Re: Question's on Genesis

Yonah D Russ (yonahd@juno.com)
Thu, 31 Jul 1997 22:22:06 -0400

"Wright, Lisa M" <Lisa.Wright@PSS.Boeing.com> wrote:
<<I've been reading the book of Genesis again lately and there are some
things about it that really bother me. The first chapter goes through the
creation of the earth in "7 days". The second chapter then goes into the
creation of Eden and Adam and Eve. Looking at the two, it's difficult to
determine if these are two separate creative efforts, or two different
accounts of the same one. Some people I've talked to say that chapter 1 is
talking about a diverse race of man that was created at the same time the
world was created and chapter 2 is about the chosen race which was created
sometime after. Now some of these people were Christians and some call
themselves Pagan..>>

Both the first account and the second account are of the same, and only
creation. Each however gives a different viewpoint of the creation. The
first is more general, focusing on the entire creation, while the second is
more specific and focuses on the creation of man. As to whether they were
christians or pagans, I am not sure of your question. At the time there
were neither Jews nor Christians. Adam existed on the highest level of
spirituality without religion like we have today. Chazal (our sages) do
teach that there were other humanoids created but that they lacked the
'breath of life' which gave Adam his unique state among the creations. Some
say these may account for neanderthal man.

Yonah Russ
<yonah@thepentagon.com>
Torah is life... The Rest Is Just Details!
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