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Inconsistency in Genesis

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posted on May, 11 2007 @ 07:14 AM
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As an atheist i have taken it upon myself to at least read the Bible before deciding not to beleive in god, because you cannont mock or disclaim anything if you don't understand it's basic philosophy.
Anyway i was loosely reading through Genesis and got to the part where Cain was thrown out of the Garden of Eden for murdering Abel and settles in the land of Nod, but then it said that he was come across by a travelling band of merchants...but Cain and Able were the only offspring and the only other members of the human race where the hell did these travellers come from!?!

Thoughts anyone?...



posted on May, 11 2007 @ 07:18 AM
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I just had another thought if all of mankind is decendant from Adam and Eve then the whole human race in INBRED!!!....
Now there's something to think about!



posted on May, 11 2007 @ 07:23 AM
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In Genesis 5:1-4 you can read that Adam and Eve had many children. If they really lived 600 years and Eve didn't use contraception
then they must have had over 600 children + all the grandchildren makes loads of people in one 'generation'.

Hope that answers your question. But I just overflew the text, where did you read about the merchants?

regards,
Sammy



posted on May, 11 2007 @ 07:58 AM
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In a Bible i read in a motel i stayed in I think it was one of those Jehova's witnesses groups that put it there.



posted on May, 11 2007 @ 12:46 PM
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Originally posted by Aldolas
In Genesis 5:1-4 you can read that Adam and Eve had many children. If they really lived 600 years and Eve didn't use contraception
then they must have had over 600 children + all the grandchildren makes loads of people in one 'generation'.


well, the femal reproductive system stops working after about 50 years.... so that doesn't say anything. secondly, nobody lives for 600 years, the human body could ideally get maybe 120, 125 if the ideal body was lucky. thirdly, the grandchildren are still all inbreed flipper-babies



posted on May, 11 2007 @ 02:21 PM
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it was in Leviticus

long after Adam and eve that the Prohibition for marring close relatives
[incest] we call it now was put in to effect

looking at it your way everyone commits incest and should have ''flipper'' babies
because there is only one race,and we are all in breeders

the Human race according to scripture is the only race

as i said close relative marriage was OK until Leviticus



posted on May, 11 2007 @ 03:30 PM
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close relative marrying may have been okay MORALLY but i doubt it was ok REPRODUCTIVELY and GENETICALLY. sure, we're all descended from the same small band. but the bible is far from scientific. it says completely unscientific things like "the sun stood still in the sky"



posted on May, 11 2007 @ 05:34 PM
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exactly

thats why the Prohibition went into effect in Leviticus
it is assumed



posted on May, 11 2007 @ 05:55 PM
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The study of human diversity at (putatively) neutral genetic marker loci has been hampered since the beginning by ascertainment bias since they were discovered in Europeans. The high levels of polymorphism at microsatellite loci means that they are free of this bias. Microsatellites exhibit a clear almost linear diversity gradient away from Africa, so that New World populations are approximately 15% less diverse than African populations. This pattern is not compatible with a model of a single large population expansion and colonization of most of the Earth by our ancestors but suggests, instead, gradual loss of diversity in successive colonization bottlenecks as our species grew and spread.

Source:arjournals.annualreviews.org...

There are theories based on gentic studies that postulate that we are all descended from around a 1000 individuals who survived the eruption of mount Toba, out of a global population roughly the same as it is today. This is used to explain the discrepancy between and the distinctiveness of the various races that we have today. This population bottleneck is said to have happened 74,000 years ago.

How does a literal interpretation of the bible, which would seem to state that we are all descended from one couple, explain the diversity of our genetic material?



posted on May, 11 2007 @ 06:36 PM
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The inbreeding issue and the "who are the people of the land of Nod?" issue are two of the many reasons why many Christians (including myself) believe the Bible has Truth in it, and yet is not 100% historically accurate. The nuance the Christian fundies cannot grasp is that something can be a story or a myth and still have value. It takes nothing away from God that He would pass along knowledge in terms the local nomads would understand. People seem to have no problem with Jesus teaching through parable, but suggest that God may not have been literal in everything He said and you're a heretic.

And then there's the issue of multiple translations over time. But I'll stay on topic as best I can.

What I thought you were going to say, based on the subject line, was that there are actually 2 creation stories in the beginning of Genesis. I don't have a Bible in front of me but take a look at the very beginning. At best they tell the same story from much different perspectives, but I believe they're flat-out contradictory. Again, doesn't make God a liar. Just two ways to help people understand how the universe was formed, when they didn't have a background in physics to help them out. Just my two dinar.



posted on May, 11 2007 @ 06:46 PM
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I believe in God, but not so much the Bible. God does not need men to write fairy tales in a book for him. He can make anyone understand anything he wants them to instantly. Why does he need men to write stories in a book? There is much evidence that the Christian Bible was copied from much older Sumerian legends.



posted on May, 11 2007 @ 08:30 PM
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Originally posted by tom_roberts
exactly

thats why the Prohibition went into effect in Leviticus
it is assumed


no, they had no idea about genetics and birth defects. the obvious answer is that humanity in its current form is the product of evolution instead of a magical pixie fairy in the sky creating us.



posted on May, 11 2007 @ 09:26 PM
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I've read the Bible, cover to cover, many times and started noticing the inconsistancies, cruelties, injustices, and so forth about age 12. In fact, most who deconvert have read the Bible and the list of inconsistancies are part of the reason they leave the faith.

You might enjoy Skeptic's Annotated Bible, which has a very thorough list of these things. I had noticed most of them as I read the Bible, but there were a number that I flat-out missed.
www.skepticsannotatedbible.com...



posted on May, 11 2007 @ 09:52 PM
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Don't Gen. 1 and 2 present contradictory creation accounts?


Genesis 1
- Day one - heavens and earth are created. "Let there be light." Day and Night.
- Day two - Atmospheric waters separated from earth waters.
- Day three - Land appears separating the seas. Vegetation is made.
- Day four - Sun, moon, stars are made.
- Day five - Sea life and birds are made.
- Day six - Land animals, creeping things, and man (male and female) are made.
Genesis 2
States heaven and earth were created. no plant yet on earth, no rain yet, no man. but, a mist rose watering the surface of the ground. Then the Lord formed man from dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. Then God made Eve.


There is no contradiction between Genesis 1 and 2. Genesis 1 is a detailed explanation of the six days of creation, day by day. Genesis two is a recap and a more detailed explanation of the sixth day, the day that Adam and Eve were made.

The recap is stated in Gen. 2:4, "This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made earth and heaven." Then, Moses goes on to detail the creation of Adam and Eve as is seen in verses 7 thru 24 of Gen. 2.

Proof that it is not a creative account is found in the fact that animals aren't even mentioned until after the creation of Adam. Why? Probably because their purpose was designated by Adam. They didn't need to be mentioned until after Adam was created.


I have 50 of these so called contradictions
copyiest errors do exist

the original text is what we claim is inspired



posted on May, 11 2007 @ 10:58 PM
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Originally posted by ozvulcan
As an atheist i have taken it upon myself to at least read the Bible before deciding not to believe in god, because you cannot mock or disclaim anything if you don't understand it's basic philosophy.


The bible doesn't represent god. It is a book filled with deceit and lies and was intended for the uneducated laborer of 2000 years ago. While I'm sure your intentions are positive and it is good to read even if you don't agree with it, I would hope that the bible isn't the only factor in your decision of whether or not to believe in god. I believe in God yet I feel the bible grossly misrepresents his true identity.



posted on May, 12 2007 @ 01:44 AM
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Originally posted by Vipassana

Originally posted by ozvulcan
As an atheist i have taken it upon myself to at least read the Bible before deciding not to believe in god, because you cannot mock or disclaim anything if you don't understand it's basic philosophy.


The bible doesn't represent god. It is a book filled with deceit and lies and was intended for the uneducated laborer of 2000 years ago. While I'm sure your intentions are positive and it is good to read even if you don't agree with it, I would hope that the bible isn't the only factor in your decision of whether or not to believe in god. I believe in God yet I feel the bible grossly misrepresents his true identity.


The bible is not my main reason for not believing in God, i just don't see any proof that God exists.
I embrace science and logic.
I feel that whatever is going on in life death and the universe is far more beautiful, wonderous and complex than any holy book or religion can even come close to defining or understanding.



posted on May, 12 2007 @ 03:05 PM
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Originally posted by ozvulcan
I feel that whatever is going on in life death and the universe is far more beautiful, wonderous and complex than any holy book or religion can even come close to defining or understanding.


Interesting. For me, these very reasons are proof that there is a God. And I don't mean proof in the scientific sense - I know there is no scientific proof of God. I just don't see scientific proof as a necessary condition for God's existence. I feel in my heart and soul that there is a God, and for me, that is enough. I accept that for others, it is not. I agree that a human institution like religion cannot come close to understanding an ultimate Power of the universe. But religion and science come at the issue from two different angles, and while neither may be complete, also neither is worth discarding. YMMV, as it clearly does.



posted on May, 12 2007 @ 03:33 PM
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Originally posted by madnessinmysoul

Originally posted by tom_roberts
exactly

thats why the Prohibition went into effect in Leviticus
it is assumed


no, they had no idea about genetics and birth defects. the obvious answer is that humanity in its current form is the product of evolution instead of a magical pixie fairy in the sky creating us.



are you so sure?
i think they had a basic understanding at the least

as in may be breeding plant or animals with better yields
again i can not prove it but its hard to disprove

anyway thats not what i meant, when i said it was assumed i meant
in our time, we are the ones making the assumption, as scripture does not say as far as i am aware definitively anything else on the subject



posted on May, 12 2007 @ 10:57 PM
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Originally posted by tom_roberts
again i can not prove it but its hard to disprove


the person making a claim, in this case that people in the bronze age understood genetics at some level, needs to prove it. it doesn't matter how hard it is to disprove. it's impossible to disprove that they're is a small teapot revolving around the sun between mars and the earth too.



posted on May, 12 2007 @ 11:04 PM
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that makes no sense at all

its possible they crossed a big cow with a bigger cow to get the biggest cow

who knows, saying we have to prove it is silly, ITS A POSSIBILITY




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