(Note: This is another episode in my continuing exploration of the Bible. You can read my series introduction here. All Bible quote are NIV and cannot be used for commercial purposes. Read copyright information here.) ​ ​

In Part 1 of my look at Genesis 4, I left off asking a few questions: Why does God need sacrifices, or to be worshiped for that matter? What is sin? Did God’s rejection of Cain lead to Abel’s death? Did God fail in his creation of humankind?  Tough questions…but honest ones. Seriously, let’s look at God’s track record in the first four chapters of the Bible. Mankind falls from Grace and we get the Bible’s first recorded murder. Everything appears to be going wrong and FAST. I wonder what God is thinking at this point. 
 
Let’s pick up where we left off in Genesis 4. 

9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”
“I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” (NIV)

10 The Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. 11 Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.” (NIV)

This is the first instance of God expressly cursing a human. Imagine, the creator of all existence putting a curse on you, a little mortal. That’s a big burden to bear. Cain is cast into exile from what is left of his family. Not only that, he is separated from the only trade he knows – farming. How will he feed himself? “Restless Wanderer” brings to mind nomad. Cain the Barbarian. You’d think Cain must become a gatherer or a hunter, as if God had cast him backwards down the evolutionary ladder. 

13 Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is more than I can bear. 14 Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.” (NIV)

Can one truly be hidden from an all-seeing, all knowing divine presence? Is there no hope for Cain’s reconciliation with God? It makes me think. 

Cain is obviously concerned about being killed by those he encounters during his exile, to which I ask…who exactly is he afraid of? In the widely accepted, classical interpretations of the Bible, Adam, Eve and Cain are presently the ONLY humans on the face of the earth. Yet, Cain hints to other humans who might do him harm. This brings me back to some thoughts I had way back in Episode 2, where I speculated, as written in the Bible, other humans were created by God on the 6th Day outside the Garden, but Adam was specially formed on Day 3. This theory seems to gain credence in Genesis 4 with the implied possibility of other humans being present in significant numbers.

15 But the Lord said to him, “Not so; anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.” Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. 16 So Cain went out from the Lord’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden. (NIV)

It almost feels as if Cain wants God to kill him, to put him mercifully out of his misery. God has other plans and sentences Cain to “life without parole”, to be forever tormented by his own conscious. What type of punishment God intends by “seven times over” I cannot fathom, but it doesn’t sound pleasant. I also wonder what kind of mark God placed on Cain that it would be recognized by those outside of Adam’s clan. 

At this point I would expect the tale of Cain to be over, and we would return to Adam’s family story. Not so, as the story of Cain continues for a little longer. 

17 Cain made love to his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was then building a city, and he named it after his son Enoch. 18 To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad was the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael was the father of Methushael, and Methushael was the father of Lamech.

19 Lamech married two women, one named Adah and the other Zillah. 20 Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who live in tents and raise livestock.21 His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all who play stringed instruments and pipes. 22 Zillah also had a son, Tubal-Cain, who forged all kinds of tools out of bronze and iron. Tubal-Cain’s sister was Naamah. (NIV)

Cain found a wife (and love?) and had kids. Okay, I’m going to wholly accept the theory there were other people, other than Adam and Eve, on earth at this time. I’m going to choose to accept this version for two reasons: 1) That’s the way I read it, even if it flies in the face of thousands of years of interpretation. 2) It sounds feasible from where I stand in 2017, while the historical interpretation does not. I’m going forward with that premise and not going to revisit the topic again unless something comes along to shake this theory. 
​
To repeat, Cain finds a wife, has kids and establishes a city. It doesn’t seem like a life doomed for “restless wandering” to me. If you ask me, cities are a pretty non-wandering type of lifestyle. In fact, Cain’s life style gets downright sedentary as he fathers five generations and his linage is assured. I’m actually trying to figure out how he was cursed. 

NOT WHAT I LEARNED IN SUNDAY SCHOOL: If you take the Bible as written, Cain has a major influence on human civilization. Unexpectedly, he doesn't go backwards on the "evolutionary ladder", he and his clan move forward. To be blunt, he invents civilization. Cain and his descendants are the first Biblical mentions of 1) cities (metropolitan civilization), 2) musical instruments (arts), and 3) metal working (high tech). Cain is not only the Father of Murder, he and his progeny takes us from the Stone-age to the Iron-age in four generations.  

Reading on, it becomes clearer the vast majority of humanity can likely call Cain their progenitor.

23 Lamech said to his wives,
“Adah and Zillah, listen to me;
    wives of Lamech, hear my words.
I have killed a man for wounding me,
    a young man for injuring me.
24 If Cain is avenged seven times,
    then Lamech seventy-seven times.” (NIV)
 
Lamech continues the family tradition. We see the restless descendants of Cain, city dwellers who do not till the soil but somehow manage to eat. They are never happy, never satisfied with what they have, and always envious and full or rage for what they don’t have. Perhaps Lamech’s amplification curse has filtered down to us. We dwell in our cities, surrounded by our man-made wonders and smugly call ourselves wise, all the while we slaughter our fellow man. Perhaps Cain’s mark is still upon us. 
 
25 Adam made love to his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, “God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.” 26 Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh.
At that time people began to call on the name of the Lord. (NIV)

Enoch, son of Cain, forges one line, and Enosh, son of Seth forges another, and the people of the land begin to seek out God. We’ll turn the page to Genesis 5 in the next episode.  Before I leave Genesis 4, however, I want to revisit the questions I asked in Part 2. 
 
Why does God want sacrifices and why does he want to be worshipped? Up to this point, one of God’s primary behaviors is that of concerned parent. Ok, then I will put his behaviors in context of that of a parent. Based on everything up to this point, God cares what happens to humanity. We were created in his image, right?  Creation is an act of love, and simply put, God loves us. Here is a question for the moms and dads out there - why do we want our children to be appreciative? Simple, because it is a way they show they love us. Worship is an expression of love AND respect at the highest level. Sacrifice is the physical manifestation of that love, where mortals bring forth the best they have and lay it before their creator. Sacrifice is a symbol of a loving relationship. We don’t know what initiated Cain and Abel’s decision to sacrifice to God, only what they chose to offer. They offered their best. Abel offered his sacrifice with a clean, open heart. Cain did not. As I stated in the previous episode, I don’t think it was the type of offering, but how it was offered, that God made is decision whether to accept or not accept the sacrifices. The lesson here is you can offer everything to God, but if you do it with deception and evil in your heart he won’t accept it. 
 
What is sin? As stated in the previous episode, its mentioned for the first time in Genesis 4, but not defined. Well, up to this point these are the things God has expressed disfavor about: disobedience (Adam and Eve’s eating of the forbidden fruit), anger and jealousy and murder (Cain). In each case, the results have been detrimental to the people who performed these behaviors. Also, after each act God and mankind become more separated from one another.  Sin hurts the person who chooses to do it, and those he or she loves. Sin is a self-inflicted wound of the heart that separates us from God. Sin is spiritual suicide. 
 
 
Next question, did God set up Cain to murder by rejecting his sacrifice? I’ll answer that with another question…what if God accepted Cain’s sacrifice? He would have accepted, and legitimized, Cain’s behavior. That act would have been a lie and against God’s inherent nature as a loving parent and, in the long run, would have hurt Cain. So, because of God’s nature and his love for Cain, he owed Cain the truth. Remember, mankind had partaken from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, so Cain knew his behavior was wrong and he was aware of his choice to do right. With the truth, God gave him an avenue back to redemption. After receiving God’s solid advice, Cain still chose sin and entered into a state of deeper rebellion against God. So, no, God did not set up Cain for failure. Cain set up Cain for failure. 
 
 
Did God fail in his attempt to create a race in his image? I’ll answer that with a question, too…who am I to judge God’s success or failure? Like a cliché, you haven’t failed until you quit. God hasn’t quit. 
 
As of Genesis 4, God hasn’t wiped out humanity and started over.  SPOILER ALERT: That comes later. 
 
See you next episode. 
 
(Programming note…I’m stepping away from the computer for a few days, so it will be about a week before the next installment.)

I'm interrupting my blog series on the Bible for a brief update on my writing  progress. 

As a way of saying "I'm sorry this is taking so long" to my readers, here is an unedited sample from my upcoming novel THE CHRONICLES OF FU XI, Book 3: THE BASTARD GODS.

I'm making slow but steady progress and I am still hoping for a 2018 release. 

​*********************************

The Demon Fish

The two men stood, side-by-side at the barge’s edge, in comfortable contemplation as if pondering something so casual as an afternoon swim. Arms crossed, Levidi rested all his weight on one leg like a crane, scratching the back of his calf with his toe. Ghalen leaned lazily on his crooked spear and scratched his nose. They talked softly as the enormous fin sliced slowly back and forth in the gentle waves a few yards away. 

“They’re not serious, are they?” Ezra whispered to Sana. “It’s almost a third the length of the barge.”

“Yes,” she replied flatly. Sana had seen this scene many times before among her people, the Scythians. It was the way men spoke to one another before the hunt, or before battle. These were murmurs of strategy, scheming or just mischief.
A crowd of men and boys gathered behind Sana and Ezra, careful not to get close enough to the edge, lest they unbalance the barge. 

“It’s too far,” Levidi kept his voice level, but Sana could detect his excitement at the size of the monster cruising just below the surface. 

“I wonder how it tastes?” Ghalen squinted, as if in deep thought. 
​
“I bet its wondering the same thing,” Sana remarked just loud enough to ensure being heard. 

Ghalen ignored her. 

“Its hide looks tough,” Levidi pondered. 

“Yes,” Ghalen raised his eyebrow. That it does. The spear may not penetrate.” 

“Perhaps its hide is tough enough to repair our deck bindings.” Okta stepped alongside Sana, followed by Alaya.

“Don’t encourage them!” Sana gave Okta a not-so-gentle shove to the laughter of the crowd.

Okta shrugged. “It’s just a fish.”

“Men are all the same. Not a shred of sense.” Sana remembered how a much smaller demon fish had sliced a sea dog in two with just a bite. This one looked like it could swallow a man whole. Sana looked around for Aizarg. She spotted him on the opposite end of the barge, back to them and staring off into the distance. 

He will be of no help, she thought. 

The demon fish began to slowly cruise closely alongside the barge. Levidi, Ghalen and the gallery followed. 

“We’re going to have to jab it if we stand any chance of puncturing the skin,” Levidi said. 

Ghalen’s shook his head. “It’s too far for a spear jab, I’ll have to throw.” 

Levidi pursed his lips and looked as if calculating the distance.  “You’ll just lose the spear.” 

“That twig isn’t going to penetrate that thing’s skin.” Arms crossed and losing her patience, Sana followed a few paces behind. Behind them, the Lo straggled along, heads craning and murmuring expectantly. 

The sun lorded high above, the dappling reflections making it difficult for Sana to see. The big gray fin, three hands high, sliced back and forth as if daring the men to attack. 

Ezra leaned toward Sana and spoke in a low tone, “Even if they do spear it, how are they going to get it on the barge?” 

“I have no idea.”

After a few more minutes of discussion, they agreed to let Ghalen throw the spear. 

“Remember, that is my spear,” Levidi reminded.

 “I’ll keep that in mind.” Ghalen screwed up his face in concentration and brushed back his thick blonde hair. Then, he cocked back his arm.

Ghalen’s skill with the spear always amazed Sana, and was legendary among the Lo. If any man here had a chance of slaying the beast, it was him. 

The wooden tip hit dead square behind the shark’s head, and bounced off harmlessly. It landed with a weak splash before beginning to drift away.

Levidi shrugged. “Tough fish.”

Ghalen nodded. “It will take metal to punch through that hide.”

They looked at one another and, as if reading each others’s thoughts, grinned knowingly.

“I know that look.” Alaya grabbed Sana’s arm. “He’s about to do something stupid.”

Ghalen and Levidi simultaneously drew their daggers from their loin-cloth straps. 

“They’re not…” Sana looked on in disbelief.

“They are!” Ezra smiled broadly and snatched the knife from his loincloth. 

“One of us takes the top, the other the bottom,” Ghalen said.

“Fair enough, stay clear of its tail,” Levidi gave each of his legs a brief shake to limber up.

“Good point.”

“Jaws, too”

“Another good point.”

“Levidi! Stop this foolishness,” Alaya screamed.

“It’s okay, my song bird. Me and Ghalen know what we’re doing.”

“Ghalen?” Sana asked incredulously. 

“It’s just a fish,” he winked at her.

“It’s a fish as big as a wooly rhino with the teeth of a lion!”

Ghalen and Levidi nodded at one another and, knives drawn, a moment later jumped on top of the beast.

A mighty cheer went up from the Lo.

Ezra scrambled to join them, but Sana snatched him back by the arm. “Don’t be stupid. You swim worse than I do.”

Knife between his teeth, Levidi dove deep as Ghalen grabbed the beast’s dorsal fin and plunged his blade just ahead of the fin.

The water exploded in spray and blood. The beast rolled and thrashed, and Sana finally saw the monster’s true size... and its teeth. Each bigger than a lion’s tooth, they stood in jagged rows. If either man lost their grip, the creature would spin about and rend them to pieces. Just as bad, its crescent-shaped tail would smash them. 

Sana shuddered as she finally got a look at the beast’s eyes, which were unlike anything she’s ever seen in a fish or land dwelling creature.  They were like obsidian stones, lifeless and cold. 

Every roll revealed Levidi clinging  to the pectoral fin; each stab created a brief red bloom on the it’s underbelly before the sea washed away the blood. Ghalen held on to a dorsal fin and sliced bloody ribbons down the beast’s back. 

Okta looked on, though to Sana he didn’t seem concerned. “Ezra, go fetch one of the two good coils of rope from my raft.”

Ezra slowly backed away, as if unable to take his eyes off the battle. 

“Go, son. We’re going to need that rope soon.”

The beast suddenly snapped its body into a “U” shape, shrugging Ghalen off its fin. Before Sana could register what was happening, the fish snapped the other way, slapping Ghalen with its tail so violently he sailed out of the water and onto the deck, bowling over several men lined up along the edge. His knife skittered along the deck and stopped as Sana’s feet. 
​
Okta clenched his knife between his teeth and dove in, followed by most of the Lo men. Soon, men covered the demon fish like ants, knives piercing and slashing. 

Ghalen lay unmoving, a large red abrasive rash on his chest weeping blood in some places.  Sana dropped to her knees beside him, shaking his chest. 

Alaya knelt beside her. “He’s not breathing!”

“Ghalen!” Sana pushed on his chest, trying to rouse him. 

Ghalen reached up and grabbed Sana by the back of the neck, pulling her down and kissing her hard. He rolled over on top of her, and pressed his body against hers. At first, she resisted, but  Ghalen pressed her arms over her head, and inserted his hips between her legs. She began to melt as his tongue, and the tang of salt and blood, filled her mouth and ignited her Scythian blood. 

He pressed harder. She pressed back, and let a moan escape.

Alaya scooted back and giggled. 

“Sana?” Ghalen whispered tenderly. 

“Yes?” Sana panted and fought the urge to push her pelvis harder against his. 

“Where’s my knife?”

She looked at him oddly, wondering if she heard him correctly. 

He glanced left and his face lit up. “There it is!” He snatched it off the deck, scrambled up and leapt back into the water to join the melee.

Cool air invaded the spaces where hot flesh once covered. Sana exhaled and covered her face with her hands. “I hope the beast bites his head off.”

Alaya giggled again. 
 

*********************************

Did you like the sample but haven't read any of my books? Begin the adventure with the historical fantasy novel BLACK SEA GODS.

(Note: This is another episode in my continuing exploration of the Bible, and the final part of my 3-part look at Genesis 3. Click here to read Part One and Two.  You can read my series introduction here. All Bible quote are NIV and cannot be used for commercial purposes. Read copyright information here.) ​ ​

Today, I wrap up my exploration of Genesis 3. Last week I discussed God’s curse on the serpent. This week I’m going to explore God’s judgement on Adam and Eve and what it means for humanity.

It’s important to note that in the case of Eve and Adam, unlike what happened to the serpent, God does not utter the words “Cursed are you…” This is critical, and this fact, upon closer inspection, is absolutely profound to the rest of the Bible and human history. 
​
Let’s look at what God said to the woman first.

16 To the woman he said,
“I will make your pains in childbearing very severe;
    with painful labor you will give birth to children.
Your desire will be for your husband,
    and he will rule over you.” (NIV)

These are consequences, not curses. Reading this, one can logically assume the woman had not given birth, as the narrative makes no mention of children or sexual relations.  Now that man and woman are doomed to die they must have offspring in order to continue their linage. Why is that even important? Why didn’t God just wipe them out and start over? I’m going to get to that later. Bottom line, the woman must now suffer the natural consequences of procreation.  “Your desire will be for your husband…” is also a natural consequence, as without it no one is having kids. This goes back to the pre- and post-puberty analogy of the Fall I discussed in the last episode. As for the man ruling over the woman, I think this is also a natural consequence of the division of family roles in primitive hunter-gatherer or agrarian societies. 

I can assume a few things from this passage: 1) Adam and Eve didn’t have a sexual relationship prior to them eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. 2) Therefore, they had no children. 3) Since all of their needs were taken care of by God and daily survival wasn’t an issue, they had no traditional sex-based roles - they were like children and equals. Genesis 3 essentially implies inequality of the sexes, like spiritual death, is a consequence of sin and disobedience to God. Division of family labor, with woman as formally and socially subservient in order to survive, is a natural consequence of a life of toil in a pre-industrial society. This fact has been consistent in almost every human civilization.  A funny observation, but only in the 20th and 21st Century in the Western world has modern technology and Western-thought permitted a gradual return to equality between the sexes enjoyed by Adam and Eve. 

So, what of God’s judgement on Adam?

17 To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’
“Cursed is the ground because of you;
    through painful toil you will eat food from it
    all the days of your life.
18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
    and you will eat the plants of the field.
19 By the sweat of your brow
    you will eat your food
until you return to the ground,
    since from it you were taken;
for dust you are
    and to dust you will return.” (NIV)

Why would God curse the ground (earth?) because of Adam? Once again, I think its more like cursed as a consequence, not as a condemnation. Man transforms from gardener to hardscrabble farmer/gatherer. The world turns from gentle and giving to wild and hostile, unwilling to surrender its bounty without a struggle. Man will no longer care for it as much as battle it. I think of the desertification of places like North Africa under the onslaught of mankind, and God’s words make perfect sense. 

20 Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living.
21 The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. (NIV)

Curious that God named the man Adam, but left the woman’s name up to Adam. Its also interesting that she isn’t given a name until after the Fall. 

Is Eve truly mother of all the living? Or does this mean mother to the linage that would lead to Moses and David and Christ? I don’t know.  Remember in Episode 2  God created mankind on Day 6 and commanded them to be fruitful and multiply, as opposed to Adam, who is created on what clearly appears to be Day 3. There seems to be a conflict here, which goes back to my statements in previous episodes that the writing in Genesis 3 feels very different from that what comes before. (SPOILER ALERT: It feels different from what follows, too.) 

I think there may be a deeper meaning to “mother of all the living”. I’m going out on a limb here, but I think Eve’s role is pivotal for mankind’s ultimate redemption. Patience, because I’m going to come back to this point at the end. 

Its also interesting that it is God, not Adam, that provides clothes for them to venture into the outer world. In my mind, this implies Adam and Even lack most of the basic survival skills, other than perhaps Adam’s possible ability to cultivate. Imagine what terror Adam and Eve must have felt, two children in a man and woman’s body, suddenly being forced to grow up all at once. I think perhaps the best word might be “trauma.”

22 And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” (NIV)

I really want to know who this “us” is. That is the second time the Bible mentions a divine “us.” Who is with God? This fascinates me. 

Next point, remember earlier in Genesis 3 when the serpent said, “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” This was the truth, and God confirms it. What does that mean for mankind?  In Genesis 1, God states humanity is created in his image. Now, in Genesis 3, mankind has attained a level of knowledge regarding the universe previously reserved for God and this mysterious “us” he addresses from time-to-time. This knowledge is powerful, but is corrupting to the flesh and spirit. I’m going to use a line from my novel BLACK SEA GODS…I am too small a cup for what has been poured into me. We are too small of vessels for the power the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil has bestowed upon us, and that power eventually kills.
​
Let’s talk about the Two Trees. 

In the previous episode I theorized the serpent simultaneously exists in this world, and not of this world. In Episode 2, I stated I believe the snake represents Chaos, or perhaps more accurately, possibility. I believe this holds true for the trees as well. They are symbols of powerful natural forces that transcend the tangible universe. I sort of think of them as pillars of creation, like flying arches that lift the great cathedrals of old. 

I think the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil represents intellect, or perhaps self-awareness. It is the tangible, the logical, the real. This tree’s branches hold up the sky and its roots anchors the bones of the universe. It is math, both Newtonian and Quantum. It is the atom and the galaxy, all we can see, touch, feel or prove. It is law and morality. It is science and fact. We cling to this tree like a life boat and tap its sap for our mortal strength.  It is physical pleasure and mortal suffering. It is DNA without the spirit. Its a gun or a knife, and the terrible choice of how to use it. No matter how big and grand and beautiful, in the end the kingdom of this tree is still finite. Its gatekeeper is the Serpent, Chaos, always lurking in the branches or in the weeds at its roots. Just when we think we are masters of this kingdom, it strikes. Eventually, we come to the end of the math, and yet still cry out “Why?” The fruit of this tree is sweet and terrible and always leaves us unsatisfied. We cannot live by this bread alone.

So what of the mysterious Tree of Life? This tree wasn’t forbidden to Adam and Eve, but we have no record of them actually eating of it. For that, let’s look at the last passage of Genesis 3.

23 So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life. (NIV)

This final passage of Genesis 3 gives ultimate hope to mankind and sets the rest of the Bible in motion. God could have wiped out humanity right then and there as a spoiled race, unworthy for continued existence. But he didn’t. He could have removed the Tree of Life forever from our reach, and left us to eternal languish without hope and thereby creating a hell on earth. But he didn’t. He removed the Tree of Life from our sight, and placed a guardian to watch over it, offering hope that one day we may again return to its roots and eat of its fruit. 

What is the Tree of Life? It is the gateway beyond the Kingdom of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Only here can Eve’s question truly be answered. It is laughter and tears, hugs and passion. This tree is conscious and faith. The Tree is compassion, a candle in the darkness, and fireflies on a summer’s evening. The Tree is hope, a gateway eternally facing the east and a new sunrise. The Tree is love, the breath of life that shakes the limbs of the Tree of Knowledge like a mighty wind. Its roots transcend the bones of the earth and its branches burrow beyond the curtain of the heavens. This tree is both eternal love and eternal life, and only under its branches can we once again be one with God.  Its fruit is the fruit of the spirit, the antidote to the poison of Chaos.  Its gatekeeper is the cherubim and its flaming sword, which I believe symbolizes ultimate truth. Only through truth can one find their way back to the Tree of Life. Without Truth,  the tree, and Eden, are forever out of our reach.  Is there a path back to the Tree of Life?

I believe so.

Genesis 3 is the most important passage in the Old Testament not because of the Fall of Man, but because of the hope God offers. Eve is not an accessory in the story, or a villain, or a victim. She is the pathway for the return to salvation. Read Genesis 3:23-24 carefully. It clearly states only Adam is banished from Eden, and makes no mention of Eve. Yes, Eve leaves with Adam, but Eve was never truly banished from the Garden. For Eve, God offers a sliver of Grace and, through her, to Adam as well.  Let me explain.

“Why?” is a question women are somehow uniquely gifted to ask. Every time a mother witnesses her baby’s eyes flutter open for the first time she glimpses eternity,  a universe of unlimited possibilities. She sees Eden before the serpent. She sees Hope.

Hope. Husbands understand this inherent nature about the women we love. It is because, and through, our women’s hope that men find our faith. This is why we should cherish them, and why we toil the fields with the sweat of our brow until we eventually return to the dust. Men understand, that as a gardner we may plant the seed and tend the garden, but it is the woman who brings new life into the world. Through his woman’s love, and wonderful children she brings into this world, can man catch the distant fragrance of paradise lost. A Woman’s Hope and a Man’s Faith are joined in Love. Through Love new life is created and another small step is taken back to the Tree of Life. 

Truth is the gatekeeper of the Tree, keeping the Serpent of Chaos at bay. Hope is a vision of the tree, left to us by God after the Fall. Faith, as revealed through scripture, is the path back to the tree.  Love, the child of Hope and Faith, that is the greatest of all gifts and is the fruit of the Tree of Life. Love enables us to transcend this world and step into eternity with our maker.
​
Finally, this brings me back to my earlier point about Eve’s pivotal role in humanity’s ultimate redemption. I believe it is through love, and a woman’s unique gift of bringing new life into the world, why Eve was not forever banished from the Garden. This is why the Tree of Life was not removed from this world, why all women, from Eve to Mary to today, share an unbreakable bond with the Tree of Life. In the moment of birth, when a mother pulls her newborn to her breast and hears her child’s first cry, the mighty cherub lowers his flaming sword for the briefest of moments. Through the veil of her pain and tears, the daughters of Eve are permitted the tiniest glimpse of eternity. In the eyes of her child, women receive the answer to Eve’s question. 

In the moment of her child’s birth, she walks again, hand-in-hand with God in Eden on the morning of the Seventh Day.
​

Brian Braden is the author the book THE ILLUSION EXOTIC, the historical fantasy novel BLACK SEA GODS and several other exciting books. 

 Note: This is another episode in my continuing exploration of the Bible. Read Part One of this look at Genesis 3 here.  You can read my series introduction here. Just remember, I am not a Biblical scholar, I’m just a fat guy in his pajamas (it’s actually just an old tee short and gym shorts) thinking out loud. ​

​(All Bible quote are NIV and cannot be used for commercial purposes. Read copyright information here.) ​

​Last week I posed the possibility it was no accident that it was Eve, not Adam, who took the first bite of the forbidden fruit. I also discussed my thoughts that the fruit might actually symbolize the most pivotal of all questions, the gateway to all knowledge – “Why?”  Was the serpent required in this act and was this creature necessarily evil? Would mankind have eventually eaten the fruit on their own? Did God even intend for humanity to eventually partake in the tree of knowledge?  

Let’s pick up where we left off in Genesis 3…

8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” (NIV)

There are a few side-discussions in this passage worth noting. This is the first time the woman is referred to as Adam’s “wife.” I think this is no accident, as their roles had suddenly and dramatically changed with the consumption of the forbidden fruit. They see themselves naked and they understood the concept of sin. Prior, they were like two children, now they are two naked adults, with all the sexual baggage and roles that go with being a grown-up.

I’m also curious as what is meant by “Cool of the day”?  I must admit, I did some research here to find out what others thought. There are several ways to interpret the original language, from “wind storm” to “cool of the evening,” to “late afternoon near sunset.” I think it all depends on how you want to imagine how God makes his entrance into the Garden. Does he storm in or stroll in nonchalantly?  God’s relationship with Adam and the woman to this point has been a direct, personal relationship. God has been a parent.  

Let me ask the reader a question: In what manner did your mother or father enter your room when they had discovered you had done something wrong? Perhaps that is how the reader should interpret this scene. 

It occurs to me “cool of the day” may also indicate the end of the day, such as early evening.  I picture this happening on Day 6 or maybe Day 7, when God has completed his work or is about to complete it. He is beginning to relax and enjoy the fruits of his labor. Keep this thought in mind because I’m going to revisit it. 

10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”

11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” (NIV)

I find it hard to believe God didn’t know all of this would happen, being that he is God. So why the theatrics? Once again, this is pretty much how a concerned parent would react, thereby cementing God’s relationship with humanity as that of divine father. Why not mother? I don’t know, but my father scared the hell out of me when I knew I was in trouble. 

12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”
"She made me do it!” Oh, so now she’s not “wife,” just “the woman you put here with me.” Sure, I see where this is going. 
13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”
The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” (NIV)

The woman tells the truth.  The man and woman’s responses to God are exactly what one would expect from a child confronted by a parent. What happens next is, as far as I can tell, the first three instances in the Bible of God’s Divine Judgement.  God addresses the serpent, woman and man in that order. 

14 So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,
“Cursed are you above all livestock    and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly    and you will eat dust    all the days of your life. 15 And I will put enmity    between you and the woman,    and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head,    and you will strike his heel.” (NIV)

God directly curses the serpent. Supposedly, this is why snakes crawl and women hate them and why men kill them. This is one of those “And that’s why…” ‘mythic-esque’ instances in the Bible, which are rare and only exist in Genesis. This brings me back to a few of those questions about the serpent I asked in the last episode.  

Based on this passage we can draw four conclusions about the serpent's existence prior to God’s curse: 1) It was explicitly created by God and therefore belonged in the garden, 2) It was a wild animal and therefore of this world, and 3) it was “crafty,” 4) Oh, and it talked. Of course, snakes don’t do that now but being rendered mute wasn’t one of God’s curses. 

Many other creation myths include talking critters, which often represent otherworldly spirits.  However, nowhere else in the Bible do earthly wild animals talk. Perhaps the serpent is more than just a wild animal, maybe it exists simultaneously in the earthly and spiritual realms. I think that makes sense because Eden itself seems to exist in both realms simultaneously. Let’s look at the serpent’s behavior. 

The serpent made a choice to disobey God and tempt the woman. Did it already have free will? Had it already tasted the forbidden fruit, or was it created with that inherent knowledge?  Does the serpent represent some ultimate evil or is it just a mischievous interloper? I don’t think so. Once again, the scripture is clear – it is created by God, and crafty does not necessarily mean evil. 

GEEK ALERT: The serpent is of this world, and not of this world. It is a symbol, like the two trees, of natural forces that power the universe, and yet transcend it. I believe the snake represents Chaos, or perhaps more accurately Possibility. I could go into a long dissertation of Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle, Chaos Theory, determinism versus initial conditions, and a lot of other stuff  that I am in no way qualified to talk about but think is cool. Let’s just call it the “Sh…(u-uhm) Stuff Happens Effect."

What I am about to say, I say with deep reverence and awe. I believe God programmed the universe with, to use a computer programming term, a randomizer function. In other words, God had to build dice into the machine called Creation. I think he did this because it was the only way the universe  would work.  The serpent represents the engine of possibility. It’s like the plutonium that drives the reactor of existence – powerful, necessary and sometimes deadly.  I believe God purposely made something he couldn’t control, or at least he chooses not to directly control. He is a God of Laws, and to interfere with the Engine of Possibility would, I believe, break the universe. 

Eve’s “Why?” was quickly followed by “Why did this have to happen?”

​ No matter how well we lay our plans, no matter how careful we are, Stuff Happens. Horrible things often happen to good people, and I truly believe God has nothing to do with it. God is in charge, but must keep his hands off the gears. The serpent is not necessarily evil, it is the chance for evil. This is the root of God’s cursing the snake. 

Going back to my point from Episode 4, God could have placed places both trees anywhere else, hidden from mankind’s sight and reach. Instead, he placed the trees front and center. I’m going to go out on a limb (get it,  a “limb”?), but perhaps somewhere in God’s plan, Adam and Eve were destined to eat of the fruits, but at the time and place of God’s choosing. The serpent struck first. God rolled the dice, and Eve took a bite. For that first choice, humanity had to pay a price. God was pissed, and I think that is true meaning of this first curse against the snake.  

So, what did the serpent get out of all this? Nothing. It is only a force of nature, a mysterious curve along which all possibilities exist at once…

​…which brings me back to the “cool of the day” point I made earlier. What if Eve’s bite was the last act in God’s creation of the Universe?  In Eden, we witness the universe  completed, but static – a Newtonian shell waiting for humanity’s first choice to set the gears in motion.  The serpent waited there, hiding in the branches of the tree, waiting to strike. It only needed someone to come along and turn possibility into probability with the act of a sentient decision. 

It was Eve’s question that set the gears of the Universe in motion and completed God’s plan in the evening of the Sixth Day. In that first spark of Time, Death entered the Garden of Eden and history truly began.  Now mankind must wander the wilderness in the shadow of the Tree of Good and Evil. The Serpent is still here, hiding in the weeds of our poor choices and random events, ready to strike our heel or hand. 

God is here, too, giving us strength and comfort to carry on another day.  It is through us, and our choices, that God influences the ultimate outcome of mankind’s journey back to the Tree of Life. 

I'm not finished with Genesis 3 yet. What truly are the two trees of Eden? What are the curses God levied against both man and woman? More on that in the third and final installment in my exploration of Genesis 3. 

Brian Braden is the author the book THE ILLUSION EXOTIC, the historical fantasy novel BLACK SEA GODS and several other exciting books.

(Note: This is another episode in my continuing exploration of the Bible. You can read my series introduction here. All Bible quote are NIV and cannot be used for commercial purposes. Read copyright information here.) ​ ​​

The Bible calls this chapter “The Fall.” In church I was told this was mankind’s fall from Grace; from the perfect, sinless presence of God Himself. My faith calls this “original sin.” I was also taught all humanity shares Adam and Eve’s punishment for this first disobedience against God, and therefore we are all destined to physically and spiritually die. 

Genesis 3, as it was originally taught to me, filled me with a great, unsatisfied itch. The questions kept coming, but the scripture offered no apparent answers. What I was told versus what I read felt like a square peg being crammed into a star-shaped hole. Simply put, it seems to me that God set up Adam and Eve to fail. Why would he put these trees right in front of them and then tell them not to touch them? I’ve got kids, and if you put something that tempting in front of them every day, eventually they are going to touch it. I mean, just by the law of probability, its eventually going to happen. (I lost a Christmas tree that way once).  

Probability. The word stuck in my head and wouldn’t leave. But more about that later, let’s wade into the Fall. 

1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” (NIV)

Here are a few questions I’m going to come back to later. 1) Why did the serpent ask Eve and not Adam? 2) What IS the serpent, and what does it get out of all this? 

2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”

4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (NIV)

The woman seems to react to a talking lizard as a perfectly normal occurrence, as if it’s trying to sell her car insurance. She casually recites God’s command not to eat of the tree “in the middle of the garden,” obviously referring to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (this part omits referencing the tree of life, which God did not expressly forbid them from eating, though there is no mention of them actually doing that.)  

The serpent does a funny thing here - it presents a lie buried in the truth. “You will not certainly die.” (SPOILER ALERT – they die.) As for the second part, “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” As we see later on, this is, well, almost exactly what God says. 

6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. (NIV)

What part of “wisdom” made them ashamed of their nakedness? I’m not going to over-think this, other than to say they knew. They knew everything was different, including the consequences of their nudity. Pre-and post-puberty is a great analogy. Adam suddenly realized Eve had curvy, bumpy parts, and Eve quickly realized that Adam noticed she had curvy, bumpy parts.  Enough said. 

The fruit was tempting, all it took was a little lie to nudge her to doom. She wanted wisdom, so the woman might have already know what wisdom was (though she didn’t show any sign of it). It also states Adam was with her, therefore it’s easy to believe he saw the whole thing go down and did nothing to stop it. Hey, who exactly was wearing the pants in Eden, anyhow? (SPOILER ALERT: No one.)
​
“Then the eyes of both of them were opened…” They could see what they could not see before. And what was that? Literally ‘Good and Evil’. As I read it, good and evil already existed (and therefore sin existed) and wasn’t brought forth into the world just because humanity tasted the forbidden fruit. Until that moment, like children, humanity was simply incapable of recognizing it. At that moment they crossed a threshold of no return and attained a higher level of awareness. They evolved. Evolved – there is no better word for it. Adam and Eve gained awareness (maybe not necessarily wisdom – I’ve seen damn little of that in the history books), but perhaps they lost something even greater – innocence. 

In the last episode, I speculated Eden might be somewhere in modern Turkey near the headwaters of the Tigris and Euphrates. Reading Genesis 3, I think that might be where the linage of Moses possibly  originated, but I don’t think that was where Eden actually existed. Without innocence there can be no Eden. Paradise can only truly exist in the minds of children and fools; those whose minds are unable, or unwilling to see the truth. I believe the fruit of the tree of knowledge was actually a question, one that makes humans a sentient species, and one I believe we were not ready to ask. Mankind’s innocence vanished, and our relationship with our Creator forever changed, the moment a woman stretched out her hand to heaven and uttered one word.

 “Why?” 

Nor do I think it was an accident that it was Eve, not Adam, that first asked this most pivotal of all questions.  Nor do I believe the serpent’s presence in the Garden was necessarily an act of evil. In fact, the snake belonged there every bit as much as the man, woman and the two trees. 

Perhaps the serpent and the woman were God’s vital instruments to set his masterpiece called Creation in motion
​
Join me next week for Part Two of my exploration of Genesis 3.

​***

Brian Braden is the author the book THE ILLUSION EXOTIC, the historical fantasy novel BLACK SEA GODS and several other exciting books.

(Note: This is another episode in my continuing exploration of the Bible. You can read my series introduction here.  All Bible quote are NIV and cannot be used for commercial purposes. Read copyright information here.) ​

Genesis 2


Something struck me immediately reading Genesis 2 - the style of writing felt markedly different from Genesis 1. Genesis 1 really feels like it bleeds into Genesis 2:1-3, with a wrap of creation and God resting on the seventh day, and the story ready to move on. Then, in Genesis 2:4, the intro appears to start all over with this line:
4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens. (NIV)


Now, we go back and look in greater detail at the creation of man. However, instead of the simple, poetic-like and rhythmic writing of Genesis 1, we find a more narrative style. However, this subtle change in prose wasn’t the big eye-opener for me. That came in Genesis 2:5


5 Now no shrub had yet appeared on the earth and no plant had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground, 6 but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground. 7 Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. (NIV)

NOT WHAT I LEARNED IN SUNDAY SCHOOL: I assumed, based on what I was taught my whole life, that this was the account of the first person on earth, and it is, but not in the way I was taught. Genesis 2:5-7 is very clear when the creation of Adam occurs when “no plant had yet sprung up.” According to Genesis 1:11, God made the plants on Day 3 of creation. That places these events of Genesis 2 clearly three whole “God Days” before the stated creation of mankind on “God Day 6”. Just taking this as I read it, the events in the Garden begin on Day 3, and the rest of mankind is created on Day 6. 

Here’s a few more observations on that note: Genesis 2:7, God creates “the man” (singular) from dust of the ground and breath of his nostrils (spirit of God?).  In Genesis 1:26-27, God creates “mankind” in his image through the spoken word, as he created all things in Genesis 1. In Genesis 1, he also makes men and women at the same time (on Day 6), and gives them the command to reproduce. In Genesis 2, God starts with a single man using not his words, but dust and breath (physical acts). 

Call me crazy, but the way it reads to me is the creation of Adam (and later Eve) are unique events that occur three “God Days” before the creation of mankind as a whole. I know this flies in the face of thousands of years of Biblical interpretation, and if you read the introduction to this series, you know I am not a Biblical scholar. So, I am probably wrong. That being said, if the Bible is truly the inspired Word of God, then it should be accessible and understandable by the common man or woman. I am the common man, and to me it appears Adam was created on Day 3, and differently, then the rest of humanity on Day 6. Is Adam set apart for a special purpose? Let’s keep reading…

8 Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9 The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. (NIV)
​
Here, God makes a special place for the man he created and places him there. I find the concepts of the two trees utterly fascinating, one of life and one of knowledge of good and evil. I’m going to come back to that later. 

10 A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. 11 The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there.) 13 The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush. 14 The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Ashur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. (NIV)

So, based on this, where is Eden? People have made a living, or destroyed their lives, trying to answer that question.  What did I do? While in my pajamas, I employed the powers of Google  Earth and this is what I came up with.
​
Eden has four rivers flowing from it, two of which are known, Euphrates and Tigris, both of which originate in Turkey (ancient Tubal).  That one was easy. It also mentions the Pishon, that winds through the land of Havilah, where there is gold.  Well, a quick search of the gold-bearing regions of Turkey pretty much puts Havilah just north of the Lake Keban. Several rivers, including the Aras, flow east away from the region into Armenia and Iran. Other rivers flow west to the Black Sea. There are several ancient places in Iran along the Turkish border with “Kish” or “Kush” in their names. So, with all that said, I would venture a guess ancient Eden would be somewhere in the vicinity of Turkey’s Lake Keban area. Plenty of other people have had this theory long before I did, so I can claim no original credit. Even if it was my idea, keep in mind I am just a guy in his pajamas with an internet blog who is an expert on absolutely nothing. 

​15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” (NIV)

Mankind’s first occupation – gardener. Here, too, we see God issue more orders. He says to the man that he must not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, because by doing so the man will die. This leads to a question, is the man immortal? Will by eating it cause him to die instantly, or will it nullify some kind of immortality? And why did God put the trees there in the first place? Could he have placed these trees somewhere else to eliminate any chance of the man taking a nibble? It seems to me if the man is unaware of the difference between good and evil, how can he know that the act of disobeying God is wrong in the first place? 

Did you also notice God didn’t prohibit Adam from eating from the tree of life?

18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

19 Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals. (NIV)

This is different than Genesis 1, where God merely spoke on Day 5 and Day 6 and the creatures were formed. Here, he forms them physically, as he did the man, from the dust. We also see the man’s second job as “Namer of Things.”
If the man was created on Day 3 and then over the course of the next three “God Days” the animals are brought before the man in succession. The sun and moon and stars aren’t even created until Day 4. Does that mean the man was around to witness the first sunrise? Fascinating. 

But for Adam no suitable helper was found. 21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. (NIV)

This is the first time “the man” is referred to as “Adam.” My son has had two ribs removed during his many surgeries, and both grew back. Until that time, I didn’t know ribs grew back. 

GEEK ALERT: If God made the woman from one of Adam’s ribs, then her DNA and his DNA are the same, minus a missing chromosome. The woman would be Adam’s twin, or better yet, his clone. MIND BLOWN. 
​
23 The man said,
“This is now bone of my bones
    and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called ‘woman,’
    for she was taken out of man.”
24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.
25 Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame. (NIV)
 
This is very beautiful, and I’m pretty sure these words were recited during my wedding. Still, I can’t shake how different it feels from Genesis 1, as if two accounts were stitched together. It also has that mythological feel to it, because it has “…and that why things are the way they are” vibe similar to many other culture’s myths. 
 
Here’s another weird thing… “and they become one flesh.” From Persia to Egypt, from Arabia to Turkey, ancient men were often polygamous  (and the richer the man, the more the wives). SPOILER ALERT; Many of the men mentioned in the Bible later on had multiple wives. That’s lots of “one-fleshing” going on. This account seems monogamous inspirit, and contrary to those deep-seated polygamous traditions. 
 
Genesis 2 also seems contrary to the natural order of women being the life-giving sex, the gestating birth-giver. 

Speaking of flesh…its odd that the scripture makes a point of Adam and his wife (she hasn’t been called Eve yet) being naked and unashamed. I think it paints them as childlike and reflecting back to the prohibition against eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, perhaps innocence is the theme of Genesis 2. 
 
With innocence in mind, next time we’ll explore Genesis 3, The Fall. 
 
I hope you’re enjoying the series!

***

Brian Braden is the author the book THE ILLUSION EXOTIC, the historical fantasy novel BLACK SEA GODS and several other exciting books.

(Note: This is the first episode in my continuing exploration of the Bible. You can read my series introduction here. All Bible quote are NIV and cannot be used for commercial purposes. Read copyright information here.) ​ 


Genesis 1 through Genesis 2:2 – “And God Said..”
 
Simplicity. 
 
That’s exactly what jumps out at me as I read Genesis 1 - sheer simplicity. There are no backstories, no origin stories, and no explanations. Something about the simplicity flies in the face of something I’ve heard all my life – that Genesis is only a creation myth, and not different than any other culture’s or religion’s creation myth. To be intellectually honest, I must entertain the possibility Genesis 1 and 2 are exactly that, only myths. 
 
Is this an ancient Jewish creation myth, handed down from oral tradition and then captured in writing sometime in the Bronze Age? I am no expert on world mythologies, but I read a lot about mythology as I research my books. Genesis 1, however, is radically different than all the other creation myths I’ve encountered for two important reasons. First, for the simplicity of its story and, second, for its lack of detail.
 
 The writing is bare bones, but beautiful. Each major section begins with “And God said…” God speaks, and the universe springs into existence. This is a radical departure from every creation myth I can find.  There are no cosmic turtles with worlds on their backs, no giants holding up the universe, no World Trees, no titans swallowing their children, no giant’s hatching from universal eggs or cosmic roosters or goddesses flinging mud to create men. In Genesis, there is only the Creator and His words. 
 
In two and a half pages we meet God, but learn very little about him. He isn’t described. He is just there.  In fact, God isn’t even called a “He” until Genesis 1:4. (If he self-identifies as male, who am I to argue?) We only learned that He is a creator, and therefore I assume creative. God is an artist (I like this guy already.) 
 
Come along as I take the first steps into the Bible. Let’s break down Genesis 1 paragraph-by-paragraph:
 
The Beginning

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. (NIV)

What jumps out at me here is we have “earth”, but it is formless. What does that mean, dirt? Does the “deep” mean “water”? If so, then the heavens are made of water?  I would assume so, because it has a surface. So, God starts with formless earth, which I take as simple matter, and the heavens made of water. 

BTW, this passage also It defines God as spirit. What is ‘spirit’? The dictionary defines it as “a supernatural, incorporeal being.” 

GEEK ALERT: What if instead of earth, we say “matter”? What if instead of the deep, we say “space”? That’s kinda cool, and makes more sense from a modern perspective. What I find most interesting is, according to scripture, life begot the Universe, not the other way around. 

3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. (NIV)

Now our protagonist adds light to matter. He makes his first value judgement of the book, and indicates His fondness for light. He separates light from darkness somehow and defines “day” and “night”.  First question…is the “light” the same as “the sun”? SPOILER ALERT: No, because he creates the sun and moon later. 

6 And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” 7 So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day. (NIV)

NOT WHAT I LEARNED IN SUNDAY SCHOOL: What’s amazing about this from a modern perspective is the separation of the “waters”. I was taught and heard that this passage was about the separation of the oceans and seas, but it’s not. The separation is vertical. It is a separation of the terrestrial waters from the sky. Genesis infers the sky and ocean are both water, and only a layer (vault) of atmosphere separates the two. The geek (and pilot) in me loves this, because modern man often refers to the sky and space like the seas, something to be sailed and explored. Nautical terms and spacefaring terms are even the same. In my mind, this is the condensation of the planet, the separation of outer space from an atmosphere-enshrouded planet. 

9 And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good. (NIV)

God likes continents. Next.
 
 
11 Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. 12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day. (NIV)

In this passage, God creates plant life on land. This all sounds good and perfectly logical, until one reads the next passage… 

14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. 16 God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day. (NIV)

I’ve got a lot of questions here. Plant life emerged on Day 3, before the sun and moon and stars.  An interesting point is that one of the reasons for the creation of these heavenly lights is to mark the passage of time. That means, I assume, the previous three days were on some other time scale not tied to the passage of the sun, moon or stars. So, we really don’t know exactly how long these days are. I REALLY want to geek out here and start speculating about primitive life being transplanted on a forming earth by comets and asteroid impact and compare this to what science thinks it knows about the creation of the solar system, but I’m not going to take the bait. 

I think I’ll leave the divine poetry alone.

Which brings up the next point…there was light before there was a sun, so when God says “Let there be light” back on Day 1, he’s not talking about the sun. 

20 And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” 21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” 23 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day. (NIV)

Day 5 is dedicated to creating sea life and the creatures of the air. That’s pretty straight forward, and sets up Day 6, the Grand Finale’. 

24 And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.  (NIV)

Day 6 is BUSY! God makes all the land animals, and he likes them. I noticed that every once in a while God makes a point of saying something is good. I’m glad God likes animals, because I like animals, too. Now there is one more animal to make.  

26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so. (NIV)

In Genesis 27-29 God gets to it and (like the rest of creation) makes both men and women by simply speaking. However, something different happens here ,and there are four points I want to make, or perhaps four questions I want to ask. God says “Let us make mankind in our image…” First, who is he talking to? Second, did he get help making people? Third, what aspect of His image are we made in? Physical? Spiritual?  I’m going to assume spiritual because way back in Genesis 1:1 it says “the Spirit of God”.  Finally, why did he make people? 

The answer to the last question is answered clearly - to rule over all the other creatures of the earth. According to Genesis, being created in God’s image is a prerequisite for earthly dominion.  In fact, this is (at least in sequence of occurrence) God’s first issued order to humankind. Genesis 28 and again in 29, God commands mankind to rule the other living creatures of the earth. 

SPOILER ALERT: Its Day 6 and no mention of Adam and Eve yet – just men and women created at the same time, in the same image of God. 

What’s the next order God issues to the race of men? It’s the one order, law, commandment, etc that humans have had NO problem following, In Genesis 1:28 God commands people to get busy making kids.

NOT WHAT I LEARNED IN SUNDAY SCHOOL: It dawned on me reading Genesis 1:29 that God tells the new race of men what they can eat, and it ain’t beef. God is very clear people are going to be vegetarians. He doesn’t expressly prohibit eating meat, but he doesn’t expressly allow it, either. Also, He specifies the same diet for the beasts of the earth. 

Sorry, lions. 

31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.

2 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.

2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. (NIV)
 
In Genesis 1:31 through 2:2, I learned even God needs a day off. He didn’t just say the seventh day was good, He BLESSED IT. I like that, and it helps me identify with Him because I need days off, too. 
 
And then a chilling realization dawned on me, one I had never considered before. Let’s say, for arguments sake that the 14 billion years the universe (as we presently know it) can be divided into 7 parts – one part is a “day” to God. I know, I know, it doesn’t neatly line up and I’m not going to try to make it fit…THAT. ISN’T. MY. POINT.  My point is this…
 
Once the earth was created, the rest of the Bible, starting with Genesis 2 picks up on Day 7 or on Day 8.  On Day 7, God “rested from all the work of creating he had done.” It’s His day off.  That means the span of human history takes place on God’s day off, and every time we screw up and he has to come down here and straighten things out, he’s having to come into work on a Sunday. 
 
Result = Angry Old Testament God. 
 
Or, this is Day 8, and it’s God’s Monday morning. 
 
Result = Angry Old Testament God.
 
Why don’t you all chew on that until next time, when we look at Genesis 2-3, a little story about Adam and Eve (two Old Testament kids doing best they can), and what I learned in Sunday school and what I actually read in the Bible take an unexpected divergence.  
 
See ya then. 

***

Brian Braden is the author the book THE ILLUSION EXOTIC, the historical fantasy novel BLACK SEA GODS and several other exciting books.

(UPDATE: I have enabled comments on this blog series.)
​
You receive a package in the mail from a complete stranger, someone you never seen or never actually talked to, but you know is famous. Inside is a book containing the only authorized biography about this person, written by those who claim know him best. They all claim to have received exclusive permission to write a portion of his biography, but there is no physical proof of this person’s past or current existence. The authors of this book want you to accept on faith that this person exists, and that he can do all the amazing things the authors claim in the biography. Oh, and the authors asks you to do everything this person commands for the rest of your life.  Do so, and he will reward you greatly. You can also choose to ignore him, but risk horrible consequences. You must, however, form your entire opinion of this individual only from what you read in this book. Wouldn’t it be worth your time to read this authorized biography before you make up your mind?

If you haven’t guessed, I’m talking about the Bible, or perhaps any sacred script that claims to determine one’s standing with a deity.

In my 30’s I once read the Bible cover-to-cover.  I was a much different person back then, in a much different state of mind. I was looking for comfort and answers. I’ve studied large chunks of the Bible since then, but I haven’t completely re-read it. Now I’ve decided to take another stab at God’s authorized biography for the express purpose of meeting “The Man” all over again.   This time, however, I’m doing it a little differently. This time I want an absolutely fresh start.

What would it look like if someone took the Bible completely at face value, from beginning to end? By “face value’, I mean abandoning all preconceived notions, assumptions, biases, bigotry, or the mental baggage acquired over a lifetime of hearing and reading about other people’s interpretations of the Bible. In other words, take the Bible literally from beginning to end?

​Where would that lead me? I don’t know, but I’m about to give it a try. 
So, why am I doing this? Let’s start with a few points that aren’t reasons.

I’m not doing it for attention or to fill some narcissistic need.  This process is actually well underway already, completely in private. I’m not doing this to prove something to anyone. Let me be clear, I am not a Biblical scholar. Heck, I am not even a scholar. Actually, I am not even a particularly intelligent person. But I am curious, and I am searching for answers. My opinions are my own and they are just that – opinions.

I’m not doing this as Bible “study”. Study assumes a desired outcome, a learning objective. This is Bible exploration. I’m like a traveler, stepping into an unknown land. I’ve heard of it, flown over a time or two, but never really spent time under the rainforest canopy. Now I’m about to step off the well-worn trail.

So here’s reason why I’m doing this…

I want to go back to square one, to take each piece of scripture in slow deliberation and immerse myself. I want to know exactly what it says, and make up my own mind.  To do that, I will throw out everything I know, or think I know, about God, Jesus, and what others have told me about the Bible. So much of what we think we know about God and the Bible comes from other sources, but not from the Bible.  As Master Yoda once said, “Clear your mind, and unlearn all you have learned.” This time I will approach the Bible with no assumptions or no preconceived notions. I want an absolutely fresh start.

Why am I posting it online? Well, I don’t really know why, let’s just say I feel compelled and leave it there.

Here’s how this is going down…

This process will approach the Bible on multiple levels.

First, I’m looking at the Bible as a Holy document. Billions of people across the planet consider all or part of the Christian Bible as holy, or divinely inspired.  As a Christian, so do I. But should I? If God truly inspired or had a part in writing the Bible, then if I approach it with an open mind and heart, then it should speak to me. It should make spiritual sense.

Second, I’m going to look at the Bible as a historical document. It starts at the beginning, discusses real places and, I assume real people and real events. I love history, so I will be cross-checking places, events, and people from time-to-time with other sources just to see what I find.

Third, I’ll explore the Bible as a piece of literature. It is, as a matter of fact, a collection of books written by people who claim to be inspired by God. I’m going to be scouring it for great writing, quotes, stories, and characters.

Each week I’ll post my thoughts and feelings regarding one small section of the Bible, read in sequence from Genesis to Revelations. This will take a long time. I’ll open with my general impressions of the material before I go into detail. A lot of it will be stream of consciousness. I’ll wrap up each post with a summary and a few closing thoughts, as well as a look at the following week’s scripture.

I’m going to have some fun with this, too. So, I’ve created some special features the post from time to time to make the Journey a bit more interesting. Here are a few:

NOT WHAT I LEARNED IN SUNDAY SCHOOL: This are moments when the Bibles differs from what I have heard or was taught from other sources.

GEEK ALERT: For those times my mind gets blown.

SPOILER ALERT: I’ve read ahead, skip this if you don’t want to ruin the surprise.

ENOUGH ALREADY, BEGOT ABOUT IT! For those times when a quick summary of extensive material will suffice.

HOLY FACE PALM: Sometimes I think The Lord must ask Himself, “Why do I bother?”

OLD TESTAMENT AFTER HOURS: Sometimes, the Bible gets seriously adult (and sometimes weird), and my discussions may not be suitable for younger viewers. 

GOD SCARES THE HELL OUT OF ME: When God lets loose with some seriously double-barreled smiting
 
Some ground rules:

I’m using the New International Version of the Bible. Supposedly, it’s the most accurate translation from originally sources. I wouldn’t know anything about that. I do know it’s easy to read, and I have a copy.  

This is a preach-free zone.  I am SHARING, not preaching.  While I am a Christian, this is a personal journey of discovery that I have invited you to tag along.  The Bible can speak for itself, and you can draw your own conclusions. You can take or leave my opinions.

Comment-free zone. I’ve disable the comments. If you want to comment on any given installment, please feel free to post it on your own social media or website.   It’s not that I don’t respect your opinions, but any discussion of the religion always brings out strong, and unique, reactions in people. First, I don’t have the time for trolls. Second, I am sure many people out there who are experts on the Bible.  I respect that, but as I stated earlier, I am not one of them.  Unfortunately, some people aren’t just experts, their zealots. I fully expect to unintentionally wander into the realm of heresy before this is over. If I make an incorrect interpretation of scripture, it’s an honest and innocent one. Feel free to correct me, or damn me, just do so on your own blog or social media, not mine.  On the other side, I’ve seen secular humanists get pretty nasty, too. If you feel the need to berate or insult me, the subject matter, or anyone’s faith, you can also do so on your own forum.

Respect and humility. I will NOT disrespect the Bible, its followers, or its detractors. HOWEVER, that doesn’t mean this Journey isn’t going to get bumpy (or humorous). Be prepared, because I am going to ask some honest, tough questions that may make some people uncomfortable. I ask tough questions because I am compelled to. I’m going forward believing God can handle the tough questions, and won’t hold it against me. 

With that said, I really shouldn’t be doing this.  Even undertaking this endeavor only proves I am a crazy and no one should listen to me anyway. You’ve been warned. But I’m going to do it anyway.

 I do not know if the man going into this journey will be the same man who finishes it.
 
Next Saturday, the Journey begins with Genesis 1 & 2.  

www.Ancient-Origins.net is featuring BLACK SEA GODS all next week in their online magazine as a "Recommended Book'. The editor-in-chief told me they usually only feature non-fiction, but made an exception in my case as my book fits neatly in their website's subject matter. I am honored. 

Starting Monday, March 6 you'll see the book on the front-page sidebar. You can catch it this weekend, however, in their Recommended Books page.