Creation and it's place in faith Pt 3.

We now come to the final section of Genesis that we shall address for these series of posts. So far we have seen just how scientifically and logically inaccurate much of the creation myth is. Though some of the points made require a deeper understanding of science, others need only basic observable knowledge. It is a contentious point made by many Theists that we cannot know for certain how the Earth was created, and that scientific observations may be flawed. It is however hard to deny such issues as stars erroneously created on the underside of a shelf of land, or rivers that are geographically distant from each other. For the last parts of this series, we will look more closely at some of the logical errors surrounding one of the major beliefs in Christianity in particular, the idea of original sin. As before, we will use the translation found on the following website; http://library.thinkquest.org/29178/agenesisS.htm

1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Indeed, has God said, 'You shall not eat from any tree of the garden'?"
2 And the woman said to the serpent, "From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat;
3 but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat from it or touch it, lest you die.'"

Though the Bible does hold many supernatural events and elements in it's pages, an obvious point to make here is that snakes cannot talk. They lack the necessary vocal chords to produce the sounds required for speech, and their tiny brains would be unable to process the complex thought patterns needed to understand, let alone speak, a complex language. There are some who believe that the serpent in question was in fact Satan in disguise, though there is nothing in the Bible itself that suggests this is so. The text indicates that the snake in question was just another of God's creations, though it does make the snake's temptation of Eve and subsequently Adam rather odd. One has to assume from this either two possibilities; one, that the snake is infact Satan working against God's will, or two, that the snake is a construct of God and therefore acting within God's wishes. The fact that God would bother to place such a temptation for humans to fall into in the first place without prior knowledge that what they were doing was wrong is a strange proposition in the first place. One could argue that God intended for Adam and Eve to eat from the tree from the word go. Catch-all phrases like "God's Plan" attest to God having jurisdiction over not just all-creation, but all action within that creation.

4 And the serpent said to the woman, "You surely shall not die!
5 "For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.
7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings.

This passage appears to suggest that, prior to the eating of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, Adam and Eve were ignorant of any kind of good or evil. Therefore it makes the act of the original sin, the transgression outlined above, akin to a small child accidentally trying to cross the road without prior knowledge of traffic. To grossly punish the child until the day it died would be considered by some to be child abuse. In the case of God and His children, namely Adam and Eve, this treatment is never really brought into question by Theists who believe in the creation myth. The punishment wrought on the pair, who by all accounts were blameless ignorant as they were about the actions they were performing, is severe on a level that is mind-boggling.

8 And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.
9 Then the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?"

Again the apparent omnipresent nature of the modern day God is brought into question with this short anecdote. God is described as physically walking inside of the garden, suggesting a tangible presence. It also describes Him having to physically call out for Adam and Eve in order to find out where they are. Unless God had a momentary lapse in his divine powers, this behaviour doesn't make sense. For us it would be like calling out to a friend to find out where they are when they are stood directly in our line of view a few feet away. These lines make sense if God is a physical being with a normal periphery as we have, but is nonsensical when considered alongside the other properties given to God overall.

10 And he said, "I heard the sound of Thee in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself."
11 And He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?"
12 And the man said, "The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate."
13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" And the woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."

The same lack of omniscience seen above is displayed here, as God has to inquire whether or not Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of Knowledge. Such a significant act, one that would cause the downfall of humanity from this point on, almost bypasses God were it not for his coincidental wanderings within the Garden. Again this is inconsistent with the properties of God in later texts and in many modern religions.

14 And the LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, Cursed are you more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly shall you go, And dust shall you eat All the days of your life;
15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel."

Snakes can be deadly killers, so it is no surprise that the Bible, primarily authored by people who lived around such animals, shows an animosity towards them. One also has to wonder what exactly had to change in regards to the snake for God to force it to move on it's belly. No specific physical changes are said to have occurred. Biologically speaking however, snakes like all other animals can be shown to have evolved over a gradual series of steps. Not only that but their physiology makes crawling on their bellies an advantageous property, since it allows them to stay hidden in tall grasses, makes it harder for taller animals to see them and their bodies allow them to attack their prey quickly or in the case of constrictors suffocate them. Certainly the apparent punishment given by God to the snake seems like a smack on the hand in comparison to what Adam and Eve, and according to some Theists by extension humans in general, are subjected to.

16 To the woman He said, "I will greatly multiply Your pain in childbirth, In pain you shall bring forth children; Yet your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you."

Again from a biological point of view this idea of a painless childbirth is sketchy. Unless Adam and Eve were to produce offspring by some other method, as mammals humans give birth to their young after a number of months of gestation. This process naturally requires the mother to push the child out of their womb, causing tears to the surrounding tissues not to mention the pressure exerted from the muscles involved both in pushing the child out and pulling the pelvic bones apart to facility the birthing. Premature babies birthed from the womb by comparison to full-term babies have a very low chance of survival, especially since the baby is unable to eat or drink properly since fetuses rely on the umbilical chord for sustenance. Only a complete lack of any physically felt pain would result in a completely painless childbirth, a condition that would be detrimental to humans since it would result in countless unchecked injuries without any feedback to stop them. Pain acts as a signal to our brains, informing us if our bodies are being damaged. Those who suffer from leprosy often have multiple injuries on their hands and arms because of the numbing of their extremities.

17 Then to Adam He said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat from it'; Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life.
18 "Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you shall eat the plants of the field;
19 By the sweat of your face You shall eat bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return."

The ambiguity as to the changes in the ecosystem that humans have to deal with is again unclear. God speaks of thorns and thistles growing, though these plants presumably existed before since God supposedly created all of the known plants in one sitting. Bread is also mentioned, an oddity since it suggests that God had prior knowledge of bread before Adam and Eve, who presumably had no concept of milling, farming and baking. The actual production of Bread has been traced back to the Neolitihic era, approximately 10000~8000BC. This is long before the apparent age of the Earth according to the Genesis account, though this scientific interpretation is backed up by dating of artifacts found in areas such as Greece and China. Also worth pointing out is the usage of dust as the composite ingredient of humans. Biological cells do share some of the atomic components found in the ground, though they differ greatly in their ratios and general composition. The idea of humans returning to the Earth may be seen as allegorical, were it not for Genesis' own story of describing the creation of humans from clots of dirt. When God says man shall return to dust as he is dust, God means it literally. Decomposition of human remains is caused by the breakdown of the cells by bacteria and other microscopic bodies. Humans placed into the ground decompose faster due to soil's high bacterial content.

20 Now the man called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all the living.
21 And the LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.
22 Then the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, lest he stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever"--

We have been using the term Adam and Eve to describe the two first humans as according to Genesis, but it is noteworthy that Eve isn't actually named until her husband Adam gives her a name. Much of the Genesis myth revolves around the idea that women are subservient and below men, having come second in the creation order and forced the hand of man towards sin. God's original punishment for Eve even involves complete servitude to her spouse. God also uses the term "Us" again, suggesting other parties involved within the Genesis account of creation, and throws into question God's place as the only deity in existence.

23 therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken.
24 So He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim, and the flaming sword which turned every direction, to guard the way to the tree of life.

So the initial story of creation within Genesis ends with humans barred from the Garden of Eden for eternity. This is also the first mention of the cherubim, a class of angel who aren't mentioned within the list of entities directly created by God but are elaborated on briefly in other parts of the Bible.

The Genesis creation myth, as we have categorically seen, has no place within the confides of reality as a suitable retelling of the origins of life and the Earth. Even if one were to disregard scientific theories about evolution and the age of the Earth and Universe, it is hard to reconcile the obvious logical fallacies that are present. Of course many Theists would argue that the creation myth is just that; a myth, and that those who wrote the Bible were just lacking in knowledge about the necessary sciences to make an accurate portrayal of the origins of Earth. Such arguments fall short when one considers that the Bible is meant to be the divinely inspired word of God Himself. Blatant scientific falsities shouldn't be present, especially when coming from the metaphorical horses mouth. To suggest the text's source is anything but divine is to bring into question the source and nature of the rest of the Bible, a subject I shall cover in greater detail in another article.

We started off these series of posts by looking at some of the other creation myths found in other religions. It is no surprise that throughout human history and through human religions, different creation myths have come about with differing details. Though all of them hinge on the idea of a supreme being or beings responsibility in creating the Earth, none of them come close to describing the sheer scale of our Universe, or touching upon even the most basic of scientific principals and understandings. These myth stories make sense if they are taken in the context as having been written in a time when humans knew little if nothing about the world in which they inhabited. What is apparent however is that certain creation stories are given more creedance than others. No one today would legitimately go through the courts to have children learn that the world was created by the Titans from Greek mythology, or that the Earth was forged from the eyebrows of Ymir. These ideas would be rightfully laughed out of the classroom as unscientific. Yet today the educational integrity of many students is under threat from people who have deep beliefs a similarly unscientific creation myth, people with the exact same deeply held spiritual beliefs as that of the ancient Greeks or Norse tribes of Scandinavia.

Because of religious faith many millions of people across the world truly believe in the creation story as told by Genesis. Yet it doesn't take more than a high-school level understanding of science (my own personal qualification level equivalent) to see just where this story is flawed. It is only through a combined ignorance of what we now know about the world and unerring faith that these stories are given any credence today. But think of how future generations will see the myths of Genesis, especially with the steadily advancing educational systems across the world and further scientific inquiry uncovering new and exciting layers to our reality. By comparison even today the stories of the Bible seem simple and backward, an indication of the general ignorance that was common place at the time when the books were first wrote. Many of us are told as children that babies come from storks or other such places, yet none of us deny the truth of sexual intercourse as we grow older. It is this same stark contrast of facts and fiction that we face when examining the creation myths of Genesis.

In the next post, we will be looking into detail about the Great Flood, an event that many creationists today insist occurred on the planet in it's history.