A Book Review of “In the Beginning” by Lawrence R. Farley

The ever-present creation/evolution debate, along with the intense debate regarding the proper interpretation of Genesis 1-11, is not going away anytime soon. Over the past three years, I’ve written my share of blog posts analyzing and criticizing Ken Ham and his YECist organization Answers in Genesis, and even have written a book entitled The Heresy of Ham, in which I try to provide an analysis of YECism in light of biblical exegesis and church history.

And I am certainly not the only one to address this. There have been many books addressing this debate that have come out in the past few years, some are better than others. One of the most recent books that has come out is Lawrence R. Farley’s In the Beginning: The True Message of the Genesis Origin Stories. Farley is an archpriest and pastor at St. Herman of Alaska Orthodox Church in Langley, British Columbia. He is also quite a prolific author. Check out his author page on Amazon.com and you will find a host of books relating to Biblical Studies and Theology.

After reading In the Beginning, I will probably be checking out a few of these books in the near future because, simply put, In the Beginning is a very good and easily accessible book for anyone who wants to get a better grasp on Genesis 1-11. Although Farley makes a few passing references to the modern “science vs. religion battle,” by and large he ignores it, and instead chooses to take the reader by the hand through a very informative reading through Genesis 1-11.

The reason why I enjoyed his book so much is quite simple: I found myself agreeing with him at virtually every turn. In his introduction he makes the point that we moderns unthinkingly bring our own modern assumptions to the ancient text of Genesis 1-11, and that in order to truly understand God’s inspired message in Genesis 1-11, we need to read it from the point of view of the original audience. Thus, reading Genesis 1-11 with the presupposition that it is giving answers to our modern scientific questions will inevitably lead to a misinterpreting of the text.

Farley’s basic take on Genesis 1-11 is that these chapters are decidedly different from Genesis 12-50, and that whereas Genesis 12-50 is rooted in history, Genesis 1-11 is, in fact, mythological literature. Of course, since “the M-word” is so easily misconstrued in our modern culture, Farley makes the point to properly define it: “…myth refers to the way ancients told stories that tried to make sense of their world. In this definition, a myth is not an untrue tale but a story with a truth so big it cannot fit into a single historical event.”

In any case, Farley addresses Genesis 1-11 in the span of five chapters. And since I think the book is well worth a read, I want to simply summarize and highlight some of the points he makes in each of his chapters.

Chapter 1: Genesis 1—The First Creation Story
As I read chapter 1, it became readily apparent to me that Farley had read John Walton’s book, The Lost World of Genesis 1, for he highlighted the same fundamental argument that Genesis 1 is not addressing material origins, but rather functional origins. In other words, Genesis 1 isn’t giving a blow-by-blow scientific account of exactly how God created the material universe, but rather is teaching that it is God who has power over the forces of chaos and who gives function and meaning to his creation.

In the course of chapter 1, Farley draws the reader’s attention to a number of important things: the meaning of tohu wabohu (often translated “formless and void”), the cosmology of the ancient Near East that Israel undoubtedly shared with its neighbors, the imagery of the raqia (firmament), the meaning of “kinds,” and the meaning of “image of God.” In addition, he points out some distinct differences between the worldview expressed in Genesis 1 and the surrounding worldview of Israel’s pagan neighbors. For example, the sun and moon clearly are not gods to be served, but rather are merely lights that served. In addition, the great tanninim (sea monsters associated with Leviathan) are not God’s rivals, but rather were created by God and are a part of His world.

Farley’s ultimate point in chapter 1 is that when we read Genesis 1 against the backdrop of the historical context of the ancient Near East, we learn a whole number of inspired truths in the text that we so often miss when we try to read it as some sort of modern scientific account. As he writes: “God, in inspiring and moving the narrator of the Genesis creation stories, was not concerned to correct the ancient cosmologies the narrator inherited from his culture, nor to give lessons in science.”

He ends chapter one by highlighting eight specific lessons we should take away from Genesis 1:

1. Creation is by Divine Plan
2. Creation is a Gift
3. The Creator is God Revealed to Us
4. Creation is Under God’s Control
5. Man Bears the Image of God
6. Male and Female are Equal in Worth
7. Sex and Gender are Built into Creation
8. Creation Reveals Christ

Chapter 2: Genesis 2-3—The Second Creation Story
Chapter 2 address the story of Adam and Eve and their eventual expulsion from the Garden of Eden. In describing the creation of Adam and Eve, Farley discusses the language that we might miss that essentially portrays Adam as a priest who cares for God’s creation. He also addresses the fact that there are, in fact, two creation accounts in Genesis 1 and 2, and that it does not mean they “contradict” each other. The author simply used two different stories that address different lessons.

Farley further emphasizes the equality of Adam and Eve, and thus men and women. What is often translated as Adam’s “rib” really means “side,” and thus the meaning is that although women are clearly distinct from men, they are still ontologically equal. He also addresses the figure of the serpent and the consequence of Adam and Eve’s sin. The serpent was a “chaos creature” who, through his tempting of Adam and Eve, brought chaos to God’s good creation. The curse God puts upon the serpent (i.e. that there would be a war between the woman’s “seed” and the serpent’s “seed”) is not saying that the serpent’s seed would be literal snakes, but rather people—“those who choose disorder and who do evil.” This sets up a theme that runs not only throughout the rest of Genesis 1-11, but throughout the entire Bible as well.

At the end of the chapter, Farley addresses the question of the historicity of Adam and Eve and argues that these chapters should be read mythologically, and not as history. “Adam” represents humanity—the story of Genesis 2-3 describes humanity as a whole: “That tale, told in mythological terms of dust, breath, gift, garden, serpent, and expulsion, is true of mankind generally and of each human being in particular.” And when pressed with questions about what actually historically occurred, or how evolution fits into it all, Farley (refreshingly!) states his utter ambivalence to such questions: “I, for one, am happy to cheerfully confess my ignorance about the details and also my general disinterest in them.”

Chapter 3: Genesis 4-5—Multiplying and Sinning
In chapter 3, Farley discusses the story of Cain and Abel, as well as the genealogy of Genesis 5. Of particular interest is Farley’s comments regarding Genesis 4:21-22. YECist Ken Ham refers to these verses to argue that the pre-flood world had access to advanced technology, but Farley gives a much more reasonable insight rooted in the original context of the ANE: “In much of the ancient world, gifts such as agriculture, music, and metallurgy were gifts the gods gave to men; in Genesis they are the result of human invention and industry.” Make no mistake, that is a big thing that would have stuck out to the original audience like a sore thumb, but it is something we utterly miss if we insist on reading Genesis 1-11 with modern assumptions.

Farley also points out how difficult (if not impossible) it is to read the story as straight history. He addresses a number of points, but in my opinion the best argument he makes can be found in this quote: “The text clearly says that when Adam’s wife gave birth to Seth, she said that this offspring was the one God appointed to replace Abel, whom Cain slew. It would have been an odd thing for her to say, if in fact after Abel’s birth there were many other children born over the years. Seth would then have hardly functioned in her mind as Abel’s replacement.”

Farley then ends the chapter by discussing how he sees the entire book of Genesis as a combination of mythology and history: “The flow of the Genesis narrative begins with mythology, symbol, and transmuted legend, and then seamlessly slides into history” [i.e. beginning with Abraham]. “The result,” as Farley puts it, “is not a falsification of fact but a work of art.”

Chapter 4: Genesis 6-9—The Return to Chaos
Farley addresses the flood story in chapter 4, beginning with the odd story regarding the Nephilim in Genesis 6:1-4. He suggests that the “sons of god” mentioned in these verses are, in fact, divine beings—although that seems ridiculous to our modern ears (i.e. how can angels impregnate women?), Farley notes that stories of “gods” interbreeding with human beings were common in ancient mythologies. The distinct point made in Genesis 6:1-4, though, is that such activity was not good or according to God’s plan. There were to be clear boundaries in His creation, and such actions in fact breached those boundaries and unleashed further chaos on the world—and hence the consequence of the flood.

The bulk of the chapter simply takes the reader through the flood story, and along the way discusses the similarities and differences between the story of Noah’s flood and other ANE flood stories like Atrahasis and Gilgamesh. Farley states that the notion there was a literal worldwide flood 4,000 years ago is simply scientifically impossible, and that instead we should read Genesis 6-9 as an example of ancient Near Eastern literature. Simply put, the flood story is not about history, but about heroism, namely God is the hero who saves humanity from the chaos and gives humanity a chance to start over through Noah.

Chapter 5: Genesis 10-11—Rebellion and Dispersal
Farley’s final chapter briefly touches upon the story of the Tower of Babel. All things considered, this might be the weakest chapter in the book. Nevertheless, it does discuss a number of interesting features like the wordplay of “Babel” (which means “to confuse”) being used as a scornful jab at “Babylon” (which means “gate of God”).

Conclusion: Remembering Who We Are
As the title of the conclusion suggests, Farley’s ultimate point about Genesis 1-11 is that it is about telling us who we are as human beings, and not simply some past historical facts. As he states, “Our own secular culture today provides no help in understanding who we really are or what kind of behavior flows from authentic human nature and promotes authentic spiritual health. We too need to look to the rock from which we were hewn and the quarry from which we were dug. We need to turn once again to the origin stories of the Book of Genesis to learn the truth about what it means to be an authentic human being. The Genesis narrative teaches us lessons about human nature we cannot learn from the secular society today.”

And then, to conclude his book, Farley cites four such lessons we should learn from Genesis 1-11:

1. Human Life is Sacred: In this section, Farley addresses the abortion issue and questions just how “progressive” our culture really is when “we slaughter the unborn, disposing of their corpses as if they were so much garbage.”
2. All Men are Brothers: In this section, Farley addresses the issue of racism and emphasizes the biblical teaching that we are all of one and the same race.
3. Women are Precious: In this section, Farley addresses the exploitation of women in our culture, and comments on the basic contradiction that our culture claims to champion women’s equality, but at the same time is awash in the exploitation of women, as seen in the booming porn industry.
4. Gender is Binary: In this section, Farley touches upon the very recent controversy regarding gender identity and pulls no punches: the idea that one can choose one’s gender is not only unbiblical, but ultimately absurd. Given the heated nature of the current debate, Farley’s two pages on the issue clearly don’t address it in depth, but it is bound to offend some people. To that, though, Farley is quite clear: “God made them male and female, and in this binary constitution of man the world can find stability and possibilities for true growth and health.”

However one may react to the lessons that Farley highlights at the end of his book, the fact is the book as a whole provides a very insightful and easy to read overview of some of the most controversial and misunderstood chapters in the Bible these days. I heartedly recommend picking it up.