In the article "Sins of the Fathers: Another View" (TSR, July/August 1997), Roger Hutchinson, using the artistic verisimilitude of semantics, tried valiantly to rationalize the irrational. His biblical beliefs are so deeply ingrained that he has painted himself into a corner of denial. I can only hope that someday reason will remove his biblical chains and that he will recognize Farrell Till, Dan Barker, and Thomas Paine as men of great courage and intelligence, who succeeded in breaking those chains.
Now there are three types of statements in the Bible: explicit, implicit, and inferential. In 2 Samuel 12:13-14, Yahweh is very explicit. David's son had to die as punishment for David's sin. Roger tried to obfuscate the issue by splitting hairs on the difference between punishment and consequence. In this case, there is no difference. Farrell Till made this crystal clear in his article "A Problem of False Analogy," and I thank him for emphasizing my point that the Bible says contradictory things in different places. Roger is locked in on Deuteronomy 24:16 (each person dies for his own sin). He implies that this is Yahweh's official position, and either ignores or plays down any passages to the contrary.
In my original article, TSR, November/December 1996, I disproved inerrancy by using contradictory verses dealing with the sins of the fathers. There are, however, at least 200 contradictions in other areas. I could have zeroed in on Genesis 1 vs. Genesis 2, where El Shaddai (later known as Yahweh, I Am, and Jealous) explains creation to Moses. His explanation of the order in which he created things in Genesis 2 contradicts the order in Genesis 1 and in addition contradicts basic scientific principles, as we see below. In one account, the writer (identified in scholarly circles as the "Elohist") referred to the creator as Elohim; in the other, the writer (considered by scholars to be a different person from the Elohist) referred to the creator as Yahweh Elohim.
Genesis 1 (Elohist): Order of creation in the first account.
1. The heaven and light were made (vs:1-5).
2. The firmament was constructed and the waters divided (vs:6-8).
3. The waters gathered into seas-- and then dry land, grass, herbs, and fruit trees created (vs:9-13).
4. The sun and moon created and the stars made also (vs:14-17).
5. Fishes, fowls, and great whales created (vs:20- 23).
6. Beasts, cattle, every creeping thing, man and woman created (vs:24-27).
Summary: Heaven and earth were created before the sun; all animals created, and then man and woman (both sexes) were created simultaneously.
Genesis 2 (Yahwist): Order of creation in the second account.
1. The heavens and the earth created (v:4).
2. A mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground (vs:5-6).
3. Man (male only) made out of dust and named Adam (v:7).
4. A garden planted eastward in Eden and man put into it (vs:8-17) .
5. Beasts and fowls created (vs:18-20).
6. Woman created from one of the man's ribs (vs: 21-24).
Summary: The man (male only) was created, then all the plants, beasts, and fowls, and finally the woman.
Conclusion: The two creation accounts are in obvious conflict, and the different names by which God was called in the two accounts indicate separate authorships.
(Sol Abrams, 132 Easthampton F, West Palm Beach, FL 33417)
