Odd genetic engineering
GEN 30:39 And the flocks conceived before the rods, and brought forth cattle ringstraked, speckled, and spotted.
How is this a contradiction? God, who set up all creation to run in an expected, orderly manner was doing something unusual—out of the ordinary. Those of us who understand that we live in a world of cause and effect in an OPEN (as opposed to the atheistic closed) universe, don’t have a problem with this.
The shape of the earth
ISA 40:22 It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in.
MAT 4:8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them.
Astromical [sic] bodies are spherical, and you cannot see the entire exterior surface from anyplace. The kingdoms of Egypt, China, Greece, Crete, sections of Asia Minor, India, Maya (in Mexico), Carthage (North Africa), Rome (Italy), Korea, and other settlements from these kingdoms of the world were widely distributed.
See “the Bat is not a Bird” Both descriptions are meant to be descriptive in terms of what the observer could see not what twenty-first century man understands. The observations are accurate. The earth does appear to be circular to the non-scientific observer. All that Jesus could see from the highest mountain could mean that what he could see were representative of all the kingdoms of the earth or it could be descriptive of a vision.
Snakes, while built low, do not eat dirt
GEN 3:14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
See “A General Reply to Atheist Illogic.” This is poetic language. Their face is right next to the ground as opposed to far above if one were to walk on two legs or half-way between the two extremes if one were to walk on all fours. There is, of course, the metaphorical expression: “Make him eat dirt!” No one is expected to actually eat dirt.
Earth supported?
JOB 26:7 He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing.
JOB 38:4 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.
See next entry.
Heaven supported too
JOB 26:11 The pillars of heaven tremble and are astonished at his reproof.
See “A General Reply to Atheist Illogic” This is poetic language. The word foundation13 has many meanings including establishment, ordination and beginning.
The hydrological cycle
ECC 1:7 All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.
JOB 38:22 Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail.
Storehouses are not part of the cycle
Why does this need to be understood as storehouses? The “place” is the snow packs that hold the water. From there the cycle goes to streams and rivers, then back to the ocean, then condensation, then rain and snow, and back to snow packs. Where is the problem?
Order of creation
Here is the order in the first (Genesis 1), the Priestly tradition:
Day 1: Sky, Earth, light
Day 2: Water, both in ocean basins and above the sky(!)
Day 3: Plants
Day 4: Sun, Moon, stars (as calendrical and navigational aids)
Day 5: Sea monsters (whales), fish, birds, land animals, creepy-crawlies (reptiles, insects, etc.)
Day 6: Humans (apparently both sexes at the same time)
Day 7: Nothing (the Gods took the first day off anyone ever did)
Note that there are "days", "evenings", and "mornings" before the Sun was created. Here, the Deity is referred to as "Elohim", which is a plural, thus the literal translation, "the Gods". In this tale, the Gods seem satisfied with what they have done, saying after each step that "it was good".
The second one (Genesis 2), the Yahwist tradition, goes:
Earth and heavens (misty); Adam, the first man (on a desolate Earth); Plants; Animals; Eve, the first woman (from Adam's rib)
How orderly were things created?
#1: Step-by-step. The only discrepancy is that there is no Sun or Moon or stars on the first three "days".
#2: God fixes things up as he goes. The first man is lonely, and is not satisfied with animals. God finally creates a woman for him. (funny thing that an omniscient god would forget things)
How satisfied with creation was he?
#1: God says "it was good" after each of his labors, and rests on the seventh day, evidently very satisfied.
#2: God has to fix up his creation as he goes, and he would certainly not be very satisfied with the disobedience of that primordial couple. (funny thing that an omniscient god would forget things)
The original light discussed in Genesis 1:3 was the manifestation of God’s presence in contrast to the materiality of the universe referred to as darkness. While Genesis One appears to provide a step-by-step creation scenario, there is none of this in Genesis Two. Genesis Two is simply an amplification on items mentioned in Genesis One (see my note in “Fowl from Waters or Ground”). There is no “Oh, and I forgot this…” from God in Genesis Two. God was very satisfied with his creation. He was especially happy with man BEFORE he sinned. It does not follow that because God knows all things He must create robots that CANNOT sin.