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ThinkerMan

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It appears that the Jewish faith doesn't believe in a literal interpretation of Genesis...I'm interested in your thoughts.

Here is the link to the Editorial Board of the Jewish Encyclopedia, so you know the source of the information

http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/litdir.jsp

****************************************
Historical Criticism.
The historicity of the Book of Genesis is more or less denied, except by the representatives of a strict inspiration theory. Genesis recounts myths and legends. It is generally admitted that the primal story is not historical (ch. i.-xi.); but critics vary in ascribing to the stories of the Patriarchs more or less of a historical foundation. For details see the articles under their respective names; here only a summary can be given:

(a)
The story of the Creation can not be historically true, for the reasons

(1)
that there can be no human traditions of these events;

(2)
its assumption of a creation in six days, with the sequence of events as recounted, contradicts the theories of modern science regarding the formation of the heavenly bodies during vast periods of time, especially that of the earth, its organisms, and its position in the universe. The popular view of Genesis can not be reconciled with modern science. The story is a religio-scientific speculation on the origin of the world, analogous to the creation-myths found among many peoples. The similarities to the Babylonian creation-myth are most numerous and most striking. The extent of its dependence on other myths, the mode of transmission, and the age and history of the tradition and its adaptation are still matters of dispute.

(b)
The story of the Garden of Eden (ch. ii., iii.) is a myth, invented in order to answer certain questions of religion, philosophy, and cultural history. Its origin can not be ascertained, as no parallel to it has so far been found.

(c)
The stories of Cain and Abel and the genealogies of the Cainites and Sethites are reminiscences of legends, the historical basis for which can no longer be ascertained. Their historical truth is excluded by the great age assigned to the Sethites, which contradicts all human experience. A parallel is found in the ten antediluvian primal kings of Babylonian chronology, where the figures are considerably greater.

(d)
The story of the Flood is a legend that is found among many peoples. It is traced back to a Babylonian prototype, still extant. It is perhaps founded on reminiscences of a great seismic-cyclonic event that actually occurred, but could have been only partial, as a general flood of the whole earth, covering even the highest mountains, is not conceivable.

(e)
The genealogy of peoples is a learned attempt to determine genealogically the relation of peoples known to the author, but by no means including the entire human race; this point of view was current in antiquity, although it does not correspond to the actual facts.

(f)
The stories of the Patriarchs are national legends. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and his sons are idealized personifications of the people, its tribes, and families; and it can not now be ascertained whether or not these are based on more or less obscure reminiscences of real personages. In any case, these legends furnish no historically definite or even valuable information regarding the primal history of the people of Israel. The whole conception of the descent of one people from one family and one ancestor is unhistorical; for a people originates through the combination of different families. It has also been maintained that the stories of the Patriarchs are pale reflections of mythology or nature-myths.
 
ThinkerMan said:
It appears that the Jewish faith doesn't believe in a literal interpretation of Genesis...I'm interested in your thoughts.
]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]

You left out just about the rest of the humans on the face of the planet which include but not limited to most of Christianity. The only ones that believe the literal story of Genesis and the O/T are fundamentalists that simply choose to ignore the reality that their is absolutely no physical evidence to back the fantastic claims found in Genesis.
 
rezn, couldn't agree with you more.

I am not entirely suprised none of the fundamentalists here have responded.

Pity.
 
Hmmm. Thoughts on creation? I think it happened the way the Bible says. If it says God created the Heavens and the earth in six days, then it was so. And it was good! :tongue I don't think we evolved from monkeys. I think there was definately a first man, Adam. A species all its own.
 
http://www.asa3.org/archive/ASA/200103/0031.html

The latest Gallup poll I could find said
45% of Americans believed "God created human beings pretty much in their present form at one time within the last 10,000 years or so,"
37% selected "Human beings have developed over millions of years from less advanced forms of life, but God guided this process", and only
12% chose "Human beings have developed over millions of years from less advanced forms of life, but God had no part in this process."

That's a lot of fundamentalists in this country.
 
You'd be surprised to know (or maybe not) that many Catholics of years gone by and currently, do not take the Genesis creation literally either.
 
The pope is also a fan of the Harry Potter series, which is all about sorcery. The Papacy endorses the Opus Dei sect, which is also a cult.
The pope also couldn't decide whether he accepted The Passion of the Christ or not. What a conflicted institution! Yet with so much money and power-very dangerous.
 
Willow said:
The pope is also a fan of the Harry Potter series, which is all about sorcery.

I'm a fan too. It's called make-believe. Just like Peter Pan doesn't potray real Pirates and Indians, Harry Potter doesn't potray real sorcery. It's not a sin to use your imagination.
 
No, I am not suprised at all by the Catholic stance, I am well aware of it. That poll was very interesting, however.

With regards to the Pope liking Harry Potter, that is a ridiculous point. It is fiction. So is "Left Behind", by the way.
 
Isn't it interesting how many "scientists" generalize on the views held by the 4-5 billion people on the planet? Just as I would not lump all us "fundamentalists" into the same set of beliefs, I would hesitate in attributing the views expressed in that dictionary reference to all Jews. This is a fairly liberal view with which a large portion of the Jewish community would not agree.
 
man

Willow said:
Hmmm. Thoughts on creation? I think it happened the way the Bible says. If it says God created the Heavens and the earth in six days, then it was so. And it was good! :tongue I don't think we evolved from monkeys. I think there was definately a first man, Adam. A species all its own.
==============
Man did not evolve from monkeys. Man evolved from himself. Man is a separate species. You have monkeys, you have chimps, you have gorillas etc. They are similar but different. Our DNA and the DNA of chimps are about 99% identical.
 
I have met Jews who actually agreed with a 10,000 year old Earth. So they exist, but they don't seem to be very numerous.
 
the evolution religion

It is not a surprise that the nation of Israel is in trouble. Many haven't accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and savior,as most true christians know,although many,many jews are saved all over the world and in Israel and they do believe the bible literally. I have friends in Israel who do,amen.

about the monkeys,why aren't they still evolving? why can't humans and apes breed and make babies together?
all christians here,be alerted to the fact that some of the evolutionist claimers say they like fantasy!!!
at least they are half way there to admiting to you what they believe in and what they like.
The bible tells us that in the last days the love of most will grow cold,and the people will be lovers of themselves,and having itchy ears they will turn to fables and fairytales instead of believing the sound truth of the bible. FABLES!!! WOW!!!!
I don't bother to read fiction,I like the real stuff. Reality is so much better than fiction,amen.
It is amazing to see the reality of bible prophecy coming true right in front of us today.
It is the fool who says in his/her heart that there is no God!
the fool delights in foolish lips.
If you rebuke a wise man,he will love you,but if you try to correct a fool in his folly he will hate you.
God will send strong delusions upon the wicked so they will believe the lie because they have not the love of the truth. :Fade-color
 
reptile descendants

8-) so.... if I claimed that you were related to the snake and said I could prove it,would that make it so?
what about the cockroach or the rat?
Well,I think you are related to the viper personally,and here is why:
1.Lying lips
2.anger & rage
3.crawls on belly & eats dust
4.name calling and twisting of the truth.
5. tries to cause people to doubt God
6.claims to be God.
7.says,did God really say......
8.sneaks around,is crafty
9.tries to transform into an angel of light
10. decieves mankind
11.hates the female and her offspring,so tries to invent another way man was born and/or created.
12.the serpent bites the natural mans heel,the heel of the Son of man crushes the head of serpent.
13. the serpent is the enemy of woman and her seed.
14.denies God,yet knows fully well that he lives and exists.
15. wants to be God,will do anything to be worshiped.
16. rebelled against God.
17.created false religions and witchcraft,and idolatry to cause people to be thrown into the lake of fire where he is going.
18. causes mankind to hate one another and all life forms.
19.the prince of the air
20. causes every evil desire and lust to spread all over the world.
21.the father of lies.
:B-fly:
 
Why are you talking to yourself? I guess you're the only person who would ever say one of your posts is correct.
 
!

(Edited because of the abusive name calling)

Stop spamming debates. :x
 
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