a corruption from the original, where as the Genesis account is logical and perfect in its concepts, therefore would be the original story, and the others found in archaelogy are corruptions. So in short, the Bible's account of creation has never needed correction, and remains the same century after century, but the theories proposed by men have changed constantly and continue to do so, and even in the light of the constant changes (some as drastic as revising the time it takes a planet to form, from billions of years to only 3 million which was presented last week)even in the light of these kind of radical changes in view, the arrogant man will attempt to compare the genisis account with their current ideas and judge the Genisis account as fact or fiction based on the current fantasy. However the interesting thing is that the theories of modern science keep changing in favor of the Biblical account. 3 million years is a lot longer than 6 days but not as much as the billions they once held to. The hubble space telescope is sugesting to the observers that the earth might indeed be the center of the universe and that all things are expanding away from it. Go figure. May God Bless You as You Study His Word. |
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3 | Creation Account: Mythical or Not? | Gen 1:27 | Hank | 85198 | ||
Scribe, thank you for your fine testimony. Of man who is born of a woman, Job said, he is of few days and full of trouble. He comes forth like a flower and fades away; he flees like a shadow and does not continue (cf. Job 14:1-2). People are grass, and the grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God shall stand forever (cf. Isaiah 40:7-8). Theories abound, they come and go, and so do the people who propose them. Man's "truth" of yesterday is the old wives' tale of today. Man's "truth" today will give way to another and very different "truth" tomorrow. The word of our God stands forever. And Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (Heb. 13:8) --Hank | ||||||
4 | Creation Account: Mythical or Not? | Gen 1:27 | BradK | 85204 | ||
Hank and Scribe, Well said gentlemen. A "myth" aside from its' defined meaning in Websters, to me implies humanism, i.e. liberalism. It is therefore mans' attempt to explain away the Word of God. Our faith is founded on fact, not myth! Notice that Jesus said "thy word is truth", not myth in John 17:17. And in His rebuke of satan in Matt. 4, He says "it is written". Surely our Lord is not referring to a mythological tale, but the living Word of God. Similarly, if Paul merely quotes a myth in 1 Timothy 2:13-14, is he not then contradicting himself in 2 Timothy 3:16? Certainly not! I think Paul aptly said it when he wrote "May it never be! Rather, let God be found true, though every man be found a liar,..." ( Rom. 3:4) Speaking The Truth In Love, BradK |
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5 | Creation Account: Mythical or Not? | Gen 1:27 | Hank | 85209 | ||
Brad, you do indeed speak the truth in love, and may I personally express my joy to be associated with you on this forum. You're a fine asset! --Hank | ||||||