Genesis, The Origins of Abrahamic Faith
Note to the reader: This article is part of a larger discussion I have been having about the nature of modern religions. This blog is not focused on a religion, and I am not in any way a religious scholar. These are my opinions and reactions to the texts and the stories they convey, and do not reflect my opinions of people who follow these religions or come to different conclusions about the meanings of the stories these books contain. I firmly believe discrimination is wrong, and that people have a right to live their lives however they choose to, so long as it does not affect the ability of others to do the same.
I am using the New Oxford Annotated Bible, with Apocrypha.
The nature of the Bible
Depending on who and when you ask, the Bible is either a collection of myths and stories, or the literal word of God: transmitted through the prophets. As someone who lacks established belief in the Abrahamic faiths, I tend to view it as the former. Thankfully I don't think this distinction matters much for the style of analysis I intend to do. Rather than attempting to disprove or argue with the "factuality" of the events described, I am instead focusing on the morals, lessons, and ideals espoused by those events, In the hope that I can evaluate those things on their own merits.
This also means I will be glossing over the creation stories in this post. It is well established that the events described there do not align with our current scientific understanding. I honestly don't think that the accuracy of this section of the Bible actually has that much relevance on the value of the rest.
On God, and those who Follow
So I am just going to come out and say it at the start. I did not enjoy Genesis. I did not find it beautiful or inspiring. The followers of God seem to use the threat of divine punishment as a cudgel to batter the world around them into submission, and when needed God is all too happy to follow through on their threats. I do not see this as justice, or as the acts of a just God. I see it as the acts of a bully: "Do what I want or I will hurt you", and the followers of God are consistently deceptive, abusive, or simply selfish.
Cursed be Canaan; lowest of slaves shall he be to his brothers.
– Genesis 9:25
This quote is a great example. Ham, Noah's son, finds his father passed out naked. Because of this, Noah condemns his grandson Canaan before God, and God seems to be ok with this. There is no rebuke of Noah for drunkenness. The moral of this story genuinely seems to be, God just takes the side of whoever they like the most. This is shown again when Abram enters Egypt.
But the Lord afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram's wife. So Pharaoh called Abram, and said, "What is this you have done to me?" Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? Why did you say, 'she is my sister,' so that I took her for my wife?
–Genesis 12:17
I acknowledge that there was some danger to Abram. But, I feel like he could have chosen not to go to Egypt then. Or at the least, that the Pharaoh and his whole household shouldn't be cursed for acting on the lies given to them by Abram. It's really hard for me to read:
Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold.
–Genesis 13:2
and not think that he leveraged the support of God to gain earthly wealth. Abram shows up, lies about his wife. People believe him, and then receive divine punishment because they trusted the servant of God. Meanwhile Abram gets rich. I just don't see much of a moral here other than, if God is on your side you can do what you want. This is shown again in the story of Hagar.
Now in general I would try to interpret slavery in a book like this as, for lack of a better term reflective of the times. Even if the followers of God keep slaves, that isn't necessarily a reflection on God's stance on slavery. Case in point, Abrams wife saying:
You see that the Lord has prevented me from bearing children; go in to my slave-girl; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.
–Genesis 16:2
Now, for the record: slavery is wrong, rape is wrong, forced surrogacy is wrong. And yes, I think a just God would take actions against a follower behaving in such a way. But, honestly I also don't really think it is fair to hold a whole religion to account based on the actions of a single adherent. Unfortunately this position is undermined by direct actions of God.
He went in to Hagar, and she conceived; and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress. Then Sarai said to Abram, May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my slave-girl to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May the Lord judge between you and me! But Abram said to Sarai, Your slave-girl is in your power; do to her as you please.
Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she ran away from her. The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. And he said, Hagar, slave-girl of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going? She said, I am running away from my mistress Sarai. The angel of the Lord said to her, Return to your mistress, and submit to her. The angel of the Lord also said to her, I will so greatly multiply your off spring that they cannot be counted for multitude.
–Genesis 16:4
So, just to be clear. My reading of this is that a slave, after being raped and beaten. Runs away, and God sends an angel to intervene and tell her to go back, and …. be raped and beaten some more ??? This isn't a follower of God behaving badly. This is God themselves again rewarding someone who is doing something objectively terrible. This is a pattern that reappears later in Genesis. More to the point this isn't even the end of Hagar's troubles at the hands of God. Eventually God tells Abraham to send her out into the desert, and while I acknowledge that the word of God is a pretty good indicator for them surviving. I still can not get past how utterly, and totally morally bankrupt this whole situation is. A slave, raped, beaten, and forced to raise a child. Only to be cast out into the desert, perhaps to die as far as any of the mortals involved can tell. All at the direction of God.
Conclusion
In short I finished Genesis deeply upset. I am still upset writing this several hours later. I object not to the factuality of the stories. But to the idea that the God described by these stories is in any way just, or good. I object to the idea that the characters in these stories displays traits and behaviors that one should aspire to.