“God Didn't Write Fairy Tales”

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Are the stories in Genesis true (Adam and Eve, Tower of Babel, Noah and the Flood) or etiological stories to explain the importance of Sabbath and marriage?

Sincerely,
Myth Buster

Dear Myth Buster,

The Genesis stories are true.  God never gives any indication that these are just fable stories – instead, quite the opposite.  Adam was a real person, the very first human created from dust (Gen 2:7).  Adam is listed in Jesus’ genealogy (Lk 3:38); if Adam wasn’t real, neither was Jesus.  Adam is listed as the one who introduced sin.  If Adam isn’t real, we aren’t really dead in our sins (1 Cor 15:22).  Adam is also listed in a specific genealogy of people who lived for a specific amount of years and had specifically named offspring (Gen 5:3-8).  The detail with which Adam’s life and genealogy is explained makes it clear that this story is intended to be treated as fact, not fable.

The Great Flood of Noah’s day is also intrinsically tied to the rest of the Bible.  Baptism saves us from sin just like the flood saved Noah and his family from a sinful, violent society (1 Pet 3:20-21).  No flood salvation, no baptismal salvation.  The two stand or fall together.  Jesus treated the Noachian Flood as fact when He discussed it (Matt 24:38).

If we read the Bible plainly without inserting cultural values or modern scientific ideas (yes, they are just guessing like the rest of us; today’s scientists weren’t at the Creation.  In fact, many scientists believe that science backs up the Bible account), we see that the Genesis account is treated as a fact, not a myth.  God, who cannot lie (Tit 1:2), told us the truth when He said that He created the world in six days (Gen 1:31, Gen 2:1).  He really is that powerful.

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