Genesis 1 - 2

Because the notion of a tabula rasa for a sentient being of roughly 30 years is nigh impossible, no matter how many times that sentient being has partitioned himself into other bits, pseudonyms, nom de plume, sobriquets and nom de guerre or two this partitioning and compartmentalizing cannot in fact create a completely blank slate. Ok, maybe that was a bit dramatic and I don't really have one, let alone two of those nom de guerre thingamajigs, but the point of that fractious and a bit haughty long-winded sentence is that no matter how hard I try, I can't completely erase the memories that have molded me into the person I am so well that the person I create in the blogosphere is innocent of my experience. There is no tabula rasa for Spicer Proud - but I shall try to imagine that he is as such. So, for the pseudo-intellectual mind of Spicer Proud the only possible place to start an adventure of the mind is at the origins. So here are my, as in Spicer Proud's first thoughts on Genesis 1-2.

The order of Creation in Chapter 1 seems to go: day 1 - light, day 2 - Sky, day 3 - Land & Sea + vegetation, day 4 - Sun & Moon (and stars), day 5 - the fish and the birds, day 6 - the land animals and mankind. On Day 7 he rested. For some odd reason the people who split the Bible into chapters put the end of chapter 1 as the beginning of chapter 2, but these seems unimportant to me, just an oddity. On the seventh day God rested, blessed it and made it holy. The order of Creation in Chapter 2 appears to be different though. There was an earth in the beginning of Chapter 2 but there was no vegetation or land because there wasn't rain yet or man to work the earth. So God then made man out of the ground and breathed life into him. From there God put the man in the garden in the east, Eden which seems to be an overall lovely place. In the garden were two trees that the text mentions by name, the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. God put the man in the garden to work the garden. Then God brought the animals made out of the ground to be named but the man. This was going well enough but no suitable helper was found for the man so God made the man's companion out of the man's own rib.

The first thing that needs further exploring is why are these two chapters out of order in comparison with one another? Are there two stories being told here? Is chapter two a summary of chapter one made to be a little more focused on man's role? Is there a newer story and an older story placed side by side in an anthology that eventually became the book we now know as Genesis? I don't know, but this is something worth looking into.

Another thing to be explored is whether these stories are to be taken as literal, allegorical, mythological or a combination thereof. Given the scientific theory of evolution it would seem hard to see this as completely as historical-literal, but there are millions of intelligent people that believe that Genesis (and the entire Scriptures) serves as history textbook.

However, less confusing are a couple of things in this origin story meant to be emphasized by the author or authors.

1. First, God sees his creation as good at the end of each day, except for when he created the sky. When all of creation was complete God saw that it was very good. 
2. Second, the first day in Genesis chapter 1 emphasizes the act of separating light from darkness. In either an allegorical or even a literal reading of the text the separation of light and darkness has religious significance. The separation of light from darkness is mentioned both in verse 4 & verse 18. 
3. Third, in continuing with this religious significance is a little blurb about the Sun and the Moon. In addition to being that which governs the day and night and marks the seasons and the years, the Sun & Moon are to "serve as signs to mark sacred times". This shows that the sun and moon while not being the object of worship themselves, are to be pointers as to when to mark sacred times of the year. In the act of creation God is making religion important.
4. There are a number of blessings that God gives, first to the birds and the fish - multiply & fill the earth, then to man - multiply, fill the earth & subdue it. In each of these blessings God also gives a task. The third and final blessing God gives is to the seventh day in which he makes it holy.
5. When God does create man in the first chapter He does so by creating man in "our image" and "our likeness". Man is thus created to be like God.

But, there are still things that need consideration in the reading.

1. When God creates the man in the first chapter he does so in "our image" and "our likeness". Does this 'our' mean a multitude of gods or is it as Christianity presents the Trinitarian view of the Godhead?
2. Second, when God creates man in 'our image' and 'our likeness' is the author stating that 'our image' is different than 'our likeness' or is he merely using a literary tool?
3. The word to call God who he is different in Chapter 1 and Chapter 2. In Chapter 1 God is simply referred to as God. But, in Chapter 2 God is referred to as the LORD God. Why this difference? Is it significant?

There are probably many more questions that can be considered and intellectual avenues to saunter and meander down in these chapters, but I feel as though we've established enough questions to move forward on for now. Thank you for your time.

Spicer