A reader of the Daily Dvar just asked: Sometimes when I am reading your explanations, it comes across as though you are comparing the bible to make believe ancient mythologies. It kind of feels like Genesis is being lumped in with all the other stories. I just need some help in understanding what you are trying to convey in making these comparisons. We serve the only true and living God, and I believe that every word in the bible is true. I really enjoy receiving and reading your emails and I need your help in understanding this. My response: Great question! I am trying to remind everyone that Genesis means what it meant when the author wrote it. Today, if someone writes a story and mentions Superman or Sherlock, we know what they mean because we know stories about Superman and Sherlock Holmes. But imagine someone a thousand years from now finds a magazine from 2014 and they dont know who Superman or Sherlock is. But suppose some scholars study 21st century American writings and they find out about the stories of Superman and Sherlock Holmes. They would be able to understand more of the article using that knowledge. When Genesis was written everyone knew who Tiamat was and so when Genesis talks about tehom [the deep], everyone gets that this is a reference to Tiamat. When Genesis was written, people did not know earth is a planet, that it is round, etc. They thought there were pillars holding up the sky and a clear firmament above holding up the rain, hail, and snow. We have to read Genesis the way it was written and not pretend the writers and the original audience were the same as us.
Posted on: Sun, 19 Oct 2014 14:52:43 +0000
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