Preface and Introduction

A Multidisciplinary Contextualized Analysis of Select Passages From Genesis V2.0

[This is an excerpt from an exhaustive personal study of most of the first 9 chapters of the book of Genesis. This is a vastly expanded effort from the original version that can currently be found here downloadable for free. The purpose of this exercise is to compare a non-symbolic literal reading of the text to our current understanding of language, paleontology, and the physical sciences. Constructive discussion on the merits of this study is encouraged!]

Preface

We all begin our lives in a state of belief. There is belief in one’s family, the application of technology, participation in economics, our understanding of the physical sciences, and so on. In all cases, accepting conditions that one has not sought to challenge or quantify are by faith alone.

As we cannot all be experts on all things, some amount of faith is functionally necessary. However, faith is defined as belief apart from proof making it an automatic disqualifier for mastery of knowledge in any topic. Even including matters considered religious or subjective, a lack of scrutiny or honest self-examination leaves one wholly dependent on others for their identity and direction.

With our capacity for cumulative learning and critical analysis, I believe it is our duty as sentient beings to seek out knowledge and distill earnest truth for and any and all topics as far as we are able. Although we start our lives dependent on faith, to supplant that with knowledge should be our aspiration. It is this level of empirical scrutiny that I believe all topics, no matter how banal or mythical, must endure if they are to be considered true.

Although I am a proponent for the historically and sociologically positive impacts of the Christian tradition, even then I am not content to accept the Bible on faith alone. About ten years ago I set my sights on what I believed to be the most fantastic and derided accounts in the Bible: The creation story of Genesis. It is my opinion that relegating this seemingly tall tale to the status of symbolism or legend ultimately fictionalize the faith that is built upon it. In contrast, the most common literal interpretations of this story largely fail to resolve perceived conflicts between the text and the physical sciences.

About five years ago I produced an analysis of the first several chapters of Genesis which focused strictly on the text of that book. Since then I’ve recognized a consistency between these first chapters and the contents of the Bible as a whole. Contained in the following pages are the results of this vastly expanded analysis.

To qualify the expectations of those who chose to continue, these are the principles I employ to the best of my abilities:

• This is “an” analysis of selected passages and narratives. I do not claim that this is “the” definitive analysis. From an empirical perspective, no one can make such a claim.

• This is not a suggestion of what to think or how to think, but an invitation for all to critically analyze the Bible.

• This is an areligious study relying solely on the merits of the contents as written. The focus is largely on scientific feasibility and literary consistency of the narratives to minimize arbitrary acceptance of any premise.

• This is a novel hybrid analysis considering historic context, literary elements, and empirical feasibility of a highly literal interpretation.

• For those who believe these passages are simply fiction, may you find some suspension of your disbelief.

• For those who have taken the Bible on faith alone, may this analysis supplant your faith with applicable knowledge.

• For those who categorically object to religion, you will find no objection from me. All behavior compelled by belief alone is effectively religion, and my goal is to be compelled through knowledge.

May this study invoke the same peace and expanded understanding I have realized while deriving it.

Introduction

Throughout the Bible are verifiable accounts of people, places, and events with new evidence constantly being discovered making it as significant a historical reference as it is a religious text. Also, an objective analysis of societies that include individual morality, legal equality, and social standards comparable to the Bible reveals greater and more sustained progress across multiple socio-economic metrics. To be clear, this is in contrast to various monarchies, oligarchies, or caste systems where any notable achievements were realized while denying various liberties to much of the population. Even if a leader is benevolent, without an enduring social construct it typically lasts only as long as that administration. Most modern democratic libertarian-oriented societies have constitutions which include legal principles that, regardless of their inspiration, closely resemble those in the Pentateuch.

Despite these validations of thematic and historical relevance, many passages in the Bible are considered to be simply parables or supernatural tales that even the most devout believer might consider symbolic or borrowed lore. This alleged hybrid of history and the fantastic has led to much debate between those who wish to observe scripture as a plain language collection of facts and others who see it as largely allegory or, at best, historical fiction. Devout believers and religious scholars throughout history can be found at all points along this spectrum of belief.

In particular, the book of Genesis is considered to be such a fairytale. The first dozen or so chapters describe the world being created by the decree of a deity, includes people with lifespans of nearly 1,000 years, and then a flood enveloping the world. It is my opinion that the popular interpretation of these first chapters may have caused more division between people across all degrees of belief throughout history than any other passages in the Bible. These seemingly indefensible supernatural legends continue to draw ridicule from the secular and scientific communities, often at the expense of those who consider these introductory chapters for the Abrahamic faiths to be fact.

This tension of scripture was fresh on my mind as I was researching various scientific developments throughout the past century. As I delved deeper into more recent discoveries in paleontology, the emergence of quantum mechanics, and the dramatic shifts in our understanding of the origins of the universe, an increasing number of parallels appeared between these emergent theories and the Genesis “fable”. This sentiment has been echoed by several prominent scientists including Arno Penzias who, concerning his co-discovery of the cosmic microwave background, commented, “My argument is the best data we have are exactly what I would have predicted, had I had nothing to go on but the five books of Moses, the Psalms, the Bible as a whole.”

Although encouraged by such qualified sentiments, I was not satisfied with what still appeared to be a leap of faith. It was becoming increasingly difficult to resolve empirically some of what I understood the contents of Genesis to be based on the traditional interpretations as I understood them. Compelled to re-read Genesis, I then realized it was those historically endemic interpretations, not the text itself, that gave me pause.

The most familiar interpretations of the Old Testament are based on the Talmud, written between the 3rd and 6th centuries, at which time religious scholars had assumed the point of Genesis was more philosophical than literal. Even among Christian theologians, there is still heavy reliance on the assertions of individuals like Thomas Aquinas from nearly 800 years ago. While these exegeses were certainly composed with the best of intentions and in support of their cultural or religious doctrines, the empirical deficit in every case is that they do not reflect the experience of the original authors nor did they likely have a functional understanding of that prehistoric world.

I am not challenging the voracity of their convictions or anyone else’s. Also, since omniscience is impossible, some degree of interpretation is inevitable at any time and among all disciplines. However, within the last century there has been a massive expansion of scientific knowledge including an unprecedented view of ancient history. It is my opinion that we have reached a point in time where we individually have more access to a larger collective of objective knowledge regarding pre-history than at any other time before now.

Considering these factors, I challenged myself to read those first chapters of Genesis while suppressing the influence of traditional and popularized imagery to try and gain a fresh perspective. Empirically inspired, I sought to evaluate data points contained therein in a literal and deterministic fashion. This has required scrutiny of many key terms and phrases that do not align with common interpretations. And it is through intentional disregard of these long-held viewpoints that an objectively applicable reality became apparent.

It is my view that our outmoded interpretations of this ancient story are in need of reconsideration. But to simply re-read a modern paraphrase of the Bible with our 21st-century sensibilities will provide little additional insight. To fully realize any tale from antiquity, we should take every consideration to place it into the most accurate context. And by leveraging the accumulated knowledge unique to our time in history, I aim to show it is modern science itself that now can reveal expanded relevance to Genesis!