Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
According to the Bible, God created male and female in his image, fully formed as they still appear today. Genesis 1 is actually the first of two different creation stories in Genesis, but regardless of the differences, how well does either story comport with modern science and what we understand about human development?
Read MoreGenesis 1:1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
The Christian Bible tells us that the Earth is the first thing that God created, along with "the heavens". Why doesn't the Bible explicitly state when the creation occurred in relation to the time the Bible was written? What can science tell us about the origins of the Earth? Do our observations of the universe conflict with the Bible? How old do other religions claim the Earth to be and do their holy books support different conclusions?
Read MoreGenesis 39:5 From the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had, in house and field.
In this verse Joseph has been purchased and enslaved by an Egyptian and is so beloved by God that, for the sake of Joseph, he blesses the house of Joseph's owner. Why wouldn't God use this opportunity to do something about the practice of slavery? Joseph's owner only seems to benefit from his purchase and ownership of Joseph. Does God support slavery? Why, when choosing to intervene, does he decide that blessing the house of a slave-owner is the best way to demonstrate his love for Joseph? Is it ever made clear why it was necessary for God to let Joseph remain enslaved?
Read MoreGenesis 38:7-10 But Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord put him to death. Then Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother's wife and perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her, and raise up offspring for your brother.” But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his. So whenever he went in to his brother's wife he would waste the semen on the ground, so as not to give offspring to his brother. And what he did was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and he put him to death also.
We don't know what wickedness Er was guilty of to warrant his killing, but there are some very confusing events that follow. Judah tells Er's brother Onan to marry Er's widow and give her children. Why does God kill Onan for spilling his seed on the ground rather than inside his dead brother's wife? God wasn't even the one who originally asked Onan to do this. Is there anywhere else in the Bible that informs us God expects this behavior with a punishment of death for disobedience? How was Onan to know that God would find it wicked? We are also not told if Er's widow had any say in the matter. Why is God, or at least the author of Genesis, seemingly unconcerned with the wife's wellbeing or consent in this scenario? Even if this practice was necessary to the culture of the time, why would God not condemn it?
Read MoreGenesis 32:24-28 And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.”
In this passage, Jacob wrestles with a man who is later identified as God. God, unable or unwilling to defeat Jacob by conventional means, appears to dislocate Jacob's hip in order to end the fight. Why did God feel the need to deceive Jacob in this fight? Why did he also need to dislocate Jacob's hip to finish it? Afterwards, when Jacob commands God to bless him, God obliges, but does not heal the injury he gave to Jacob. Why not? The God depicted in this Bible story seems eerily similar to the Greek gods and their mischievous human interventions.
Read MoreGenesis 30:9-10 When Leah saw that she had ceased bearing children, she took her servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. Then Leah's servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son.
Genesis 30:18 Leah said, “God has given me my wages because I gave my servant to my husband."
After Leah is no longer able to conceive, she offers her servant to Jacob as a wife so that she may have more children through her. Leah is then rewarded for her actions by being allowed to conceive children again. Why would God reward what is effectively polygamy?
Read MoreGenesis 25:5-6 Abraham gave all he had to Isaac. But to the sons of his concubines Abraham gave gifts, and while he was still living he sent them away from his son Isaac, eastward to the east country.
In Genesis, God gives Abraham everything. He blesses him above all others. Yet Abraham clearly has concubines. Why doesn't God ever mention them, let alone chastise Abraham for having them? Does God support infidelity, promiscuity, sex slavery, and/or polygamy?
Read MoreGenesis 22:1-2 After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.
Genesis 22:9-12 When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.
We are told that Abraham was ordered by God to sacrifice his own son. As Abraham is about to strike Isaac, an angel tells him to stop and that God now knows he is fearful of him, so he spares Isaac. Why did God need to test Abraham at all? Up to this point Abraham has been extremely loyal. Why did God need to test him in this way? As an omnipotent being, wouldn't he have already known if Abraham was fearful of him? Why is it important that Abraham fears God? Why did God choose human sacrifice as the test? Does God support human sacrifice? If he does not support human sacrifice, why would he want a follower who would willingly do such a thing even if commanded to? Abraham obviously believed that his God could and would demand such a sacrifice.
Read MoreGenesis 20:14-18 Then Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and male servants and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and returned Sarah his wife to him. And Abimelech said, “Behold, my land is before you; dwell where it pleases you.” To Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver. It is a sign of your innocence in the eyes of all who are with you, and before everyone you are vindicated.” Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, and also healed his wife and female slaves so that they bore children. For the Lord had closed all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham's wife.
In this verse God made all the women, including the slaves, barren as punishment for Abimelech's crimes. This seems unfair to the women, considering that they did not choose for Abimelech to kidnap Sarah. Why is it just for God to punish one group of people for the actions of someone else? Why wouldn't God punish Abimelech alone?
Read MoreGenesis 19:24-26 Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the Lord out of heaven. And he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. But Lot's wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
This seems like a rather harsh punishment for simply looking back on Sodom, which was formerly her home. Did she really deserve to die for this? Why did god choose a pillar of salt? Why not a tree, or a rock, or simply just kill her?
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