Re: Paleotheology and Genesis

there has been much debate over the author or authors of genesis. I strain to believe that moses was the sole author, if he was an author at all. this does reveal a bias, daniel, one that I would challenge you on. on what basis do you believe that moses was the sole author of genesis?? I think this is a very important, because I think that many christians hold to this tradition, and it does affect one's reading of the text.
after reading the first two chapters of genesis alone, and considering their contradictions in chronology, it is not apparently obvious that this is coming from one person. if you do believe that the text is Spirit - breathed and has one author, what would be the point of two narratives with conflicting chronologies about the creation of the world, especially if, as many Christians would argue, they were meant to be read and taken literally?? I'm not saying that confliction in chronology negates the meaning of the text or even that it can't be taken literally to some extent, but this is why it is important to stick to the text and not jump ahead based on conclusions that aren't apparent. daniel, I think your claim that moses is the sole author of genesis reveals a bias that you are projecting on the text, and is frustrating your objectivity. much of what we read in genesis was probably passed down as oral tradition, so to say that there is an author at all is problematic. Oral tradition is constantly evolving from generation to generation, and chances are, when it is finally written down, it reads as a mosaic of multiple narratives, not always cohesive. this happens in many other cultures with rich oral traditions. alex was sharing with me a book about the creation myths of the navajo, and because the author's sources were taken from the oral traditions of the navajo, he inevitably ended up with a mosaic of different versions, yes with similar themes, but never exactly the same. what we read in genesis one and two, I argue, rather than from the pen of moses, was most likely a document of an oral tradition passed down from generation to generation. even if moses had some part in the writing of genesis, in what sense was he the author, if he didn't author the content?? but, as I argue, pulled from different oral traditions??

raj