The Myth of Genesis

I have frequently argued that as Jesus often lectured in the form of parables, we are to take these examples as a caution not to read the Bible too literally; just as Jesus surely was not discussing an actual fig tree, a real house built on sand, or recounting the true story of a traveller assaulted by bandits, the lessons and truths of ancient Scripture are more important than whether the tales are historically accurate.

Of all the books of the Bible, Genesis by far has the greatest number of legends that could politely be described as "far-fetched" by the skeptical: the six-day account of Creation, Noah managing to get exactly two of every species of animal in the world on his ark, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, even a talking snake. I recently discovered that my view that the value of Genesis lies not in its veracity but in deeper meanings that have to be searched out was shared by an eminent theologian: no less of an expert than St. Paul himself.

Genesis also contains a fair share of stories which are not so fantastical, such as the the tale of the patriarch Abram and his handmaid Hagar. Abram was an old man and his wife Sarai was barren; Abram had no heir. Sarai gave Hagar to Abram that she might conceive; she did, and her son was named Ishmael. Later, after a visit from an angel of the Lord, Sarai (now renamed Sarah) conceived a son by Abram (now renamed Abraham), Isaac.

It's a straightforward story, asking of us only to accept that an old woman could become pregnant, a leap of faith so small it's more like a hop. But even this everyday story has implications greater than the sum of its literal narrative.

In his epistle to the Galatians, Paul wrote of this very episode, "Now this is an allegory: these women are two covenants." (Galatians 4:24) He went on to explain, "Now we, brethren, like Isaac, are children of promise. But as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so it is now."

Sarai and Abram succombed to worldly (aka secular) wisdom, which concerns itself with material wealth and issues of inheritance and self-preservation, and took matters into their own hands instead of trusting in the Lord. The result was illegitimate; strong and powerful, and the father of a great nation, yes, but "the slave woman's son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman's son." Isaac, on the other hand, was the fruit of God's promise, a gift given in exchange for correctly answering the question, "Is anything impossible for the Lord?"

The lesson is not to be fooled by the outward appearances of success and the semblance of pragmatism promoted by conventional thinking, but rather to trust that your spiritual life contains the greater truths. If Paul tells us that even this comparatively banal segment of Scripture must be parsed in this way, then how much more complex are the great stories of Creation, etc.?

The myth of Genesis is not that it explains the unexplainable with legends; it's that it must be read literally.