Genesis 1

Ok I am going to reread the bible, just for the heck of it, and see some of the things that make no sense to me. As I read this I will try to blog chapter by chapter, in doing so I will also have to look at the bible a little more, if I am going to write about what I think of it.

I am also going to use the Skeptic's Annotated Bible they have some interesting notes for the bible, and sometimes I will reference those notes.

Genesis 1

• 1:6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
• 1:7 And God made the firmament and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
• 1:8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

Based on the above all of earth is heaven, so here we are at the beginning of the bible, and we seem to find that there is no heaven above earth but earth is heaven.

I just loved this
PER SAB:
Let the earth bring forth grass"
Plants are made on the third day before there was a sun to drive their photosynthetic processes (1:14-19). Notice, though, that God lets "the earth bring forth" the plants, rather than creating them directly. Maybe Genesis is not so anti-evolution after all.
Were plants created before or after humans?
Does the Bible teach evolution?

God placed the sun, moon, and stars in the firmament so that they can be used "for signs". This, of course, is exactly what astrologers do: read "the signs" in the Zodiac to predict what will happen on Earth.
Does the bible condemn astrology?
What the Bible says about astrology

• 1:16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.

Ok I find this really funny, since the moon is a planetary body, and not a source of energy able to produce light, and since the moon can be visible during the day how could it be made to rule the night, and if it was made to rule the night, should it not be visable completely during all night time hours?

• 1:17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,

firmament - Definition from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary

firmament
One entry found.

Main Entry:
fir·ma·ment Listen to the pronunciation of firmament
Pronunciation:
\ˈfər-mə-mənt\
Function:
noun
Etymology:
Middle English, from Late Latin & Latin; Late Latin firmamentum, from Latin, support, from firmare
Date:
13th century

1: the vault or arch of the sky : heavens
2obsolete : basis
3: the field or sphere of an interest or activity
— fir·ma·men·tal Listen to the pronunciation of firmamental \ˌfər-mə-ˈmen-təl\ adjective

So the question becomes what really is firmament?

Just in the first 17 verses I see contradictions that make no sense. But I am going to keep going on, and put my views here.

• 1:24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after
  his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his
  kind: and it was so.

How does the earth bring forth the creatures?

PER SAB: (1:24) "Let the earth bring forth the living creature" Does the Bible teach evolution?

• 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

I like how god says "in our image" hence our would mean more than one. So how many gods are there?

PER SAB: In Genesis 1 the entire creation takes 6 days, but the universe is about 13.7 billion years old, with new stars constantly being formed.

In reading genesis 1 I find it hard to believe much of what is written, I see contradictions, and miss direction, when you look back in time to when this would have been written it was easier for someone to convince people that there was this mysterious force in control of everything, and that what happened to you wasn't your doing our others doings but was in fact in the control of this mysterious controlling force in the sky.

Genesis for Skeptics

Since I am going to reread the bible, I am using the Skeptic's Annotated Bible I will put in things that I find interesting, and disagree with, I will refer to the SAB's notes when I think they are pertinent. Other peoples comments will be interesting. If you want to disagree with me then that is fine, but please have respect for my opinions, as I will have respect for yours. In order to get along in the world, everyone needs to respect each others opinions, even when we disagree.

The following is taken from the SAB.

Genesis Introduction

Genesis for Skeptics

Genesis has it all: sex, violence, contradictions, insults to women, absurdities, conflicts with science and history, you name it. Well, except for anything good, that is. God declared his creation to be "very good" in 1:31, but I can't find anything good in Genesis.

Be sure to check out:

• The two contradictory creation stories  1:1-2:3, 2:4-25
• God's clever, talking serpent  3:1
• God's curse of all women  3:16
• The "sons of God" copulated with the "daughters of men," and had sons who became "the mighty men of old, men of renown." 6:2-4
• "There were giants in the earth in those days." 6:4
• God, the mass murderer  7:4, 19:24
• Noah, the just and righteous  7:1
• Noah, the drunk and naked  9:20-21
• The curse of Canaan  9:22-25
• Lot [the just and righteous (2 Pet.2:7-8)] offers his daughters to a crowd of angel rapers  19:8
• A drunken Lot impregnates his daughters  19:30-36
• Abraham abandons his first son  21:10, 12
• God tells Abraham to kill his second son for a burnt offering  22:2, 10
• Jacob goes in unto Leah by mistake  29:23, 25
• Rachel buys sex with mandrakes  30:15-16
• Jacob sees God face to face and lives  32:30
• Reuben has sex with his father's [Jacob's] concubine  35:22
• Onan spills his seed; God kills Onan  38:9, 10
• Judah impregnates his daughter in law  38:16, 18