Genesis is the first book of the Pentateuch (first five books of the Old Testament).

I've mentioned before that I'm re-reading the Bible. Not for any particular reason, except that I can, and I feel it will legitimize my nonbelief. The first time around it led me out of faith. Who knows? Maybe the second time around, I'll be led back into it!

More recently, I've read most of the Koran, and a lot of Hindu and Buddhist stories and sutras. I'm also very familiar with Greek mythology and even some Native American lore.

Since I'm reading other books, the going will be slow, but I think the analysis of it will be more thorough. I'm currently at Chapter 3 in Genesis. First off, I would like to say that anyone that says the Bible is inerrant has not gone past the first two chapters! There's two contradicting creation accounts right there!

God also tells Adam that if he eats from the fruit of the tree of good and evil, that he will die the SAME DAY!!! But Adam lives on for another 930 YEARS!!! Did God just lie? Yes, it seems He did.

Also, is it me or is God SURPRISED at Adam's actions. An all-knowing deity can not be surprised! And in just the first few chapters, God even implies that there are other gods as well. In 3:22, for example God is upset that Adam ate of the fruit of knowledge of good and evil, and has just made him animal skin clothes. God says, " Behold, then man is become as one of us, to know good and evil."

Upon further research, This fits right in with the fact that the ancient Israelites started off as pagans. They were basically Canaanites and Sumerians. Genesis was probably first being compiled in the 10th century BCE and was in its current form by the 5th century BCE.

The writing that took place in 1000 BCE represents the first stage when the ancient Israelites broke off from the surrounding Canaanite/Sumerian cultures, and started focusing not on many gods, but on one particular god named El. At the time that the authors of Genesis were first writing (1000 BCE?), the Israelites still recognized that other gods existed, which I will bring up later when I get to them.