Bible Studies, Inspired by Faith and Science

Lesson 4: Noah’s Flood: Genesis 6-9 What if… faith and science could agree on the flood? The Nephilim: Genesis 6 What if… we really don’t know who the Nephilim are? See Genesis 6:4. In mythology, the Nephilim are seen as fallen angels or demons, the demon possessed or the demon impregnated. They’re becoming more popular now in modern horror stories. One possibility is that they’re simply evil people—perhaps the descendants of Cain. Or they might represent a different branch of humanity, still able to reproduce with humans, but doomed to die out in time. After all, Neanderthal man died out. We don’t know (and neither do those who write their stories of angels and demons), so we guess; we interpret; and we wait to learn more. Noah’s Ark: Genesis 6-8 What if... the Bible really was written from more than one record? 1. Read Genesis 6:3-8, 7:1-5, 7,10, 12, 16b-20, 22-23, 8:2b-3a, 6, 8-12, 13b, 22-22. This is the southern, Judah version of the story, where God is called Yahweh. (Remember...

Lesson 3: The First civilizations: Genesis 3-5 What if… neither faith nor science knows for sure how the numbers add up? Cain and Abel (Genesis 3): What if… Cain and Abel could be Adam’s great-great-grandsons? Since Adam also means “man” (and earth, and clay, from which Adam was formed), and Eve means “mother of the living,” Cain and Abel’s story could be interpreted as the tale of Adam and Eve’s first children, or else of man’s and woman’s, of their great-great-… great-grandchildren. Different cultures have interpreted it differently in different times. The details of the Cain and Abel story do seem to suggest a more settled world than the immediate escape from Eden; a world of farming, villages and religion; maybe even of meat and cooking grain. Since Cain leaves and marries someone else, at the very least the details suggest a world where Adam and Eve are not the only human beings. What if… father doesn’t always mean Dad? Of course, the Bible does (sort of) say Adam is the father...