Page 14 - Pentateuch - Student Textbook

Even to Lugal-dimmer-an-ki-a, ‘the king of the gods’:
“Verily it was Kingu that started the conflict,
Who made Tiamat to revolt and the battle staged.”
They (formally) bound him, held him fast before Ea,
Laid the (total) crime upon him, cutting into his blood:
Thereupon from his blood he created mankind,
13
Imposed the service upon him, released the gods who must else have served.

Like ancient cultures, modern science has chosen a very different understanding of how this world came
to be. While some scientists see evidence for “intelligent design,” the reigning explanation excludes any
divine part in the world as we know it. Instead life has gradually evolved over millions of years from
single-celled organisms to humans. Usually evolution expects more change in the millions of years
ahead, assuming that the best species will be selected by natural processes and the more flawed will die
out.

Classic evolution can be found in any number of biology textbooks. None can answer some of the most
basic issues. How did life first come about? How did plant life become animal life? How did animal life
become human life? Yet modern discoveries constantly change the mix of thought. In the last few years,
for example, scientists have mapped out one of the most basic aspects of life, the genetic code. Without
getting into details here, all life is made up of different sequences of chemicals. So even human
personality, likes and dislikes, memory, and other aspects that make a person a person supposedly are
no more than chemical interactions. With advancing techniques, perhaps someday scientists can isolate
the genetic formula for intelligence, enabling parents to make their offspring smarter. Or perhaps the
tendency to steal can be found in a gene sequence, allowing for the possibility of injecting a thief with a
chemical that will change his genetic make-up. We can, in effect, take over our evolution and become
better and better as a race.

How very different is the Genesis account! Being made in the image of God with purpose and
personality works out quite differently than some code sequence. Science says, “The universe is in
essence just a simple computer program. All of its complexity, up to and including ourselves, is the
product of just a few, as-yet-unknown instructions – the equivalent of a few lines of code in a digital
computer.”
14

What beliefs or stories/myths about creation are prevalent in your culture, either regional, national, or
local? Is God viewed as a person who is both distant and yet personal? How do creation beliefs affect
the way people treat one another? Are some treated differently because of physical differences? Is
there a distinct concept of rest and work? When someone does not get enough rest or work, how does
that affect them?

How do people in your culture identify and celebrate marriage? Is it public? Must it involve family? Is the
practice changing? Does the church have a different view than people in general? Can you observe
differences in marriages that ignore the “one flesh” Bible view.

13 J. V. Kinnier Wilson, “The Epic of Creation,” Documents from Old Testament Times, ed. D. Winton Thomas (New
York: Harper, 1961), 12.
14 C.W. Petit, “The Cosmic Code,” U.S. News and World Report (Aug. 10, 2002), p. 48.

13