Contradicting Creation Stories In the Bible

The Judeo-Christian creation story is one of the most well know beliefs for the beginning. The issue being looked at comes from the two creation stories in Genesis. One fairly interesting part of this is that the Bible has the two creation narratives back to back. These two stories have made believers uncomfortable and it has been used to discredit believers because they infer the two are contradictory. In order to answer the main question efficiently, the question has to be broken down into two main issues. The main discrepancies come from the creation of man and woman in each version and likewise the creation of man and animals. In order to answer this we must understand the reasoning behind the two and the original purpose and wording of the two.
One of the main issues that adds to this confusion comes the different english versions of the bible have some differences. Each version of the bible has dissimilarities from each other and from the original text. These are, at first, seen as discrepancies and are used to discredit the content. This originates from the inability to fully translate the original text into english. The original language is more complex in that the words used are more integrated in meaning and in feeling. The english authors had to chose between being more factual or attempting to get the message across. The first story starts with God creating earth, than he fills the earth with water in order to grow plants. The creation continues in genesis 1:25 when “God made the beast of the earth”; this is followed by “God created man in his own image, ...; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27). These verses come from the first creation story, which is written in a linear progression outlined in a day-by-...

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... Though the two stories seem different and appear to tell different stories, it seems to be more logical that the two are in fact the same, just told with different views. The priests who transcribed the bible included both stories in order to spread the belief and strengthen the story.

Works Cited

Flanders, Henry J, Robert W. Crapps, and David A. Smith. People of the Covenant: An Introduction to the Hebrew Bible. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996. Print.

"Genesis." Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton, Ill: Crossway Bibles, 2001. 3-4. Print.

Linder, Doug. "The History of Genesis and the Creation Stories." UMKC School of Law. N.p., 2004. Web.

Taylor, Paul F. "Do Genesis 1 and 2 give different accounts?" Contradictions: Two Creation Accounts. N.p., 15 June 2009. Web.

Turner, Laurence A. Genesis. Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2009. Print.