The Genesis "Myth"

It was recently suggested to me that the OT book of Genesis was a myth, one provided to those before us to help them wrap their heads around reality and accept their place in the universe.  As such, I here are some thoughts on the "metaphorical" or mythological book of Genesis.

In the beginning...
Genesis 1:1-3, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light."

 Genesis 1:1 is the underpinning of the whole Bible.  If you cannot believe Genesis 1:1, you cannot accept the Bible.  It also provides more.  "In the beginning Elohim created the heaven and the earth".  Elohim is the first clue for the trinity.  Elohim is God in Hebrew, but it is plural.  This verse shows us the trinity was involved.  We see the Spirit moving on the waters.  We see the Father speaking the world into existance, and from John we know that Jesus is the Word who created it all.  Pretty cool. 

Creation Week
For those who believe somehow that the "days" are not literal 24-hour periods and that evolution is a creation of God, lets look at the order given for creation:

Day 1, Let light be
Day 2, Stretching of space
Day 3, Land of vegetation
Day 4, Sun, moon, and stars
Day 5, Sea, animals, and birds
Day 6, Land animals and mankind
Day 7, The Sabbath - rest

So, in the long-day model, the sun was created thousands/millions of years after plants.  Come on, isn't God smarter than that?

About Those Trees...
Genesis 2:9, "And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil."

First, God allowed to grow, not created the trees.  That is a new thought for some, but the really interesting "fingerprint" of God in Genesis is the text from Genesis 1:29-2:9.  This section of text in the Hebrew contains the name of every tree in the Bible, all 25.  As the Hebrew scholar said, "with God there are no coincidences".

Genealogies Are Inspired, Too
Genesis 5 lists the first 12 generations, but these names are not interpreted.  However, if one digs into the Hebrew roots the results are quite interesting. 

Adam:  (adomah) "man"
Seth:  "appointed" (Genesis 4:25)
Enosh:  (from root anash, "to be incurable") "mortal", "frail", "miserable"
Kenan:  "sorrow,", "dirge", "elegy"
Mahalal'el:  "the Blessed God' (mahalal) "blessed", El - the name for God
Jared:  (from the verb yaradh) "shall come down"
Enoch:  "commencement" or "teaching"
Methusaleh:  "his death shall bring", muth, a root that means "death"; shalach means "bring" or "send forth"
Lamech:  "despairing" (from which we get "lament" or "lamentation")
Noah:  (derived from nacham) "comfort" or "rest" (Genesis 5:29)

Strung together, you get the following message, "Man [is] appointed mortal sorrow; [but] the blessed God shall come down teaching [that His] death shall bring [the] despairing rest."

Lessons - a summary of the New Testament Gospel hidden in the first book of the Old Testament.  We know that "all scripture is given by inspiration", so is there by design.  It also shows that God's plan of redemption was laid at the foundation of the world, and had been planned from before. 

About Evolution
Recent advances in microbiology and the complexity of the cell have really turned evolutionists on their ear.  Michael Behe's book "Darwin's Black Box" is one of many eye-openers.  Also, the laws of Thermodynamics, which are explained in the Bible, interestingly, also deny evolution.  As the second law of Thermodynamics gives us the law of entropy, or that all things wind down, it is interesting to Christians to note that at one point God will end entropy.  Romans 8:21, "Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God."

In summary I do not consider any part of Genesis a myth, or anything other than God's Word.  The above should help others along this path, and please understand this is just a bit from what we can learn from Genesis.  There is soooo much more.  Truly one of my favorite books.