The Good Book: Chapter 1 Book 1 Genesis 1-50

The Good Book?

Chapter 1 Book 1

Genesis 1-50

M. W. Collier

Copyright © 2011 by M. W. Collier.

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Dedication

For Mom, Saundra (Sandy With), 1947-1982, The strongest, wisest and kindest person I will ever know, your light and your love will always remain to help guide the path of those who still remain.

For Uncle Rocky, 1950-1991, In the end you faced an overwhelming and undeserved pain that none should have to bear, the memory of your courage has inspired many and remained strong through all of these years.

Wendy, 1971-1989, Taking the chances few would dare, you lived without fear and reached for your dreams, I will always hold you in my heart.

Foreword

If I were to trace the genealogy of my family back to the one hundred and forty-seventh or forty-eight generation, I would reach God. That is, if I traced my line back through time and reached some among the main characters in the New Testament, then continued further back using the genealogy found in the Bible all the way to God it would only be, at most, one hundred forty-eight generations. How is it even remotely possible that this could be correct? Man has existed for a long, long time on this planet. Even though there are many who still deny the actual age of man there is overwhelming proof man has existed for a lot longer than the one hundred and forty-eight generations it would take for me to trace my line back to God.

Even if I traced my line all the way back to God what good would it do? There are many others who have been called God by mankind. Thousands of Gods have lived within the mind of man since we first climbed down from whatever tree we once called home. Someone among our kind has it wrong. I doubt we have all been right. Which God among the thousands was THE God in the beginning? If there is only one true God of man then which God was or is it? Was it the Hebrew God? If this were true then why is it I can say he would have been my one hundred and forty-fifth Great Grandfather? Simply not enough time there, not if you can look around at the world as I do. I have Native American ancestors who lived and died within the so-called new world long before my one hundred and forty-fifth Great Grandfather would have existed. Yet, the genealogy of the Bible combined with genealogy from now to the birth of the Christ only gives us this limited number.

The book you are about to read is not meant to reduce the faith anyone has in God. It is meant to open your eyes a little to the very dark and often confusing words found within the King James Version of the Bible. This little book will leave you angered, possibly offended, and maybe, hopefully a little wiser than you may have been before you picked it up and turned the pages. While reading this book I hope you find things in the chapters of Genesis that I have missed or overlooked. I want everyone who reads it to think a little, not simply follow what they are told.

When the numbers are wrong and the facts are confused, we owe it to all who came before and especially to those yet to come, to get it right, and find the truth of all we see and hear and read in this, our time. Get past the controversies you will discover within these pages and maybe you will find things you never thought could exist.

M.W.Collier

Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand. And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself, how shall then his kingdom stand? (Bible, King James Version.)

This witness is true, wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith. Not giving heed to Jewish fables and commandments of men, that turn from the truth. (Bible, King James Version.)

What are some of the things you think of when you read the Bible or worship in your religious center? If you allow me to borrow some of your time, maybe I can attempt to explain some of what I think of when I read the Bible, or when I hear the words of this ancient text spoken aloud. The following words I have chosen as part of the intro into this book are few among the many which could be used. Sex, rape, murder, lies, deception, incest, alcohol abuse, child abuse, hallucinations, delusional behavior, murder of the innocent, as you may notice despite the harshness this list could be continued nearly without end, should I have chosen to continue with it. The one thing all of these words have in common is not the fact all of them are more than relevant to the modern world of man, it is the fact each of them and many more define man as found within the first book of the Bible. In the book of Genesis the true nature of humans can be found by the observant mind in great detail. Indeed, there are several examples within this first book which at times go into extraordinarily disgusting and disturbing detail while revealing true human nature. This first book can be considered part of the foundation blocks for three of the dominant religions of man today; even though it is considered a sacred text by many within these religions it offers us incredible insight into the dark very often corrupt souls of men. Within the fifty chapters, as found in the King James Version of the Bible, we are told a tragic human story of war, degradation, sadness, sorrow and of the often easily corruptible nature of men.

Open to the confused interpretations of each and every single living breathing one of us, the words contained within these chapters cannot be disguised nor should there meanings be denied. As humans we can rationalize and change the meaning of all we see, read and hear to suit our own ideologies and our own desires. What we must no longer deny are the truths which were written into the Bible. People of this now distant period of time are in so many ways the same as we are today. For thousands of years the human soul has breathed and the body of man has walked this world. Even so in this dark time in which we humans again live we can look back and clearly see we have not changed in even the slightest way since the writing of the Old Testament. Remember and consider for a moment when these words which we read were first spoken from man to man long before they were written, they were in those most distant of times contemporary to the people who preached them, as well as those who believed them.

After looking back into the veil of time we should all examine the news today. Yet another long continuing war within the holy lands, plagues, disease, famine, death and destruction, brother killing brother, children being murdered or sold into bondage for the pleasure of man, as you can plainly see we have lost our way. The book of Genesis could describe all the world of man today just as easily as it describes the world as it was in the beginning of our kind. How many worshipers of the one God of man can with all sincerity say today we are a good and noble race? When too many among our kind seemingly act as if we were the ones about whom the Bible was written the question just asked answer’s itself.

Too many among us today take our personal beliefs and interpretations of those beliefs far too serious in this our own time, doing so without any regard for those who are different. As in generations past, today, with complete impunity we seek to twist the words of God making them what we think they should be instead of what they were meant to be. The Bible today is nothing more than a record of man, recording in written word the best and worst of humankind, copied and recopied by men often from inaccurate or incomplete manuscripts previously copied by other men, thus it has been done continually throughout the centuries for the consumption of man. Frankly, it has been the interpretation given by the few to the many of the words contained within the sacred text that has led for centuries to the conquest and the enslavement of the human mind and soul by those same few who seek power and dominion. An example to consider might be the Church sanctioned Crusades of the middle ages, listing this here as just one example among the many which have helped lead us into the current problems we again face within the holy lands. Once in time it was easy to justify any and all things a man’s tormented mind might do through the use of the word God. Sadly, today, there are still many people among us who attempt to justify their evil deeds through the use of this same ancient technique. Knowing these people exist, maybe today we should all reexamine as closely as possible the words of the Holy scripture, words, which as our ancestors did so many in our modern time misquote and misuse. If for every mistake, questionable act or deplorable deed mentioned within the good book just a small handful of people were to stop their nonsensical behaviors the world today would be all the greater for it.

Where do we begin this journey of enlightenment? Well, where all things are said to have begun, with the beginning of course. Where will the words we see and read take us from here? Hopefully what follows will not reduce the faith any of us may have, only help lead us to understanding it takes more than faith or devotion to any man or God to create positive change. We have not changed from the beginning, maybe now would be a good time to really make an effort to begin the process of becoming something better than we are, better than we were. Today, while we find ourselves yet again within the dawning years of a new millennia we are left with little to no choice at all, in that if we fail to mature as a community, as a whole, then we may leave for our children nothing except decaying cities and corrupt souls.

Genesis 1:1. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

Genesis 1:2. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

Genesis 1:3. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

Genesis 1:4. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

Genesis 1:5. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

Genesis 1:6. And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.

Genesis 1:7. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.

Genesis 1:8. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

Genesis 1:9. And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.

Genesis 1:10. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:11. And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.

Genesis 1:12. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:13. And the evening and the morning were the third day.

Genesis 1:14. And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:

Genesis 1:15. And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.

Genesis 1:16. And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.

Genesis 1:17. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,

Genesis 1:18. And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:19. And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

Genesis 1:20. And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.

Genesis 1:21. And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:22. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.

Genesis 1:23. And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

Genesis 1:24. And God said, Let the Earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.

Genesis 1:25. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:26. And God said let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

Genesis 1:27. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

Genesis 1:28. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

Genesis1:29. And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

Genesis 1:30. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.

Genesis 1:31. And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

Looking within the first chapter of Genesis I am left with numerous questions as well as several comments. As I write this I am unsure of where the next few typed words will lead us, I can only hope they will help enlighten all who read them, even if only modestly so. Having said this, one question which must be included here is whether or not God created light on the first day or on the fourth day, I am asking because both days are listed as days in which light has been created. Even though this apparent contradiction may hold some slight relevance it is definitely not the most important inclusion to be placed within the Bible, as such we should continue with some of the other perhaps more important items. In the first chapter of Genesis there are written, at least in potential, words which allude to the existence of other gods, the writers use the plural us and our when referring to the words God may have used when creating man. If as a religious person you believe every line or passage within this book then you must at least acknowledge the words as they have been written. Though in fact the words themselves have been acknowledged in past centuries by several who were very religious, some among them would explain the plural use of us and our as representing the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost, each a distinct personality of God yet together one single entity. You can choose to believe this explanation or you can take a look again at the words and hold off concluding on their meaning for awhile, as this is not the only mention within Genesis of the existence of other gods. However, if this is the explanation you choose to believe then maybe you can explain why the Son of God who according to Christian doctrine had not yet been born could be used to explain words which originated many centuries prior to his life. It is a sad point of history that some men who were very religious chose to define this passage by including the Son of God, it is sad because long ago several of them died at the hands of the Roman Catholic Church despite their defense of the words within these passages, and of God.

Moving on from this we should continue by questioning why this chapter so completely contradicts the next in the wording used when man is created. In the first chapter we are created and given dominion over everything living on the world, in addition we are told we can eat the fruit of every tree, yet in the next chapter you will plainly see God placing man within the garden and warning him against eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge. We are also told within the first chapter to replenish and subdue the earth, not a portion of it but all of it. It is however the use of the word replenish, which I find the most intriguing, as this word means to replace, or refill something. Could the use of this word mean the world had existed prior to the beginning of Genesis? In my mind it does in the very least make me question whether or not the Bible admits to us the fact that the earth existed long before man did. One other last small point to place here is the apparent difference between God as referenced in the first chapter and God as written within the second chapter. The God of the first seems to be a little kinder and much less interactive with the world and man whom he created than does the God of the second chapter. In the first man is created and let loose to wander and live as he chooses, in the second you will see there are conditions placed upon man which will threaten his very existence should he fail to abide by them.

Equally important as the inclusion of the word replenish in the first chapter of Genesis is the mention within the Bible of the continents being together at the dawn of creation. Science has in our time proven the continents were at one point conjoined, then over several hundreds of millions of years they separated from one another. In my religious experience this fact is never included in sermon, yet we can plainly see it has been included within Genesis. God himself is quoted as having said let the waters under the heavens gather together in one place and let the dry land appear. This would imply the possibility of one continent surrounded by water, the mere fact it is mentioned within the Bible should be acknowledged by all of us, especially those among us who are counted among the religious leaders of our world. The possible acknowledgement of the conjoined continents as well as sending man to replenish and subdue the world should be looked at very closely by each of us. It would seem the first chapter is the purest of the chapters within Genesis as well as being the closest to the real purpose and vision of God, long before man began to change him or before God became something else.

Just in case you cannot see in your mind the reason I believe the first chapter points to the world having one continent I will explain it to you. Take a globe of the world or even a map of the world, look closely at them. After having studied them for a few moments think about how it might look if all the water oceans were in one place. To achieve this on the globe imagine the waters were the entire top half, when you imagine it this way you should begin to understand why I believe the Bible mentions the conjoined continents. If all the waters were together on the top then all the land would be together on the bottom. The result being a clear example of this ancient story being accurate in at least one part, billions of years after the fact and thousands of years before human science proved the point.

As I can hear the rumbling within the religious community over the last few words, I should continue with a few more. Science and religion have been at odds for many generations; sadly this statement is an undisputable fact. If you are religious and refuse under any circumstance to allow science the chance to show the proofs of what many in their community say about the Earths past, you should close this book now as it is doubtful it will help you in any way. On the other hand if you are a scientist who has devoted your life to the pursuit of knowledge and proven truth the next few words may alarm you, in fact they may cause both groups to rethink the reasons for the disputes which have existed between men of God and men of science for the last many centuries. We may have already proven this ancient text called by many today the Bible has written within its pages words which could easily lead us to think the authors somehow knew about the conjoined continents. What if there were even more things written within the first chapter of Genesis; words about things the earliest among our kind could have no understandable way of knowing? What would these other things mean to you and I?

What more could possibly be found to write about within the first of Genesis? Well, God is quoted as having created life from the seas, then on the land. Science has said this for quite some time now. Why I was not told as a child about the similarities between the supposed written words of God and the widely agreed upon conclusions of science is something I will never have an answer for. God, man, and science have all three been quoted as saying life originated in water. Why I have never seen this in writing before is a curiosity to me. Why many religious men and woman throughout our world claim every word of the Bible as having been inspired by God and therefore divine truth, yet in some cases many of these same people have not been able to agree with science is beyond my understanding. Science has said life began in water; then evolved upon the land, the Bible says God created life in water, then upon the land. In my humble opinion you would have to be in serious denial to not see the obvious similarities.

In continuing we should think about what the world may have been like, long before man walked upon her. Long before our kind lived there were several other inhabitants upon this planet, they lived here for hundreds of millions of years; then most of them perished. Science has said this, up until today most religions have not. Many among us read the words of our religious texts, to include the Bible, and make comments about the world existing for only a few days before man was created. If we could only summon the courage and the strength required to view the first chapter with an expression I will use throughout this book, a little thing called common sense, maybe we would all be a little better off today. The words of the Bible, which many of us were raised on, can