Plan C - Response to ProfMTH

Using our "Logic" we could say that God is a thief because he "took" Adams rib. In a like manner "Plan B" is no different. By "Logically" surmising that since no helper was "suitable" we assume from our "Logic" that the first attempt was "Plan A". If one always approaches the Hebrew Scriptures with this mindset then they will never begin to appreciate the real messages that are built into the text.

Are there two creation accounts?

http://www.tektonics.org/jedp/creationtwo.html

One of the emperors said to Rabon Gamliel:

"Your God is a thief, as it is written, 'And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept. And He took a rib from Adam.'" The Rabbi's daughter said, "Let me answer this aspersion. Last night robbers broke into my room, and stole therefrom a silver vessel: but they left a golden one in its stead." The emperor replied, "I wish that such thieves would come every night." Thus was it with Adam; God took a rib from him, but placed a woman instead of it.

http://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/pol/pol36.htm

The Hebrew Mind vs The Western Mind

http://www.godward.org/Hebrew%20Roots/hebrew_mind_vs__the_western_mind.htm

My Big Fat Greek Mindset

http://www.torahresource.com/EnglishArticles/BigFatGreekMindsetPart1.pdf

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[ReverendWyrm]

If it is unfair to place our Greek and Roman based "Western" perception on an ancient Hebrew document, would you also conclude it unfair to impose those same ancient views upon modern, western thinkers? Wouldn't telling people that those ancient documents are historically accurate or the infallible word of "God" be unfair as well¿

[TruthCeeker333]

@ReverendWyrm Thanks for your comment. Actually to understand what the original writer meant we need to understand the mindset of their culture and not impose outside cultural approaches. Peace be with you.

[hitobedut]

Roman ideology is the form we have and has been so for along time. Hebrew thinking is subtle, dynamic and multi levelled. Rabbis teach that Genesis is a Poem---- Filled with secrets. At the same time it is "dry" that is ,it needs expounding upon.

I know plenty of Hindus who study the Bible, that dont have a problem with any of this stuff !

[TruthCeeker333]

hitobedut,

Thank you for these observations! Many people do study the creation account as one account and not two and they do not impose a Roman worldview upon the text.

[ProfMTH]

1st, thanks for your response. 2nd, one needn't employ any "cultural ideas of Greece and Rome" in order to recognize, e.g., that in one creation story (Genesis 1, which purports to offer a chronology of creation) the animals and birds are created before the man and the woman, while in the other the creation story the man comes first, followed by the animals, followed by the woman. And that's merely *one* of the significant differences between the two stories. The fact that you suggest a...

[TruthCeeker333]

Thanks for your comment. If anyone is interested in alternative answers to the "Two Creation" ideas. Check out the link in the description. Especially in regard to the "sequence" of events such as animals first then Adam second or vice versa.

[ProfMTH]

...found among the animals and birds. So Yahweh Elohim made a woman and brought her to the man to be named.

Thanks again.

[ProfMTH]

...could exist, but this god is not the same omniscient god who planned everything out in advance that Christianity professes. (On a tangentially related note, it's always funny to hear a Christian talking about not imposing Greek or other Western notions upon things from the past when so much of Christian theology borrows so heavily from Greek philosophy and imposes it back upon not only the Jesus story but also the biblical god generally.) Fourth, yes, Plan B. No "suitable helper" was...

[ProfMTH]

...metaphor for how human beings were created, i.e., the bit about Adam having both female and male attributes that were later (in the second story) separated from one another into two people, shows that there *is* a significant difference between the two stories that one will either accept as a difference or one will impose some atextual explanation upon in an attempt to reconcile the two stories. 3rd, I didn't argue "God is flawed, therefore there is no god." The god depicted in Genesis 2...