It has been brought to my attention that some arguments against the bible and it’s legitimacy are taken from the bible itself; a handful of them are regarding it’s recording of creation; Specifically the order of creation and the creation of man as recorded in the first book that is Genesis.
Let’s look at and examine the verses this atheist uses to purport the bible as fallacy.
(This is a good chunk, but then we can see everything that is being used against, and we can all have access to and see/read the same information).
Genesis 1:24 - 2:25
24 Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to (limited to, consistent with) their kind: livestock, crawling things, and wild animals of the earth according to their kinds”; and it was so [because He had spoken them into creation]. 25 So God made the wild animals of the earth according to their kind, and the cattle according to their kind, and everything that creeps and crawls on the earth according to its kind; and God saw that it was good (pleasing, useful) and He affirmed and sustained it.
26 Then God said, “Let Us (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) make man in Our image, according to Our likeness [not physical, but a spiritual personality and moral likeness]; and let them have complete authority over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the cattle, and over the entire earth, and over everything that creeps and crawls on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image, in the image and likeness of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 And God blessed them [granting them certain authority] and said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth, and subjugate it [putting it under your power]; and rule over (dominate) the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and every living thing that moves upon the earth.” 29 So God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of the entire earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you; 30 and to all the animals on the earth and to every bird of the air and to everything that moves on the ground—to everything in which there is the breath of life—I have given every green plant for food”; and it was so [because He commanded it]. 31 God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good and He validated it completely. And there was evening and there was morning, a sixth day.
The Creation of Man and Woman
1 So the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts (inhabitants). 2 And by the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested (ceased) on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. 3 So God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it [as His own, that is, set it apart as holy from other days], because in it He rested from all His work which He had created and done.
4 This is the history of [the origin of] the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day [that is, days of creation] that the [a]Lord God made the earth and the heavens— 5 no shrub or plant of the field was yet in the earth, and no herb of the field had yet sprouted, for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to [b]cultivate the ground, 6 but a [c]mist (fog, dew, vapor) used to rise from the land and water the entire surface of the ground— 7 then the Lord God [d]formed [that is, created the body of] man from the [e]dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being [an individual complete in body and spirit]. 8 And the Lord God [f]planted a garden (oasis) in the east, in Eden (delight, land of happiness); and He put the man whom He had formed (created) there. 9 And [in that garden] the Lord God caused to grow from the ground every tree that is desirable and pleasing to the sight and good (suitable, pleasant) for food; the tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the [experiential] knowledge (recognition) of [the difference between] good and evil.
10 Now a river flowed out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it divided and became four [branching] rivers. 11 The first [river] is named Pishon; it flows around the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 The gold of that land is good; bdellium (a fragrant, valuable resin) and the [g]onyx stone are found there. 13 The name of the second river is Gihon; it flows around the entire land of Cush [in Mesopotamia]. 14 The third river is named Hiddekel (Tigris); it flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.
15 So the Lord God took the man [He had made] and settled him in the Garden of Eden to cultivate and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may freely (unconditionally) eat [the fruit] from every tree of the garden; 17 but [only] from the tree of the knowledge (recognition) of good and evil you shall not eat, otherwise on the day that you eat from it, you shall most certainly [h]die [because of your disobedience].”
18 Now the Lord God said, “It is not good (beneficial) for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper [one who balances him—a counterpart who is] [i]suitable and complementary for him.” 19 So the Lord God formed out of the ground every animal of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. 20 And the man gave names to all the livestock, and to the birds of the air, and to every animal of the field; but for Adam there was not found a helper [that was] suitable (a companion) for him. 21 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam; and while he slept, He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. 22 And the rib which the Lord God had taken from the man He made (fashioned, formed) into a woman, and He brought her and presented her to the man. 23 Then Adam said, “This is now bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman,
Because she was taken out of Man.”
24 For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. 25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed or embarrassed.
You may have noticed it too, but Donald Morgan of infidels.org, uses verse 2:19 (God forming the animals and bringing them to Adam), to discredit all of the biblical count of creation, and thus the bible all together.
From a surface level that lacks understanding, it seems he makes a good point.
But before we make the same assumption/mistake, it would be wise to consider some things;
Firstly, if Moses (the transcriber of Genesis), was crafting a story, don’t you think that he would have recognized such a contradiction, especially when it is just lines away from that which it is contradicting, and have started over to make the document without error?
If he was in fact story crafting, such an error would reveal he was a complete idiot, and so would be everyone throughout history, and the only non idiots would be atheists who reject the bible. (But only someone of arrogant ignorance (an idiot), could believe all people other than atheists to be idiots).
Secondly, if Moses was a fraud, wouldn’t at least one person thousands of years ago have read it and either changed it (if it was about manipulation and control of others), or else called it out to discredit it’s claims, and thus resulting in there being no Torah, at minimum parts of the Quran not existing, and likewise at least the first five books of the Bible, would have been eradicated long ago, and we would not even be able to have such a discussion now?
Some might be inclined to suggest that perhaps everyone around him (Moses), was illiterate and so they would never have known what he had written.
(Everyone was not), but if everyone was illiterate, then what was the purpose of his writing it down?
To control others? How would that be of benefit to him when he was already quite old and soon to die?
Someone else might want to suggest that everyone around was dumb, and just believed whatever was fed to them.
To be able to make such an assertion, such a person does not have the slightest understanding of the human mind.
Such a person might also want to read Genesis 3, in which Eve questions and begins to doubt the Lord and the validity of His word. Though she was going against God, the example shows that she was exercising THOUGHT/THINKING and was not empty headed nor programmed.
Another such example to investigate would be the leading up to the exodus (found in Exodus (the second book)), and how even Moses was concerned that the people would not believe nor follow him simply because he informs them of his interaction with God, and would not be able to convince Pharaoh to do what the Lord was telling Moses to do.
Neither Pharaoh nor the Israelites responded with lemming mentality. ‘Oh God told you? Ok let's go’.
No, they didn’t trust nor believe him. And Pharaoh put up a massive resistance which brought about a lot of destruction to the Egyptians. Therefore God had to work great miraculous wonders in order to convince them all that the Lord was indeed with him (Moses) and that what he was saying to them was what He (the Lord), was planning for them.
Thank you for your questions, but let us get back to the purpose of this article.
So now can we agree that this actually might have been purposed to be written as it has been?
Now we can then ask the question of ‘why’..
I will admit that I am not completely sure (and I am not completely sure, because I have not received divine revelation on this, nor have I yet heard of anyone sharing any such information. Perhaps someone has, but I have personally not yet been introduced to it); that being said, based on the excerpt (and that which surrounds it), I have narrowed it down to two potential explanations:
One:
Either, Genesis 1:24 was referring to God having created more than one man and woman, and Adam was highlighted because he was created and purposed for the Garden and to begin the lineage of Jesus, and sin was introduced to the world through him.
And if this is so, then perhaps just like with man, God already made the animals, but made each one again, to bring before Adam as it says in 2:19.
Or..
Two:
Consider Genesis chapter 1 to be the birds eye view of creation; or likened to a view of the earth from outer space. You see it in it’s entirety, and other than it’s colors, and any other such vague observations you could make from such a vantage point, though captivating as it would be, you see none of the beginning of intricate details until you get much much closer.
Genesis chapter 2 therefore would be that which gives more details on the creation of mankind and what took place on day 6 (verses 1:24-31).
Perhaps verse 2:19 is not stating that the Lord God formed them right then and there, but simply reiterating the fact that He was the One Who did indeed form them, and that which He had formed He brought before the man we know as Adam. (which in Hebrew means ‘man’).
(Personally I am leaning toward #2).
A final consideration for this article, is that Genesis was written in Hebrew, and although this specific translation is translated directly from the Hebrew text into English, the English language (especially today’s) is so primitive and two-dimensional especially when compared to the Hebrew language.., My point being that the text has the potential to be much more revealing and clarifying if we understood Hebrew fluently.
In conclusion, the argument against the Biblical recording of creation and mankind, and the assertion of biblical fallacy based on the accusation that the bible is contradicting itself and is therefore a farce, and is in itself a false accusation.
Glory be to God our Creator and giver of Life!
May each of His created beings be reunited with Him with a repentant heart and increasingly joyful appreciation for His absolutely gracious gift of Jesus paying the price for our rebellion against Him, so that we could be united with Him!
Source of ‘contradictions’ https://infidels.org//library/modern/donald_morgan/contradictions.html
If you don’t have a bible, you can read (any version in most languages) for free at www.biblegateway.com
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