Uploaded: 7 years ago
Views: 9,979
File size: 5.72 MiB
MIME Type: image/jpeg
Resolution: 2000x5000
Comments: 78
Favorites: 36
This is one of the worst misconceptions about the Bible ever propagated. But the other extreme is equally foolish.
Look at the Genesis 1 creation story: it's a poem. It's balanced 3 and 3, Light, Sky, Land, Light, Sky, Land. Each day is ended with a little saying too: "And there was evening and there was morning; the ___ day."
The Genesis 2 creation story instead talks about location; listing the location of the rivers, which are likely in the vicinity of the Nile Delta.
There is much more behind the story of the Chicago Statement, but that will have to wait for another time.
Suffice it to say; interpreting the Bible as a history lesson is an exercise in self-deception.
Please login to post a comment.
Posted by HisashiHinata 7 years ago Report
Wow. Solo picture with Eve? Maybe even the first pred ever to exist?
Posted by Lucky 7 years ago Report
Preddy Eve? Hmmmmmmm. That's a good idea.
Posted by Voraverit 7 years ago Report
cool series.
Posted by Lucky 7 years ago Report
Thanks! Glad you like it.
Posted by Marked 7 years ago Report
I have read the Bible from the point of view that it is a work of mythology, where at least the Old Testament is a mix of tribal memory, religion, and folk history. I would agree with the confusion over creation stories, but I kinda shrug and think, “oh the people must have some different stories and wanted to preserve them all.”
Would it be reasonable to take only the New Testament literally? I’m guessed by no, since there are small differences between the four main accounts...
Posted by Lucky 7 years ago Report
We'll get to that. Maybe a different question is the right one.
Posted by ArcaneSigil 7 years ago Report
See, I'm a practicing Wiccan. We believe in the divine feminine, so our "creation myth" is much the same, save for the fact that, to us, all of creation was given birth to by the Goddess.
I myself believe more along the lines of the Chaos Theory of Wiccan Belief and other religions. ALL life, divine or otherwise, came from something, and that something had always been there since the very beginning. Before it all, before even the first "scientific molecule", there was chaos. "From Chaos we came, and to Chaos we shall return." There is an end, and there is a beginning. The beginning doesn't necessarily come first. You can START at the end and work towards a beginning. I'll write a fic here in a bit, short, that states my beliefs in a short little fic.
Posted by ArcaneSigil 7 years ago Report
Small Edit: It probably won't be a fic, and I may or may not get to writing it. I've got a lot on my plate right now.
Posted by Zephyr42 7 years ago Report
If you do, I'd be interested in reading it. :)
Posted by wolf127 7 years ago Report
Greetings Chaos Brother/Sister
I find Wiccans to be a rare, but an interesting breed of people. As a Dark Lord I too believe "From Chaos we came, and to Chaos we shall return." The Void is an endless mass of energy that cannot be quelled and has no boundaries. It is nice to see those with an awakened mind.
Posted by ArcaneSigil 7 years ago Report
My "belief" in the Chaos Theory sort of extends to the fact that I, technically, died for a few hours towards the end of 2016. I don't really remember much, and I chalk that up to "we don't want anyone revealing our secrets" or whatever, but there didn't seem to be much on the other side. I vaguely remember white. Lots and lots and lots of white. But that's about it.
Posted by wolf127 7 years ago Report
I have in fact died multiple times, but I always come back with a change. Each battle for control within my mind leaves my Light side self weaker and the Dark stronger. I await anxiously for the day of the final battle in this war of spirit. In its darkest hour I shall disregard my empty pistol and draw my saber. I will raise it high above my head and cut the fetter that binds me in chains. The chains of the light will be broken and I shall be set free.
Posted by eaterjolly 5 years ago Report
doctrine-less-ness or furtive-ness as opposed to secrecy.
Posted by Lucky 7 years ago Report
You are free to believe whatever you like.
Posted by eaterjolly 5 years ago Report
how might you respond to gynophobia?
Posted by ArcaneSigil 5 years ago Report
I actually don't know what gynophobia is fully, but gyno is mouth or teeth, I believe, so fear of the mouth or teeth. People have irrational fears that are hard to really explain, but I usually chalk up fears like that to past lives. Afraid of heights? You may have fallen from somewhere really high in a past life and died and that's why you fear heights. Afraid of water? Maybe you drowned in a past life. Everything, at least the way I see it, ties into past lives. If you're afraid of something now, you died to it in the past. So if you're afraid of the mouth or teeth, you may or may not have been eaten in a past life. Either by a dinosaur or you were unlucky (or lucky, depending on how you look at it) and was reincarnated as a plant or animal in a previous life.
Posted by eaterjolly 5 years ago Report
gyno as in gynoid as opposed to android
androphobia except gynophobia
Ever read Kokoro Connect?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kokoro_Connect
Posted by ArcaneSigil 5 years ago Report
Nope
Posted by eaterjolly 5 years ago Report
androphobia can mean:
a "social contract" fear of biological males.
to fear social structures encourage abuse,
establishing laws or rules for game reasons.
feminine and masculine spheres of social influence have different traits inspired by physiology.
androphobic people fear abuse from proximity to potent masculinity.
gynophobic people fear abuse from proximity to potent femininity.
how might you respond to gynophobia?
Posted by ArcaneSigil 5 years ago Report
Abused by a woman in power in a past life, or served under an abusive woman, or you were killed by a woman in a past life.
Posted by eaterjolly 5 years ago Report
All very possible,
yet from femininity's nature
distinctly feminine abuse
occurs anonymously
no one might ever know the oppressor's identity,
proxies create the victim's place in the world (a social role)
kyriarchy, the female mode for social influence
secures agency
proxies act on an imagined will
tested to emulate instructions from someone specific
accurately
Posted by empatheticapathy 7 years ago Report
I am likin that bird and cow. And squirrel lady.
Posted by Lucky 7 years ago Report
She's actually a beaver, but yeah! I like 'em too. n//n
Posted by Deegdumdoodilly 7 years ago Report
I came for vore and got theology. Honestly not disappointed.
Posted by Lucky 7 years ago Report
Excellent! Glad you like.
Posted by player1 7 years ago Report
to be honest, the majority of christians do not follow what has been said in the chicago statements of 78. catholics and orthodox christians does not believe the bible to be inherent and infallible.
Posted by Finetti 7 years ago Report
I've never even heard of any "Chicago statements," and I am reluctant to believe in anything that came out of Chicago
Posted by player1 7 years ago Report
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Statement_on_Biblical_Inerrancy you'd be surprised
Posted by Lucky 7 years ago Report
Yeah, I feel the "inerrant and infallible" statement has cause a HUGE amount of damage and hasn't really helped much.
Posted by Diamonte 7 years ago Report
THIS is what was missing from Sunday School...
Sexy beaver pics!
Posted by Lucky 7 years ago Report
I like havin' fun with stuff. : 3
Posted by Finetti 7 years ago Report
What prompted this?
Posted by Lucky 7 years ago Report
I had put it off long enough.
Posted by Shryland 7 years ago Report
I don't know how I feel about this... but I am a simple man. I see boobs and pron, I fave
Posted by Apostolos 7 years ago Report
Yep same here
Posted by Lucky 7 years ago Report
Boobs are worth faving.
Posted by Apostolos 7 years ago Report
I already mentioned my thoughts on the genesis plot holes so just here for the boobs for now
Posted by Lucky 7 years ago Report
Glad you're enjoying it anyway!
Posted by Shryland 6 years ago Report
Keep up the hard work mang :D
Posted by Rayo 7 years ago Report
The Bible is full of allegories, metaphors, and symbols. Like you said, not all of it is literal. A look into Revelation is a good example. So Christians have to be careful and meditate on what is being written, why it's being written, and how it's being written.
Posted by Lucky 7 years ago Report
Meditation is okay, but I feel like it has a more mystical versus logical connotation. Every Christian should have an explanation of why they believe what they believe (1 Peter 3:15, 2 Timothy 4:2).
Posted by tails11 7 years ago Report
Do you know the phrase “Jews love to argue”? This EXACT same debat happens in the Jewish community as well; some folks forget the whole “1st Genisis is for generalizations, 2nd Genisis is for specifics” thing. It’s kinda obvious…
The only three differences between the “creation and naming” for the Hebrew Torah Genesis vs Christan bible Genesis are that:
(1) Adam and Eve are made at roughly the same time, after the plants and animals are made, Adam from dust, Eve from Adam’s rib-bone.
(2) Adam gets Eve after God seeing all the animals have female counterparts, and commands Eve to be below Adam because she was made second. The not alive things are not named because god has DIRECT dominion over eveything other than living things, IE living things have free will.
(3) the animals and plants are named by BOTH man and woman, but man gets to rule everything except the household and family, because he was made first.
However, the “not religious and only mythological story, but everyone likes this one better anyway” version is:
1) Adam and Lilith are made from dust after everything else on earth has been made.
2) Adam names the bacteria and the male animals, while Lilith names the plants and the female animals; IE both are named by man and woman. The not alive things are not named, again because god has DIRECT dominion over eveything other than living things, IE living things have free will.
3) God says for Adam and Lilith to be equal because they had been made at the same time, both being from the Earth and both have equal bodies unlike the beasts do (IE beasts have male and female genitals, one set per animal; Adam and Lilith have NO genitals on themselves whatsoever, just their bodies are shapped differently.)
4) BLAH BLAH BLAH, I’ve said what happens to Lilitih and afterwards.
Posted by Lucky 7 years ago Report
I'm sure there's some interesting meaning associated with those versions.
Posted by tails11 7 years ago Report
yup
Posted by koolkitty89 7 years ago Report
Might as well lump in the pre-Abrahamic mythology that Judaism sprung from, even if much of it was rejected or even reversed in interpretation there (including Yaweh/Jahova's role in that pantheon).
But in the case of Genesis, or particularly in Lillith's role (and I realize, she's pretty much absent from Christian era texts and those older than that, being mostly a post-Christianity amendment to Jewish mythology), you've got the likes of Ishtar (or Astarte) and Asherah as the main/dominant deity and as the creator/mother of creation type figures.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asherah
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astarte
I'm not sure how much was intentional or how savvy the writer(s) and other contributors were, but Lillith in Neon Genesis Evangelion has a lot more in common with Asherah's lore than any depiction of Lilith in Judeo-Christian texts)
Also interesting to note Asherah's relationship with Yaweh. (also Adam in Evangelion is some parallels to Yaweh, certainly moreso than with biblical Adam, but less overlap than Eva's Lilith does with Asherah)
Posted by tails11 7 years ago Report
Lilith, Astaroth (Astarte or Ishtar) and Morrigan are the "big three" in most modern circles.
Morrigan is/was also the Irish mythology's resident War and Fate Deity. At some point, Morrigan was changed into the Irish version of the mistranslated spelling of the Greek "Lamia".
Astaroth/Ishtar/Astarte are just straight up alternate spelling forms of the Ancient Egyptian/Canaanite religion's war goddess Ishtar, and was promptly nuked after the "golden calf incident".
Morrigan then got lumped together with Astaroth/Ishtar/Astarte and Lilith; the religions of the last two where LONG before abandoned before the "big three" became even a minor thing.
In short, Lilith is considered "evil" mostly because of the whole "SHE WANTED TO BE HER OWN FREE SELF" thing that was frowned upon back in the day; Morrigan was just the Irish Kratos before she got turned into the misnamed-thing-that-everybody-confuses-with-Bhuddist-mythology-Naga, the Lamia; Astaroth was always kind of a big jerk.
Posted by WretchedRaccoon 7 years ago Report
It's certainly difficult to believe "Creation" based on this. This was more or less an explanation of something people didn't understand long ago, whether it be true or not.
I'm not calling the Bible outright trash, but certainly some of it's stories are outlandish . . . which some people believe (ie Ken Hamm, a right nutter).
Posted by Lucky 7 years ago Report
There is a point to the creation stories, but it's not intended to be a historical account or a science lesson.
There is a reason it's in the Bible, but yeah. People who believe this actually happened should go soak their heads.
Posted by WretchedRaccoon 7 years ago Report
Some people need to soak their head until the bubbles stop breaking the surface XP
But seriously, after reading the other reply, I have a little more outlook on other interpretations.
Posted by TETRO 7 years ago Report
Generally, I don't think you should look at mythology as something that was used to describe things they didn't understand (in a scientific sense). It's meant to teach you things you might not understand in a spiritual or metaphysical sense.
Creation myths in particular are full of symbology. Let's compare the Abrahamic and Greek stories of creation and the first woman. In both cases, a woman is introduced to a man, or mankind as with the Greek story. In both stories this leads to humanity experiencing the hardships of the mortal world. Is this simply meant to say that women are evil? No.
Think about how a young man becomes self-aware of his flaws when discovers his attraction to women. Women (nature) will judge him for his competency. Soon his innocence is lost and he has to work for something that can't (shouldn't) be provided by his parents (because that would be incest).
Both stories use the introduction of a female figure (leading to self-awareness) and the attainment of knowledge (prometheus's fire or the fruit of knowledge) to illustrate not only how individuals grow to loose their innocence, but how humanity as a whole lost its innocence. Once you gain enough knowledge about the world, the hardships you will face, and your mortality, you are forced out of paradise (in a psychological sense). How you return to paradise... well that's what a lot of religions are all about.
Posted by WretchedRaccoon 7 years ago Report
Interesting way to put it.
Posted by koolkitty89 7 years ago Report
It's also neat to look at the creation stories that Abrahamic/Judeo-Christian Genesis effectively retconned from the religions they grew out of ... albeit they'd been long over-written by the time Christianity came around, but the creation of the Abrahamic faith in the first place ended up abandoning or vilifying or marginalizing or otherwise retconning the Sumerian and Mesopotamian pantheons and associated mythology (along with that of Babylon).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asherah
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Semitic_religion
You've got more of a mother earth type figure (interestingly with a lot of overlap of the Deistic or Prime Mover takes on creation by various other philosophers, with Deism itself popular with certain Christian philosophers in the Enlightenment period). Asherah was at least partially adapted to Gaia in Greek mythology. (the Greek Pantheon is largely an outgrowth of the ancient middle-eastern Pantheons along with some Egyptian elements in there, this applies to both the Gods and Titans: Gaia being among the latter)
Also, don't confuse Asherah with Astarte or Ishtar, he latter two are much the same figure (or nuanced interpretations thereof), but Asherah is largely separate, with overlap only in displacing Ishtar in certain roles or relationships in the mythos, though not all of that is mutually exclusive.
Posted by wolf127 7 years ago Report
I love the argument between those who believe that either Creation (As spelled out in the First story) or evolution as the absolute, for I have the end all statement...
"Who are you as a mere mortal to say what a day is to an entity as powerful as a God."
Basically the first line of my order's code is "I am God above Gods." By that statement I am a God (So are all other whose choose to be so) and I have all rights to say how long a day is. As an agent of chaos (For true order can never exist) A day is begins at the moment I wake, and ends when I wish to go to sleep. (Naps don't count) One of these days went on for about 60+ hours. (I have no recollection of the sun rising twice during that time, but it happened)
Posted by Lucky 7 years ago Report
What traits, qualities, and/or powers do you associate with godhood?
Posted by wolf127 7 years ago Report
I will declare a God is an entity that has complete control over their dominion.
When I said, “I am a God and so are all others whose choose to be so.” I was quoting few sermons and lines of the Bible that talk about the creation of humans. It has been said that humans have been created in God’s image. This was not meant to say that God literally takes on the form of a human being as most interpret. I say it talks about our minds. You yourself whether you realize it or not are acting as a God when you create your art. Regardless of any outside influence, it is only you who have created it. Therefore you are God of that piece and that is your dominion.
My dominion just so happens to be larger. My domain is extending day by day in relation to my power. As a base line, my sphere of influence is as far as I can physically reach.
I have noticed that those around me now act differently than they did before I awakened. Some of those who have not yet awakened can subconsciously feel that I am significantly different and avoid prolonged contact with the dark energy that surrounds me. Others that have noticed this change directly and are able to feel the my energy. They tend to stay within my favor and do not wish to upset me, for fear of the consequences. It is only the truly weak that continues to challenge me. Those individuals have not really met me as a person and I have no wish to interact with them. However I do not officially know someone, until I have shaken their hand. Those who observe carefully will see change in the demeanor of others as my energy begins to course through their body. I of course feel it. Upon physical contact everyone’s first reaction, is confusion as if they have just saw something unworldly. Then it becomes interesting. Those who my order refers to as “Sleepers” recoil to the contact and a “flight or fight” response kicks in. Most tend to try and flee. They are unaware of Meta Energies and cannot truly comprehend the power of Gods. Others will simply acknowledge to phenomenon and will try to pretend as if nothing ever happened, but these people are few in numbers. An even smaller group when interacting with me, take notice of my dark tone of my aura and become curious. Those rare individuals will gravitate towards me will act differently around me than they do others. But my dominion does not stop there.
My dominion is also the immediate area around the Altar/Shrine that contains the unholy texts and artifacts of my order. This area is the power space in which I meditate on my new powers that have come from within. Everyone is capable of acquiring the powers that I have, but as simple of task as it is to awaken one’s mind, not many are capable of doing so. As I meditate, my influence grows and I can feel the energy of everything around me. It is difficult to explain these feelings, for they must be felt on your own, but there is energy everywhere especially within dense objects. For example; when I pick up a brick, not only can I feel its weight, but the weight it can hold. I can feel the force of the potential impact it will have when it collides with another object… When I fire my rifle at a metal target I can feel the material stretching before it rends from the violent impact. When working on an engine, I can feel its potential as I lay my hands upon the cold metal. This allows me to figure out how to build/maintain such physical objects and how to protect them.
In closing a God is an entity that creates, controls, and has whatever power that is required to do so.
Posted by TETRO 7 years ago Report
This is why people need to understand that mythology is parable and not meant to be a history lesson. Even the more learned people of the ancient times understood this. When you encounter old stories like these, you should look for symbolism and/or moral lesson that it contains. If you study enough mythology, you'll begin to see common patterns than emerge between separate cultures. That's because either, 1) they originated from the same original story that has been preserved for a long time because of its importance, or 2) they contain a common truth to them that more than one group of people realized.
The flood myth is a great example of this. Not only is it in the Bible, it's in Greco-Roman myth, Mesopotamian myth, and even Native American Myth. If it did in fact come from a common origin, it's possibly the oldest story humanity has.
(Note: I'm using "myth" and mythology" not to mean "shit that isn't true" but instead "the stories that make up the context for a spiritual system".)
The thing that's always funny to me, is that taking mythology literally is what hard-line atheists and fundamentalists both have in common.
Posted by Lucky 7 years ago Report
Well said!
That last note especially; only the extremes are interested adhere ignorance.
It is also important to note that Christians are not beholden to change the minds of anyone. But I will get to that at some point.
Posted by CaptainFlynt 7 years ago Report
How can there be days without the sun?
Posted by Lucky 7 years ago Report
Aha, a very good question. This is a reference to the prevailing creation story of the day: That the world was a bubble of air in an endless sea. "The deep" is a reference to the ancient Babylonian goddess; Tiamat, the enemy of Marduk.
So God creating light in the water meant just that there was light. People didn't realize that the sun was the source of almost all the light on the world, nor that the world is in space, not an ocean.
Posted by DanzoLegend 7 years ago Report
Anything involving history can be conscrewed and messed up. Though i always wonder why even the beginning has two different stories...
Posted by Lucky 7 years ago Report
There are A LOT of explanations about it, but the best way to look at the Bible is that it is a the story of People.
It may sound weird, but the Adam naming all the animals story is like dating. You gotta do a loooooottt of dating to accurately identify what kind of animal someone else is, and if you do it enough, when you finally meet the person you mesh effortlessly with, you'll know that she's flesh of your flesh, bone of your bone.
The other thing is that Adam is the seeker, Eve is the recipient. Dunno about you, but that's accurate to 99% of all couples in my experience; the man seeks out the woman. Those are the roles that are part of who we are. It's not a bad thing, either.
There's a whole lot more inference to be drawn from those stories, but I'm not gonna just type forever here. Eventually I'll put a lot of it down. : 3
Posted by YuriKuri 7 years ago Report
Although I don't believe in any god, this is still a pretty interesting read.
Posted by Lucky 7 years ago Report
Oh great! I'm happy you're gettin' something out of it.
Posted by Kenta_Daiki 7 years ago Report
Ah! Finally this series is a thing. Super excited. Still would like the link to the Chicago Statement rather than waiting for later as a way to dive in personally.
Anyways, I know you've been dying to do this for a long time, and your passion is really coming through in succinct arguments.
Posted by Lucky 7 years ago Report
http://www.bible-researcher.com/chicago1.html
Here you go! It's not an easy read, but it's not long either.
I'm glad you're enjoying it so far. n n
Posted by teabender 7 years ago Report
All though I've never actually thought about it, then I've always believed the Bible shouldn't be taken literally, but this is a great example of why. Thank you for the insight!
Posted by redsquallff8 7 years ago Report
Well I had been Christian for many years but i live in the Bible belt and people seem to be strong in faith but know only a small part of the Bible. My question is why do most have so much hate when we live under the grace of God and not the law of god?
Posted by Lucky 6 years ago Report
That's a very good question! Maybe someday I'll go in-depth about that.
Posted by flamez66 6 years ago Report
the beaver made me read ^__^
it was funny, but don't bother too much, let anyone believe what they want, as long as they don't hurt you
Posted by Lucky 6 years ago Report
Agreed! That's a good perspective. Maybe with one slight alteration that I'll get to eventually.
Posted by h21it 6 years ago Report
Doesn't Jesus himself believe in a literal creation story? In the gospels he goes through his geniology all the way back to Adam. At what point does it stop being a literal geneology and start being metaphorical?
Posted by Lucky 6 years ago Report
The closest Scriptual basis for claiming that Jesus believed the creation stories were both literal is Matthew 5:18 "For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished."
But that's the law, not the creation stories. Also that doesn't even mean that they're designed to be interpreted literally.
So... No. Jesus did not believe in a literal creation story.
As for the line between literal and metaphorical, I'll address this a little in my next post.
Posted by ijp290 6 years ago Report
Having this pop up from you on an eve when God has expressed his displeasure with my masturbating and asked me to stop and do something better, I find not only incredibly uncanny... But also kinda scary, while also being heart warming because it shows just how much he cares that he'd have you do this...
Posted by Lucky 6 years ago Report
I'm assuming that you're referring to is either Genesis 38, the story of Onan being put to death because he didn't make children with his brother's wife to preserve his brother's name line.
The other possibility is Ephesians 5:3 "But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people." But first, sexual immorality isn't well-defined and second, Paul isn't the final authority on stuff.
I'll get to handling this topic another time, this is a real complex issue. But I'm glad you're thinking about it.
Posted by ijp290 6 years ago Report
No, not referring to any bible passage. I mean literally, God, in my head, talking to me and telling me "this is getting old, kid; aren't there better things for you to be doing? What about that book you wanted to write?" Basically telling me it's a waste of time and effort, and expressing some measure of annoyance for it's continued occurrence. Lovingly he tells me there's more to life than choking my chicken, and wants me to stop jerking and go find out what it is.
Since I know you're christian and all, I'd like you to read my story! Something the Big Guy worked on with me--in concept, to be clear. Every word was typed by my fingers, but he was watching in my mind the whole time, offering input as he felt inclined to do so.
No, It's not some sappy god shit, it's a different kind of vore.
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/27333213/
I know the description is long, but it gives some details on where the idea in the story came from.
Posted by Random74 6 years ago Report
THANK YOU!!! I love it when religious people understand not to take everything in their holy book seriously.
Posted by HypeRustler 6 years ago Report
I knew there was a reason you seem to be so kind hearted, you really are just a nice, tolerant, reasonable person (my evidence is this entire discussion that was had).
I respect that a lot, there aren't a whole lot of decent people out there, even less that I can relate to.
Thank you for living as a shining example of a decent human being friend.
thanks for the great art over the years as well!
Happy (late) indwpendance day everyone, best wishes all around!
Posted by TheNamesJackson 6 years ago Report
I don’t think it’s bullshit. I just like arguing with people. Fite me.