I spend most of my space here talking about Genesis 2
I do see the two chapters (Gen 1 and 2) as two different creation stories, but let me explain. Genesis one puts earth into a form the ancients could relate to - the whole earth, God's creation, as a temple. Genesis 2 puts our relations with this Almighty and powerful God into perspective. I like the God/human aspect of faith. It is all great that God went out and made a beautiful universe, that doesn't really make people worship God, perhaps a creator, but not any particular one. Genesis 2, now that is where I can see people being impacted. It is personal now. God isn't some Big-Bang creating, Universe expanding deity we call up to with offerings once or twice a year. This is our God, who created a temple for himself, who searches for a place to dwell, and has chosen us, out of millions of creatures, to dwell with.
Still sounds ridiculous? Maybe, but I love human history, so here is what I think is going on. For 200,000 years man walked this earth, hunting, gathering, wandering farther and farther. He (plural) was smart. He learned how to make fire, cook food, make tools, boats (apparently), hunting weapons and clothing in cold climates. The Neanderthals could do this too, but Homo Sapiens Sapiens (us) were smarter, and managed to out-compete them for food. Fifty thousand years ago the stronger, taller and more powerful Neanderthals died out, we expanded. We hunted species to extinction, sailed to all livable corners of the earth, and developed better techniques.
Of course, no one had time or need to create an alphabet, so we have no record of what our ancestors believed. People love to say humans used to be afraid of lightening and thought it had supernatural powers, but now know it doesn't. That's not fair, really, because hunter gatherers are rarely afraid of the land or aspects of it they see regularly. They obviously weren't afraid of it's effect on the land - Fire, because they discovered this early and used it ever since. I have lived in the far north, and with people who love to live out on the land. I have never noticed these people to be afraid of natural occurrences. They are much more in tune with how nature works than us urbanites are. A storm is fine, it happens, so what? But the last remnants of hunter gatherer societies on earth all point to belief in a creator god. Some have other gods, but usually lesser. The Great Creator was a common theme from the Kalahari in Southern Africa to the Northern Plains Indians to the Inuit to the Australian Aborigines and the Amazonian Stone Age tribes.
Then humans began to figure out agriculture. It started with a few false starts. Societies in Africa and Asia would begin to cultivate and grow crops, some successfully, then they would abandon it, and move back to the Nomadic hunting way of life. In Mesopotamia it finally took hold. They had a slight advantage since wheat grew wild there, and it required little modification to become a life-sustaining crop. They were conveniently located between two major rivers, that they learned to divert to water their crops. Once they improved at agriculture, they began to urbanize. See, pre-agriculture, humans couldn't settle. Hunting is a nomadic lifestyle. You hunt in an area, then move on. There was no point in building huge buildings, developing permanent things like writing, because who would read it once you left?
Agriculture changed everything. People settled, they improved food production to the extent that some people could actually stop spending their lives getting food. Up until the agricultural revolution, everyone spent their life searching, and then growing food to eat. Once people managed to grow enough food to feed more than their families change began. Now, some of the people could do something other than farming. A Class system was formed, Priests and Kings at the top, Solders and Tax Collectors next. Whoa, taxes already? Unfortunately it got an early start, all that water needed to be diverted, sewers needed to be built, and then protection from raiders was needed - when you have food, it gets dangerous. So armies were trained up, this required means - the army needed food, the King and court did also, so the king ordered everyone to bring in a bag of this and a bushel of that. Yes, they were urban dwellers, but everyone went out to the surrounding fields to work, even if they had houses in the city. By taxing people, some could stop farming and fishing and do things like crafts, building, being a full-time priest or solider. They would get paid from the King's coffers, and the King would fill his coffers from the taxes. This was all great, but it got a little confusing keeping track of who brought what. This is why numbers and written words were invented (taxes, go figure).
At some point in this shift from more equal, food producing societies to class divided urban societies, lost a creator god. Who knows, maybe they needed to justify twenty expensive temples, so they gave each god equal value. What is apparent is, urbanized societies had very, very different religions from hunter-gatherer societies. Now, around these rare early urban centers lived Nomads. They were the herdsmen. Agriculture was still grown for people and the useful domestic animals, like Ox or Horses, but Sheep and goats were often brought into town and sold, rather than being raised on the surrounding farms. It is only recently that huge animal farms have existed, usually farmers raised a little of each type and sold what they had to market. Animals were eaten for ceremonies and holidays, not as daily dinner. The Shepherds wandered around grazing and raising their flocks. They would have supplemented their meals with hunting, since they were not able to carry much with them. Sure, they were better off than the Hunter Gatherer societies far to the North and South of the early civilizations. They probably had animals to help transport their belongings - camels or horses. They could trade or buy food in the Urban areas, to supplement their diets. But they were not city-folk. They didn't live in the city, nor did they pay taxes, except. perhaps to enter and trade. They didn't worship at the city either. The Nomadic herdsmen had their own god - he was a creator-type.
I do see the two chapters (Gen 1 and 2) as two different creation stories, but let me explain. Genesis one puts earth into a form the ancients could relate to - the whole earth, God's creation, as a temple. Genesis 2 puts our relations with this Almighty and powerful God into perspective. I like the God/human aspect of faith. It is all great that God went out and made a beautiful universe, that doesn't really make people worship God, perhaps a creator, but not any particular one. Genesis 2, now that is where I can see people being impacted. It is personal now. God isn't some Big-Bang creating, Universe expanding deity we call up to with offerings once or twice a year. This is our God, who created a temple for himself, who searches for a place to dwell, and has chosen us, out of millions of creatures, to dwell with.
Still sounds ridiculous? Maybe, but I love human history, so here is what I think is going on. For 200,000 years man walked this earth, hunting, gathering, wandering farther and farther. He (plural) was smart. He learned how to make fire, cook food, make tools, boats (apparently), hunting weapons and clothing in cold climates. The Neanderthals could do this too, but Homo Sapiens Sapiens (us) were smarter, and managed to out-compete them for food. Fifty thousand years ago the stronger, taller and more powerful Neanderthals died out, we expanded. We hunted species to extinction, sailed to all livable corners of the earth, and developed better techniques.
Of course, no one had time or need to create an alphabet, so we have no record of what our ancestors believed. People love to say humans used to be afraid of lightening and thought it had supernatural powers, but now know it doesn't. That's not fair, really, because hunter gatherers are rarely afraid of the land or aspects of it they see regularly. They obviously weren't afraid of it's effect on the land - Fire, because they discovered this early and used it ever since. I have lived in the far north, and with people who love to live out on the land. I have never noticed these people to be afraid of natural occurrences. They are much more in tune with how nature works than us urbanites are. A storm is fine, it happens, so what? But the last remnants of hunter gatherer societies on earth all point to belief in a creator god. Some have other gods, but usually lesser. The Great Creator was a common theme from the Kalahari in Southern Africa to the Northern Plains Indians to the Inuit to the Australian Aborigines and the Amazonian Stone Age tribes.
Then humans began to figure out agriculture. It started with a few false starts. Societies in Africa and Asia would begin to cultivate and grow crops, some successfully, then they would abandon it, and move back to the Nomadic hunting way of life. In Mesopotamia it finally took hold. They had a slight advantage since wheat grew wild there, and it required little modification to become a life-sustaining crop. They were conveniently located between two major rivers, that they learned to divert to water their crops. Once they improved at agriculture, they began to urbanize. See, pre-agriculture, humans couldn't settle. Hunting is a nomadic lifestyle. You hunt in an area, then move on. There was no point in building huge buildings, developing permanent things like writing, because who would read it once you left?
Agriculture changed everything. People settled, they improved food production to the extent that some people could actually stop spending their lives getting food. Up until the agricultural revolution, everyone spent their life searching, and then growing food to eat. Once people managed to grow enough food to feed more than their families change began. Now, some of the people could do something other than farming. A Class system was formed, Priests and Kings at the top, Solders and Tax Collectors next. Whoa, taxes already? Unfortunately it got an early start, all that water needed to be diverted, sewers needed to be built, and then protection from raiders was needed - when you have food, it gets dangerous. So armies were trained up, this required means - the army needed food, the King and court did also, so the king ordered everyone to bring in a bag of this and a bushel of that. Yes, they were urban dwellers, but everyone went out to the surrounding fields to work, even if they had houses in the city. By taxing people, some could stop farming and fishing and do things like crafts, building, being a full-time priest or solider. They would get paid from the King's coffers, and the King would fill his coffers from the taxes. This was all great, but it got a little confusing keeping track of who brought what. This is why numbers and written words were invented (taxes, go figure).
At some point in this shift from more equal, food producing societies to class divided urban societies, lost a creator god. Who knows, maybe they needed to justify twenty expensive temples, so they gave each god equal value. What is apparent is, urbanized societies had very, very different religions from hunter-gatherer societies. Now, around these rare early urban centers lived Nomads. They were the herdsmen. Agriculture was still grown for people and the useful domestic animals, like Ox or Horses, but Sheep and goats were often brought into town and sold, rather than being raised on the surrounding farms. It is only recently that huge animal farms have existed, usually farmers raised a little of each type and sold what they had to market. Animals were eaten for ceremonies and holidays, not as daily dinner. The Shepherds wandered around grazing and raising their flocks. They would have supplemented their meals with hunting, since they were not able to carry much with them. Sure, they were better off than the Hunter Gatherer societies far to the North and South of the early civilizations. They probably had animals to help transport their belongings - camels or horses. They could trade or buy food in the Urban areas, to supplement their diets. But they were not city-folk. They didn't live in the city, nor did they pay taxes, except. perhaps to enter and trade. They didn't worship at the city either. The Nomadic herdsmen had their own god - he was a creator-type.
For some reason, this post became impossible to finish, it kept returning to the top - so no editing was possible.
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