CHAPTER XIII.

TWO COSMOGONIES OF GENESIS.

A stereotyped claim of Bible believers is this: "The account of creation given in Genesis is in harmony with the accepted teachings of science." But which account? In the opening chapters of Genesis are presented two ancient poems, written by different authors. The first comprises the first chapter and the first three verses of the second chapter; the second comprises the remainder of the second chapter. Each poem contains a cosmogony. But neither of them agrees with the demonstrated truths of science. Above all, they do not agree with each other. The points of disagreement are many, chief of which are the following:

1.

In the first cosmogony the appellation of Deity is uniformly "Elohim" (the gods), translated "God." This term occurs thirty-five times.

In the second, the appellation of Deity is uniformly "Jehovah (Yahweh) Elohim," translated "Lord God." This term occurs eleven times.

The first belongs to the Priestly code, the second to the Jehovistic document. They represent different schools of Jewish thought and different periods of Jewish history.

2.

In the first, earth is a chaos covered with water. The waters must be assuaged before vegetation can appear.

In the second, earth is at first a dry plain. Vegetation cannot exist because there is no moisture. "For the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth" (ii, 5).

3.

In the first, plants are created from the earth--are a product of the earth. "And the earth brought forth grass and herb" (i, 12).

In the second, they are created independent of the earth--are created by God and then transferred to earth. "The Lord God made the earth and the heavens, and every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew" (ii, 4, 5).

4.

In the first, fowls, fish, and aquatic animals form one act of creation--land animals and reptiles another; the former being created on the fifth day, the latter on the sixth (i, 21-25).

In the second, fowls and land animals are created at the same time--form one creation act (ii, 19).

5.

In the first, fowls are created out of the water. "And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth" (i, 20).

In the second, fowls are created out of the ground. "Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every fowl of the air" (ii, 19).

6.

In the first, trees are created before man. Trees appear on the third day, while man does not appear until the sixth day.

In the second, trees are created after man. "And the Lord God formed man; ... planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree," etc. (ii, 7, 8.)

7.

In the first, fowls are created before man--are created on the fifth day, while the creation of man does not occur until the sixth day.

In the second, fowls are created after man. "The Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them" (ii, 19).

8.

In the first, man is created after the beasts. God's first work on the sixth day was the creation of beasts, his last work was the creation of man (i, 24-31).

In the second, man is created before the beasts. God makes man before he plants the garden of Eden, while beasts are not made until after the garden is planted (ii, 7-19).

9.

In the first, man and woman are created at the same time. "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them" (i, 27).

In the second, woman is created after man. The writer supposes a considerable period of time to have elapsed between the creation of man and the creation of woman. God creates man; then he plants a garden and places the man there to tend it; next he makes the animals and birds and brings them to Adam to name; finally he concludes that Adam needs a helpmate, and taking a rib from his body, creates woman.

10.

The first cosmogony comprises eight distinct creations: 1. Light. 2. The firmament. 3. Dry land. 4. Vegetation. 5. Sun, moon, and stars. 6. Fish and fowls. 7. Land animals. 8. Man.

The second comprises four creations: 1. Man (Adam). 2. Trees. 3. Animals. 4. Woman (Eve).

11.

In the first, the heavens and the earth are created in six literal days.

In the second, no mention is made of this six days' creation. On the contrary, the writer simply refers to "the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens" (ii, 4).

12.

In the first, God, from his throne in heaven, speaks earth's creation into being. "God said, Let the earth bring forth, ... and it was so."

In the second, God comes down on earth, plants a garden, molds man out of clay, breathes in his nostrils, makes woman out of a rib, makes birds and animals as a child makes mud pies, and brings them to Adam to see what he will call them.

13.

In the first, man at the creation is given both fruit and herbs to subsist upon. "Behold I have given you every herb bearing seed, ... and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat" (i, 29).

In the second, he is given fruit alone for food. Not until after he sins and the curse is pronounced does God say, "Thou shalt eat the herb of the field" (iii, 18). According to this writer the use of herbs and grain for food was a consequence of man's fall.

14.

In the first, man may partake of the fruit of all the trees. "Every tree in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat" (i, 29).

In the second, he is not permitted to partake of the fruit of all the trees. "Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden" (iii, 1). "Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it" (ii, 17).

15.

In the first, "God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament" (i, 7). When moisture was needed "the windows of heaven were opened" and water discharged from the reservoir above. When enough was discharged "the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained" (viii, 2).

In the second, when moisture was needed, "There went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground" (ii, 6).

16.

In the first, man is given dominion over all the earth. "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" (i, 26).

In the second, his dominion is confined to a garden. "And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and keep it" (ii, 15).

17.

Both cosmogonies are theological rather than scientific. The real purpose of the first, in its present form at least, is not so much to explain the creation of the universe as to inculcate a belief in the divine institution of the Sabbath. It belongs to the Priestly code, and one of the chief pillars of priestcraft is the Sabbath.

The second contains no recognition of the Sabbath. The chief purpose of this account of the creation, if we include the third chapter, which is really a continuation of it, is to establish the doctrine of the Fall of Man.

18.

According to the first the Creator is an optimist. He views all his works and declares them "good."

According to the second the Creator is a pessimist. He sees in his works both "good and evil;" the good continuing to diminish, and the evil continuing to increase.

To establish the credibility and divine origin of Genesis it is necessary not merely to harmonize its theories with science, but to reconcile its statements with each other. The latter is as impossible as the former. Dean Stanley, in his Memorial Sermon on Sir Charles Lyell at Westminster Abbey, made this frank admission:

"It is now clear to diligent students of the Bible that the first and second chapters of Genesis contain two narratives of the creation, side by side, differing from each other in most every particular of time, place, and order."