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Re: Evolution Roll Call
I believe that Genesis is most likely a true story. However, I think we miss the point if we assume its literal history and leave it at that. I once spoke to a rabbi about Genesis and he illustrated to me that he believed that it was what he called an, “anointed myth”. He defined “myth” as being a fictitious tale written to illustrate an underlying moral point or truth. For example, the story of the little boy who cried wolf; this story is a fairytale, a “myth”, if you will. There never was a real little boy or a real wolf. However, the moral of the story is a truth for all time. Even today we know what it means to, “cry wolf”, and the implications of loosing one’s creditability. The rabbi explained to me that the Genesis story is a bit different though. Its “anointed” meaning that this story was inspired by the very Spirit of God. The rabbi continued by saying that he didn’t believe that there had to be a literal real week of creation or a literal or real Adam and Eve. He continued by illustrating that the point of Genesis is that God made all things. And the story of Adam and Eve teaches us more about ourselves as imperfect creatures than it does history. In Adam and Eve…we see ourselves. We’ve all been in a place where things were well and have given into temptation. We’ve all tempted others to partake also. We’ve all felt the sting of shame and we’ve all felt God’s rejection. However, we’ve also felt God’s grace and mercy in the wake of our sin’s consequences. In Adam and Eve perhaps we don’t so much as see history…we see ourselves.
The rabbi in question believes in evolution as taught by science and denies that Adam and Eve actually existed. But he believes that the Genesis story is from God and teaches us deep spiritual truths. I don’t know if I’d go that far. But I will say this…we miss a lot, perhaps the entire point of the story, if we focus on it’s literal truth and loose sight of what it’s actually teaching us about God and ourselves.
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