Many of you perhaps saw this before, but for the sake of those who didn’t:
http://www.religioustolerance.org/ev_bibl.htm
References to Creation:
There are many apparent references in the Bible to the creation process:
The First Creation Story; Genesis 1:1 to 2:3: Historical Christianity taught that the entire Pentateuch – the five books from Genesis to Deuteronomy – was written by Moses. Most Fundamentalist and other Evangelical Christians continue to follow this belief. Most liberal and mainline theologians and religious skeptics accept the Documentary Hypothesis: that the Pentateuch was written by a number of authors from four different traditions, and who imported some material from nearby Pagan sources. The Hypothesis asserts that the author of the creation story seen in the first verses of the Bible was an anonymous 6th Century BCE writer or group of writers of the priestly tradition (often referred to as “P”).
Creation is described in Genesis 1:1 to 2:3 as occurring in six “days”:
Day 1: creation of light and its separation from darkness.
Day 2: separation of the sky and oceans.
Day 3: separation of land from the oceans; spreading of plants and grass and trees across the land.
Day 4: Creation of the sun, moon, and stars.
Day 5: Creation of sea animals and birds.
Day 6: Creation of the land animals. Creation of humanity, “someone like ourselves” (Living Bible).
Day 7: God rested. Followers of the Documentary Hypothesis believe this to have been a later addition, 4 placed there to give theological justification for the Sabbath (Saturday as a day of rest).
This sequence does contain some problems.
Light was listed as being created on day 1, but its source (the sun and stars) did not appear until day 4. Most creation scientists, who generally support the literal interpretation of this creation story, have a solution to this puzzle. Many say that light initially came from God, before he created the sun and stars.
Birds were said to be created before other land animals. Paleontologists, who almost universally support the theory of evolution, point out that the fossil record shows the opposite order. Creation scientists discount this belief. Most regard the rock layers containing the fossil record as having been laid down during the flood of Noah; thus, the fossils do not represent the evolution of the species of animals and birds.
The most controversial debate over this creation story relates to its time span. Genesis 1 and 2 explain how Creation of Earth’s life forms, the Earth itself, and the rest of the universe took six days. Supporters of the theory of evolution find evidence for a universe that has been evolving for about 14 billion years.
The Second Creation Story; Genesis 2:4 to 2:25: This is a different description of the creation of earth’s life forms. Most mainline and liberal biblical researchers attribute this section to “J,” a writer who lived in the 9th century BCE (some say 10th century; others say after the Babylonian exile). Again, religious conservatives trace the authorship to Moses, and generally believe that this is a simple restatement of the earlier creation story. The author of Genesis 2 writes that
at first, there were no plants or grain present, because God had not yet sent rain.
God made Adam out of earth; this is a belief common to many early Pagan religions in the Middle East.
God created plants and herbs, Adam, the Garden of Eden, trees, birds and animals
God performed the first surgical operation, removing a rib from Adam and transforming it into the first woman, Eve.
Conflicts between the creation stories: There are some apparent inconsistencies between the first and second creation accounts:
There may be a conflict over the number of days over which creation happened.
Genesis 1:3 and subsequent verses say that God created the universe in six days.
In Genesis 2:4, some translations, including the King James Version, imply that it took one day.
In the first account, God created fruit trees before Adam and Eve; in the second account, God created Adam, then the fruit trees, then Eve.
In the first account, God created animals before Adam and Eve; in the second account, God created Adam. then the animals, then Eve.
Genesis 1:20 describes how God had “the waters bring forth …fowl” ; in Genesis 2:19, God formed them “out of the ground”.
In the first account, God created the fish on the 5th day; in the second account, the fish of the sea were not created at all.
