Debunking The Bible: The Atheist Challenge - Genesis 1:1
The atheist response to the text of the Bible is based primarily upon the young earth creationist interpretation, which is flawed. If I put myself objectively in the position of the atheist attempting to debunk the Bible I would start with Genesis Chapter 1. The Chapter passed the inspection of this former atheist.
The Hebrew verb consists of two different states. The perfect state indicates an action which is complete, whereas the imperfect state indicates a continuous or incomplete action.
At Genesis 1:1 the word bara, translated as created, is in the perfect state, which means that at this point the creation of the heavens and the Earth were completed. Later, as in verse 16 the Hebrew word asah, translated as made, is used, which is in the imperfect state, indicating continuous action. The heavens and Earth were created in verse 1 and an indeterminate time later they were being prepared for habitation, much the same as a bed is manufactured (complete) and made (continuous) afterwards.
What this means is that the creation was complete even before the six "days" of creation even began, in fact, later verses in the chapter reveal it was more than likely a long time in between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Heather Spoonheim on -
I think Patriot U apologists just say the bible is true because it's Gawd's word. Liberty U apologists, in my experience, like to talk a lot about Latin and Greek, making up their own definitions, citing obscure 'theologists', to 'prove' their point (Hovind style, and David's typical pattern). When David here goes back into talking about Hebrew conjugation his rhetoric really gets as pathetic as that of a teenager trying to wing his way through a history paper.
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Permalink Reply by archaeopteryx on -
Well, they both have a lot to apologize for --
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Permalink Reply by RobertPiano on -
I think it was tax evasion university. Otherwise known as prison. Why does every whack job seem to be a fellow Floridian.
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Permalink Reply by Unseen on -
When I lived in Portland, Oregon a popular radio show I listened to regularly read crazy news stories daily, and they commented on how frequently the whack jobs in the stories were Floridians.
Now I live in the Cleveland area, where I grew up. Whenever a Cleveland story came along, even if it was serious (e.g., something related to The Cleveland Clinic) they preceded the story with a few seconds of circus music followed by a honk on a clown horn.
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Permalink Reply by Ed on -
As someone who grew up around Memphis, Tennessee I still have a hard time swallowing how Cleveland, Ohio got picked over Memphis for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. How in the phuck did that happen? New Orleans, Chicago, St Louis, LA, or even Detroit makes more sense historically than CLEVELAND! : ^)
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Permalink Reply by archaeopteryx on
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Absolutely, Ed - Memphis is to R&R what Nashville is to C&W, and I can't imagine anyone placing the C&W Hall of Fame in New York City.
"NEW YORK CITY????!!!!"
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Permalink Reply by Amanda Mrakovich on -
David, aside from the fact that there is no evidence to support god creating anything (or that he exists at all). Can you explain why the chronological order (gen 1:1) of creation does not contain the actual "correct" order of the creation of man and woman (showed in gen 2)?
And also bravo to Milos on pointing out the misogyny in other parts of the fiction and all of the other awesome contributors.
I was going to post this with the other posts but honestly, I hate it when that happens and then I have to slog through page after page trying to find the new posts. Is there any way to go directly to the new posts?
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Permalink Reply by archaeopteryx on
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@Amanda - RE: "Can you explain why the chronological order (gen 1:1) of creation does not contain the actual "correct" order of the creation of man and woman (showed in gen 2)?"
I pointed out earlier that Gen 1 was written by the Yahwist group in Judea about 950 BCE, while Gen 2 was written by the Elohist Group in the Northern Kingdom of Isreal in Schechem, around 850 BCE, then combined after Israel was destroyed in 722 BCE. Different people wrote different stories, then someone pasted them together, but not knowing which (if either) was closer to the truth, just included them both.
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Permalink Reply by Amanda Mrakovich on
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I read that before but I wanted to see how David would explain it in his head. I mean he just said that god isn't all powerful, knowing, etc but somehow he is supposed to be important enough to write a book and should be worshiped. WTF I give up talking to this guy.
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Permalink Reply by David Henson on -
Amanda,
When the issue becomes does God or gods exist the question is somewhat moot to me in the sense that the Bible mentions many Gods. Moses, Satan, Molech, Judges, Angels, etc. Since to the writers of the Bible a god was anyone or anything that was considered mighty or venerated. Jehovah, the creator of life, the universe, became the God, that is, mighty, to Moses and later Israel. So there needs to be that distinction that we are talking about either the Creator or Jehovah by name.
If Jehovah were a myth he could still exist as a God as many gods mentioned in the Bible did. So it becomes moot.
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Permalink Reply by archaeopteryx on
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RE: "If Jehovah were a myth he could still exist as a God as many gods mentioned in the Bible did."
So you just kinda make up the rules as you go along - if you're not real, you don't exist, case closed! I suppose Santa Claus is a god too, after all, how else can you explain how he delivers presents all over the world in a single night? MAGIC!
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