Genesis

When I was young and I wanted to learn more about the bible, someone offered to give me bible lessons. I was confused as to why he kept picking and choosing sections from all over the place to discuss as opposed to starting from the beginning.

When I got a little older I decided I would read the whole thing for myself, from the beginning, cover to cover. In doing so it became clear why the bible is not taught in this fashion.

Reading the bible from beginning to end it was very clear, even as a teenager, that Genesis was a story created by Moses in order to motivate the Hebrews flee Egypt.

Moses starts off with the necessities of creation, which is similar to the Egyptian myths with which he was familiar. Then he goes on to tell story after story of how and why everyone should fear God. This was necessary, because he had to convince the Hebrews that there was someone they should fear more than Pharaoh.

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The rest of the bible goes to tell of how the Hebrews escaped from Pharaoh in search of a land of their own and the stories that followed regarding various rulers and prophets.

Knowing that the stories in the bible are all based on a politically motivated fairy tale definitely puts Judaism and the religions that followed in a different perspective.

Its interesting to note that according to the prophets God rewards the faithful and punishes the untrue...except when bad things befall the faithful, in which case God is punishing them for deeds of their ancestors, and when fortune shines on the perfidious, in which case God is rewarding them for the good deeds of their ancestors.