A solution to the Light and the Sun discrepancy in the Genesis story

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Joseph D. L.
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A solution to the Light and the Sun discrepancy in the Genesis story

Post by Joseph D. L. »

In Genesis 1:3-5, God/Elohim creates light:

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

Then in verses 14-19 he creates the sun and moon:

And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.

Many a sceptic have pointed out the absurdity of this account. How can light precede the sun, when the sun's nuclear fusion is the source of photonic light?

This ignores the the mythotype expressions that were common in the ancient world. For example, in the Heliopolis account of creation, the Bennu bird shines light upon the Benben stone and gave life to Atum-Re, who would go on to become the sun-god. So right away there is distinction between a heavenly/celestial/primordial light, and the sun in Egypt. This is further verified with the sun's journey through the underworld, where it must be reinvigorated with light/life from the Bennu bird.

In Greece Hyperion, the giant of light, fathered both Helios, sun, and Selene, moon.

And Theia was subject in love to Hyperion and bore great Helius (Sun) and clear Selene (Moon) and Eos (Dawn) who shines upon all that are on earth and upon the deathless Gods who live in the wide heaven. And Eurybia, bright goddess, was joined in love to Crius and bore great Astraeus, and Pallas, and Perses who also was eminent among all men in wisdom. And Eos bore to Astraeus the strong-hearted winds, brightening Zephyrus, and Boreas, headlong in his course, and Notus,—a goddess mating in love with a god. And after these Erigeneia1 bare the star Eosphorus (Dawn-bringer), and the gleaming stars with which heaven is crowned. And Styx the daughter of Ocean was joined to Pallas and bore Zelus (Emulation) and trim-ankled Nike (Victory) in the house. Also she brought forth Cratos (Strength) and Bia (Force), wonderful children. These have no house apart from Zeus, nor any dwelling nor path except that wherein God leads them, but they dwell always with Zeus the loud-thunderer. For so did Styx the deathless daughter of Ocean plan on that day when the Olympian Lightning god called all the deathless gods to great Olympus, and said that whosoever of the gods would fight with him against the Titans, he would not cast him out from his rights, but each should have the office which he had before amongst the deathless gods. And he declared that he who was without office or right under Cronos, should be raised to both office and rights as is just. So deathless Styx came first to Olympus with her children through the wit of her dear father. And Zeus honored her, and gave her very great gifts, for he appointed her to be the great oath of the gods, and her children to live with him always. And as he promised, so he performed fully unto them all. But he himself mightily reigns and rules.

The same principle exists in Mithraism, where Mithras is at once a god of primeval light and the mover of the celestial band, yet Sol is a subordinate to him.

So when a sceptic was to argue that the discrepancy doesn't make sense to known scientific causes of light, they are neglecting to account for the culture that these myths emerged in, where there was a primordial light before the sun came into existence.
klewis
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Re: A solution to the Light and the Sun discrepancy in the Genesis story

Post by klewis »

The first creation account is Hebrew Poetry in that the left column describes the start of the process and the right column describes the completion of the process. The beginning and end of the process represents the same state.

God did nothing before creation

Day 1 -- God created light Day 4 -- God finished the creation of the light by making the things that produce light.
Day 2 -- God separated the waters from the sky and made the sea and the sky Day 5 -- God finished the creation of the sky and sea by filling it up with the birds and sea creatures
Day 3 -- God separated the water from the land Day 6 -- God finished the creation by making the animals, vegetation, and mankind

Day 7 God did nothing

Genesis is written entirely in Hebrew Poetry
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