I have been trying to hammer out my personal view of the genesis narrative
for a few weeks now. I've tried to construct one which plays fair with the
scientific data, but also doesn't sacrifice key biblical doctrines. This
is my first attempt and I probably have made a few errors. In any case,
I welcome responses, both positive and negative, though I hope you will be
kind in either case.
***
The earth was created roughly 4.5 billion years ago from the
particles of matter which God created "ex nihilo" by means of the Big
Bang. The "days" of the first chapter of Genesis are very long periods of
time during which life either evolved or was progressively created by
God's modification of DNA molecules. Early precursors to modern man were
created, along with the rest of the mammals, on the sixth "day." These
were the Australopithecines, homo habilus, homo erectus, and perhaps
others who have yet to be discovered. Although these hominids were
considerably more advanced than other animals, they were not created in
the image of God. The Hebrew scriptures say that "Adam" was created in
His image.
Adam was either created from the literal dust of the ground, or
from a dead or stillborn hominid, possibly homo erectus. Adam was the
first true "man" in the sense that he was the first of God's creation to
have a spiritual conscience and the commune with God. Adam lived anywhere
between 120,000 and 300,000 years ago and is the biological father of the
Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons (the first human ancestors to display
evidence of spirituality).
After Adam was created the earlier hominids eventually became
extinct. When the scriptures say that "no suitable helper" was found for
Adam, it would indicate that there was some sort of barrier, biological
or otherwise, which prevented Adam and his descendants from mating with
the Hominids. Therefore it was necessary for Eve the be created from
Adam's genetic material. This makes Adam the biological father of the
human race.
The two first sons of Adam and Eve were Cain and Abel. Abel kept
livestock, but Cain "worked the ground" which could indicate that he was
a "gatherer." When Cain killed Abel, the knowledge of keeping livestock
was lost for several thousand years and mankind was forced into
hunting/gathering lifestyles for the next few centuries.
After God discovered Cain's sin, Cain expressed fear that he
would be a hunted outlaw wherever he went. He was probably afraid of the
Hominid tribes that were still living throughout the world. Cain's wife,
however, was probably a daughter of Adam, since there was something which
prevented the Adamites from mating with Hominids.
The genealogies of Seth and Cain are incomplete. The word "begat"
may also mean "became the ancestor of." It is also possible that
throughout early human history God selected some individuals to live a
very long time to accomplish some task(s) that God appointed for them. If
this is true, then it is only these special, long-living individuals who
are recorded in the genealogies.
The flood of Noah was not worldwide, but was a tremendous flood
which occured somewhere in the middle east, probably not more than 10,000
years ago. Throughout the first eleven chapters of Genesis, the word
which is usually translated "earth" can also be translated "land." Also,
the verse which describes the flood covering the "highest mountains" can
also be translated "highest hills." The flood wiped out everyone in
Noah's particular corner of the globe. Noah, his family, and the animals
from that region that he brought on the ark eventually landed on Mt
Ararat in modern-day Turkey.
Finally, the confusion of languages at Babel was also a local
event in which God prevented those living at that time from constructing
an idolatrous tower by confusing their languages. Nowhere, to my
knowledge, do the scriptures explicitly say that all human languages were
born from this event.
***
Thanks for listening.
Oh, and congratulations Cheeseheads!
Travis E. Doane
tdoane@runet.edu