On the Claim that Atheism Lead to Scientific Advancements

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Superstitions were not the sole invention of "Christianity". Superstitions existed independently and predated "Christianity". In fact, that was one of the means which Christians went about spreading the general religion which soon became "religious denominations" --adopting pagan customs and superstitions, absorbing them into "religions" as Christianity as a whole spread throughout the world. and the belief in such things were around long before Christianity, just as scientific progress was.

Did Christians, not the general "religion" itself, contribute to scientific progress? Yes. Did some Christians believe in education? Yes. Did some build schools? Yes. Was education/progress potential inhibited by ancient customs / cultural beliefs that had been around, long before Christianity (i.e., belief in demons)? Yes.

All cultures/religions/people in general did contribute in some manner throughout history. It is a human achievement, not the result of theisms or atheism.

The precursor to modern science, began with religious thought and attempts to explain the unknown. Just as the ancient people WORSHIPED agriculture, they made a practical religion of everything that affected their livelihood from the sun and moon, to the tides, the seasons, the harvest -- at one point in history you could not separate science and religious thought, because it was all the same thing:

How Ancient Egyptian Religion Affected Farming
"To the ancient Egyptians, religion was inseparable from everyday existence. They were a nation of farmers, who depended on the fertility of the land and its creatures for their livelihood. In trying to understand how the powers of nature could bring life and destroy it, the Egyptians personified these forces, worshipped them as gods and created myths about them. To retain the favor of the gods, they believed they should farm in accordance with god-given rules, offer sacrifice and continually give thanks."
(Source)

Even the man who is credited for giving rise to the early precursor of "Evolution" (the Old Testament's "mythical account") bears similarities to his beliefs:

Evolution and Paleontology in the Ancient World
"...For Anaximander, the world had arisen from an undifferentiated, indeterminate substance, the apeiron. The Earth, which had coalesced out of the apeiron, had been covered in water at one stage, with plants and animals arising from mud. Humans were not present at the earliest stages; they arose from fish. This poem was quite influential on later thinkers, including Aristotle.
Had Anaximander looked at fossils? Did he study comparative fish and human anatomy? Unfortunately, we have no way of knowing what evidence Anaximander used to support his ideas. His theory bears some resemblance to evolutionary theory, but also seems to have been derived from various Greek myths, such as the story of Deucalion and Pyrrha, in which peoples or tribes are born from the Earth or from stones. His concept of the apeiron seems similar to the Tao of Chinese philosophy and religion, and to the "formless and void" Earth of the Hebrew creation account and other creation myths. However, even though Anaximander's ideas drew on the religious and mythical ideas of his time, he was still one of the first to attempt an explanation of the origin and evolution of the cosmos based on natural laws."
(Source)

The Oldest Medical Books in the World
"...Long ago, when writing was a secret science, the Egyptian scribe was not a simple copyist. He had the combined training of a calligrapher, a philosopher, a scholar and a scientist. Many physicians prided themselves on bearing the title of scribe among their others, and like Hesyreh, had themselves portrayed with the palette and reeds, the sesh, symbol of that learned class. The actual copying was probably performed in the pir-ankh or Houses of Life that were attached to the temples and where the scholars, physicians, philosophers and scientists of the time used to meet. We know of nine principal medical papyri. They are called after their original owners (Edwin Smith, Chester Beatty, Carlsberg), the site of their discovery (Kahoun, Ramesseum), the towns were they are kept (Leyden, London, Berlin) or their editor (Ebers).
The Kahoun Papyrus is the most ancient scroll and was discovered at Fayoum and was called by mistake the Kahoun Papyrus. It dates from 1950 B.C. And has on its back an account from the time of Amenemhat III (1840-1792 B.C.). Not only is this the oldest known papyrus, but the original from which it was copied seems also more antique than the originals of the other papyri."
"...The Ramesseum IV and V papyri were probably written about 1900 B.C., i.e. At about the same epoch as the Kahoun Papyrus."
"...The Ebers Papyrus is the longest of all the known papyri and the most important, considering the physiological and medical knowledge it reveals. It is complete in 108 pages and bears the date of the 9th year of the reign of Amenophis I (1550 B.C.)."
(Source)

Christianity is not responsible for Scientific Progress, nor is it to blame for inhibiting it. In spite of YEC (a cultural thing among some) scientific progress is continuing, and there are many Christians on board with scientific achievements. To cast blame or credit on all of "Christianity" is a sweeping generalization fallacy.

". . . Reverse copying: A strong case can be made that wholesale copying of beliefs and rituals by various religions has occurred in the past. However, as noted above, some Christian beliefs and practices may have stolen by the followers of Mithra from their Christian rivals rather than vice versa. This theory might have some validity with respect to Mithraism. However, it cannot explain the stories of the life of Horus which proceeded Jesus' ministry in the first century CE by a few thousand years."
(Source)

Should we blame the Greeks for "corrupting" Christianity? Or that Christianity itself is a product of Greek thought? Where history is concerned, you've got to take the good with the bad. At one time, Science and "Religion" were the same thing. It emerged as man began trying to explain how things came to be. The best any of them could offer were baby steps.
Even Thomas Jefferson, one of the world's most progressive and intelligent thinkers... that thanks to him, and men like him, that secured your right, to freedom of speech and to even question religions -- owned slaves.

Should you thank a slave owner for your liberty?

Revelation 9:8-10 "...They had hair like the hair of women, and their teeth were like the teeth of lions. [...] And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months."

Greek Thought.

". . . Sphinx... THE SPHINX (or Phix) was a female monster with the body of a lion, the breast and head of a woman, eagle's wings and, according to some, a serpent-headed tail. She was sent by the gods to plague the town of Thebes as punishment for some ancient crime. There she preyed on the youths of the land, devouring all those who failed to solve her riddle." (Source)

Do we gather up every ancient Greek writing and toss it into the trash bin with the Bible which was yet, another product of Greek thought?

THOMAS JEFFERSON ON "GREEK THOUGHT" :

Thomas Jefferson
TO GENERAL ALEXANDER SMYTH MONTICELLO
January 17 1825

DEAR SIR,
I have duly received four proof sheets of your explanation of the Apocalypse with your letters of December 29th and January 8th; in the last of which you request that so soon as I shall be of opinion that the explanation you have given is correct I would express it in a letter to you. From this you must be so good as to excuse me because I make it an invariable rule to decline ever giving opinions on new publications in any case whatever. No man on earth has less taste or talent for criticism than myself and least and last of all should I undertake to criticise works on the Apocalypse. It is between fifty and sixty years since I read it and I then considered it as merely the ravings of a maniac no more worthy nor capable of explanation than the incoherences of our own nightly dreams. I was therefore well pleased to see in your first proof sheet that it was said to be not the production of St John but of Cerinthus a century after the death of that apostle. Yet the change of the author's name does not lessen the extravagances of the composition and come they from whomsoever they may I cannot so far respect them as to consider them as an allegorical narrative of events past or subsequent. There is not coherence enough in them to countenance any suite of rational ideas. You will judge therefore from this how impossible I think it that either your explanation or that of any man in the heavens above or on the earth beneath can be a correct one. What has no meaning admits no explanation and pardon me if I say with the candor of friendship that I think your time too valuable and your understanding of too high an order to be wasted on these paralogisms. You will perceive I hope also that I do not consider them as revelations of the Supreme Being whom I would not so far blaspheme as to impute to Him a pretension of revelation couched at the same time in terms which He would know were never to be understood by those to whom they were addressed. In the candor of these observations I hope you will see proofs of the confidence esteem and which I entertain for you.

The Writings of Thomas Jefferson By Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Adgate Lipscomb, Albert Ellery Bergh, Richard Holland Johnston, Thomas Jefferson memorial association of the United States

The great navigators from ancient time who discovered new lands and increased scientific knowledge about geography, the size and shape of the Earth, also went out to sea and came back with "Great mythical tales" -- similar to the Greek Sphinx about "mermaids" -- human heads and torsos attached to bodies of animals... in this case Fish... should we gather up all the "sailors' diaries" and "Navigators" journals, and toss those in the waste basket too?

Perhaps have another book burning like the one at the Library of Alexandria?

Mermaid
". . . A mermaid is a legendary aquatic creature with the upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish.[1] Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide, including the Near East, Europe, Africa and Asia. The first stories appeared in ancient Assyria, in which the goddess Atargatis transformed herself into a mermaid out of shame for accidentally killing her human lover. Mermaids are sometimes associated with perilous events such as floods, storms, shipwrecks and drownings. In other folk traditions (or sometimes within the same tradition), they can be benevolent or beneficent, bestowing boons or falling in love with humans.
Some of the attributes of mermaids may have been influenced by the Sirens of Greek mythology. Historical accounts of mermaids, such as those reported by Christopher Columbus during his exploration of the Caribbean, may have been inspired by manatees and similar aquatic mammals."
(Source)

Mermaids, Religion, Sphinxes, Greek, Occult, ... Science ... Darwinism... Atheists are not the only one that would like to toss it all in the trash can :

Evolution in the Ancient World:
"...For Anaximander, the world had arisen from .... mud. Humans were not present at the earliest stages; they arose from fish. This poem was quite influential on later thinkers, including Aristotle. Had Anaximander looked at fossils? Did he study comparative fish and human anatomy? Unfortunately, we have no way of knowing what evidence Anaximander used to support his ideas. His theory bears some resemblance to evolutionary theory, but also seems to have been derived from various Greek myths.... Anaximander's ideas drew on the religious and mythical ideas of his time, he was still one of the first to attempt an explanation of the origin and evolution of the cosmos based on natural laws."
(Source)

ERASE IT ALL:

Facebook Comment:
"...The Greek Philosopher Empedocles ( same guy who believed he was a "god" and threw himself into a volcano), philosophized that man came from "fish like creature", which were birthed from Fish from the SEA. ( based not on observation, but on conjecture, and the idea dates back to the Mystery religions of Babylon and Egypt, where the first time we hear the word "Evolution" is in Egyptian religion, as the gods "evolve" from the waters of chaos, and "The Goddess" emerges from the SEA. ( Virgin Mother Goddess Motiff of Antiquity). The Greeks adopted this pagan belief system, with modification into their system of thinking, and theorized of the Scala Natura, or "Great Chain of Being" ( from insects to fish, to beasts, to men, to angels, to God, etc. . .). Erasamus Darwin was the leading Freemason in all of Scotland, and was a member of the Lunar Society ( a symbol for the Goddess of Antiquity). The Darwin family were nearly ALL Masons, and Occultists, and BELONGED to this organization. Such organizations are OBSESSED with ancient "god-wisdom" and "serpent-wisdom" and "the mysteries", and thus, they superimposed their a priori ideas UPON what little Charlie Darwin had OBSERVED. The fact that evolution is taught as "science" is absurd. It is actually a very ancient pagan philosophy or origins, from MYSTERY cults dating back to the first pagan and occult civilizations. Of course, we can't talk about THAT in Public Schools now, can we??? Evolution is a bucket of CRAP. It is a LIE, and no matter how many times these zoo monkeys REPEAT it, that will not change."
(Source)

Scala Natura, or "Great Chain of Being"

Abstract
"...All living beings on Earth, from bacteria to humans, are connected through descent from common ancestors and represent the summation of their corresponding, ca. 3500 million year long evolutionary history. However, the evolution of phenotypic features is not predictable, and biologists no longer use terms such as "primitive" or "perfect organisms". Despite these insights, the Bible-based concept of the so-called "ladder of life" or Scala Naturae, i.e., the idea that all living beings can be viewed as representing various degrees of "perfection", with humans at the very top of this biological hierarchy, was popular among naturalists until ca. 1850 (Charles Bonnet, Jean Lamarck and others). Charles Darwin is usually credited with the establishment of a branched evolutionary "Tree of Life". This insight of 1859 was based on his now firmly corroborated proposals of common ancestry and natural selection. In this article I argue that Darwin was still influenced by "ladder thinking", a theological view that prevailed throughout the 19th century and is also part of Ernst Haeckel's famous Oak tree (of Life) of 1866, which is, like Darwin's scheme, static. In 1910, Constantin Mereschkowsky proposed an alternative, "anti-selectionist" concept of biological evolution, which became known as the symbiogenesis-theory. According to the symbiogenesis-scenario, eukaryotic cells evolved on a static Earth from archaic prokaryotes via the fusion and subsequent cooperation of certain microbes. In 1929, Alfred Wegener published his theory of continental drift, which was later corroborated, modified and extended. The resulting theory of plate tectonics is now the principal organizing concept of geology. Over millions of years, plate tectonics and hence the "dynamic Earth" has caused destructive volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. At the same time, it created mountain ranges, deep oceans, novel freshwater habitats, and deserts. As a result, these geologic processes destroyed numerous populations of organisms, and produced the environmental conditions for new species of animals, plants and microbes to adapt and evolve. In this article I propose a tree-like "symbiogenesis, natural selection, and dynamic Earth (synade)-model" of macroevolution that is based on these novel facts and data."

BACKGROUND
"...In his Autobiography [1], Charles Darwin (1809 - 1882) presented a self-critical review of his achievements as a naturalist that revealed much about the character of this key figure of the evolutionary sciences and other branches of biology and geology [2-4]. With respect to the most influential of Darwin's 16 scientific books, On the Origin of Species, the author remarked that "Sixteen thousand copies have now (1876) been sold in England and considering how stiff a book it is, this is a large sale" [1]. This judgement is in part due to the fact that the Origin of Species was not designed by Darwin as a separate book; rather, it was published as an Abstract, taken from a much larger manuscript entitled Natural Selection [5]. Ironically, Darwin's major, scheduled "Magnum opus" with the tentative title Natural Selection never appeared in print, but the Extract published by the author in November 1859 in order to establish priority with respect to his theory of the "preservation of favourable variations and the rejection of injurious variations" became a best- and longseller [6].

The second and more important reason for the "stiffness" of Darwin's Origin of Species is attributable to the almost complete lack of illustrations. In contrast to Darwin's books on botanical and zoological issues, which contain numerous pictures [2-4], his Abstract published in 1859 (6th and final edition, 1872) [6,7] contained only one rather "sterile" diagram, a phylogenetic scheme. This "tree-like" figure is part of Chapter IV entitled "Natural Selection" in the first edition [6], and re-named "Natural Selection; or the Survival of the Fittest" in the 6th and final version of the "Species book" [7]. It should be noted that the phrase "survival of the fittest" was borrowed by Darwin from the philosopher Herbert Spencer (1820-1903), who was also the first to introduce the word "evolution" sensu phylogenetic development (a term not used by Darwin in the first edition [6]) into the emerging biological sciences of the 19th century [5].

With reference to his abstract illustration, Darwin explained at length the principle of "descent with modification by means of natural selection", and concluded, with his Bible-educated readers in mind, that "On the view that each species has been independently created, I can see no explanation of this great fact (i.e., the relatedness of all animals and all plants) in the classification of all organic beings; but, ..., it is explained though inheritance and the complex action of natural selection, entailing extinction and divergence of character as we have seen illustrated in the diagram" [6] p. 100.

Although Darwin made many changes and added entire sections to the text during the five revisions of his original version of the Origin [6], one key sentence remained unchanged: At the end of Chapter IV, the author wrote, with reference to his tree-like diagram, that "As buds give rise by growth to fresh buds, and these, if vigorous, branch out and overtop on all sides many a feebler branch, so by generation I believe it has been with the great Tree of Life, which fills with its dead and broken branches the crust of the earth, and covers the surface with its ever-branching and beautiful ramifications" [6], p. 101; [7], p. 137.

In this article I argue that the metaphorical "Tree of Life"-statement quoted above was still heavily rooted in the religious pre-Darwinian "evolutionary ladder-" or Scala Naturae-thinking of earlier naturalists.

From the scala naturae to the symbiogenetic and dynamic tree of life
Ulrich Kutschera
Institute of Biology, University of Kassel, Heinrich-Plett-Str. 40, D-34109 Kassel, Germany
(Source)

Even Darwin's theory isn't immune to revision by Scientists:

Charles Darwin's "tree of life", is wrong and needs to be replaced, according to leading scientists. Darwin himself also wrote about evolution and ecosystems as a "tangled bank". Plants and animals regularly crossbreed - and the offspring can be fertile. According to some estimates, 10 per cent of animals regularly form hybrids by breeding with other species. Living things evolve into new species only to cross again and again."

• Evolution: Charles Darwin was wrong about the tree of life

The "Tree of Life" vs. the "Tangled Web" and how it relates to bird origins.
“...Many birds occasionally mate with members of other bird species, producing hybrid offspring,” said Dr. Lovette, about 10 percent of the world’s 10,000 bird species are known to have bred with another species at least once, either in the wild or in captivity. Hybridization tends to occur between species that are closely related, but an individual from ONE GENUS may occasionally form a pair with a bird from an altogether DIFFERENT GENUS, separated by many millions of years of evolutionary divergence."

• Avian Affairs, By C. CLAIBORNE
  Q, Does bird mating ever cross the species line?
• These Hybrid Animals Will Be Created Because Of Climate Change
• Are hybrid species being created due to climate change?
  Pushed north by a warming climate, southern species mate with northern cousins, muddying gene pools and conservation efforts.
• Global Warming Spawns Hybrid Species

Dagon, the fish god
"Some rather scant sources, counting the Catholic Encyclopedia, say that Dagon is a merman, with the upper half of his body that of a man and the other half a fish. This belief stemmed from the interpretation that the name Dagon is related with the Hebrew word for fish, dag. On the other hand, it is clear from the account of Phoenician history by Philo of Byblos that the Dagon word in question is just that: the Phoenician dagon (dagan in Hebrew), which Philo even translated to Greek, Siton, also meaning “grain.” The god of fertility was a Phoenician god; imposing a Hebrew word from the Bible in place of the native, specifically Phoenician name to explain the pagan god’s origin and makeup is inappropriate. So is the verbal maneuvering of theologians to equate the stump or torso that remained unbroken of the earth god in 1 Samuel 5 to the body of a fish based on that erroneous etymology. Above all, to the pagan people who worshiped the god of earth, it is highly doubtful that the image of a sea-dwelling merman would make sufficiently for the persona of a plough-wielding god of agriculture who administers the fields."
(Source)

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Hellenistic Greek Influence on Genesis

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Atheism is not "The" Answer(TM).
I've acquainted overconfident Atheists espousing faith in how Science has all the answers, but when I actually corresponded with Scientists who were responsible for cutting edge research... they weren't so confident in some of the mainstream interpretations of certain data... and often in the business of correcting "mainstream information".

Very sad.

The Ultimate Answer to Everything... Science-Wise: A BIG FAT UNKNOWN.

This ... I am NOT Agnostic about! Both them... and their fanatical "absolute truthism".

Most scientists I've corresponded with -- are pretty grounded AGNOSTICS about their science. The more they know, the less overconfidence they have in any "absolute Truth(TM)". So much for Theism or Atheism.

I do consider myself Christian. That is, there are stories in the Bible written about a man named Jesus who was a wise prophet and philosopher... very inspirational wisdom and it is written, if I believe in his teachings, then I'll inherit "the Kingdom of God". He did not command, "Thou must believe in Satan" nor did he teach, "You must abstain from blood transfusions". He said none of the things which 95% of "Religions"' creeds and dogmas center around.

All of the other things found within the Bible... is up for debate. I don't know what I believe about Jesus in detail because though I've read many debates... my mind is not concluded one way or the other. I guess you can call it FAITH that fills in the unknowns... even in the absence of absolutely certainty. A sort of "Agnosticism" about many things in the Bible.
Meanwhile on Genesis, I've read many arguments for and against it... comparing it with Babylonian and Egyptian mythology...

I believe sincerely the Jews were living under the strong influence of Greek thought around 300 AD and wrote "Genesis" which reveals Greek philosophy in the text... the Greeks who are responsible for developing a precursor to what is now called, "Evolution".

The ancient people had hands-on, eyewitness understanding of "cultivation" or as it is called today, "Artificial Selection". These things are described in the opening chapters of Genesis.

The Influence of Greek Philosophy on the Early Commentaries on Genesis
Frank Egleston Robbins
The American Journal of Theology
Vol. 16, No. 2 (Apr., 1912), pp. 218-240
Published by: University of Chicago Press
(Study Link)

Both the Greeks (in the ancient Evolution school of thought) Modern Science and the Bible assert, "all life began in the water".

The author of Genesis was simply copying what the Greeks had already theorized.

Terms such as, "every creature after its kind," and "every plant before its kind was in the earth" but "no plant of the field, yet grew" ... imply the wild mustard, that is cultivated by man, to become Broccoli, Caulflower, etc.
Genesis even emphasizes this, "There was no plant of the field which grew, because there was no man to till the ground." (translated as cultivation).

Artificial Selection is a man-made form of Evolution. I had a theistic evolutionist argue once, "Impossible! Ancient people would've never seen it happen within their lifetime." Hogwash! If a pig escapes captivity, it quickly reverts back into its original, wild form. So the ancient knew indeed and were experts at man-made "Evolution" or cultivation of crops and livestock.

I read that the ancient Greeks had no word for "Evolution" but are describing ancient cultivation -- agriculture -- "before its kind" and "after its kind" which they made a RELIGION out of. . . they worshiped Agriculture... the heavens, and its influences on crops. Even the Hebrews were guilty of worshiping the Olive Tree, just like cultures surrounding them.

So, that's where the buck stops for me.

No "divine revelation" necessary. Nor is Genesis a piece of Literature deserving being blindly tossed in the trash can. It was written from heavy influence of ancient Greek thought.

After all the studies I have read about ancient cultivation (ARTIFICIAL Selection vs. Natural Selection) I find the opening of Genesis, absolutely amazing... ancient farmers actually understood "Evolution" in terms of Artificial Selection (cultivation of crops/livestock) although, with it being man-made Greek thought behind it... then no, I don't see Genesis as itself "evidence" that ancient writers had an inside scoop from the divine about Science.

The Greeks were, intellectually, well ahead of their time.

From what I have studied about ancient people and agriculture over several years... when I realized that the author of Genesis was elaborating on his worship of Agriculture... now I see, Genesis is pretty awesome curiosity.

But I don't see now, really why or how God would be involved ... when it was getting copied from the Greeks.

History of plant breeding
"...Plant breeding started with sedentary agriculture, particularly the domestication of the first agricultural plants, a practice which is estimated to date back 9,000 to 11,000 years. Initially, early human farmers selected food plants with particular desirable characteristics and used these as a seed source for subsequent generations, resulting in an accumulation of characteristics over time. In time however, experiments began with deliberate hybridization, the science and understanding of which was greatly enhanced by the work of Gregor Mendel. Mendel's work ultimately led to the new science of genetics. Modern plant breeding is applied genetics, but its scientific basis is broader, covering molecular biology, cytology, systematics, physiology, pathology, entomology, chemistry, and statistics (biometrics). It has also developed its own technology. Plant breeding efforts are divided into a number of different historical landmarks."
(Source)

Different translations reveal A LOT about what the ancient Hebrew was attempting to convey:

Genesis 2:5

(Some translations emphasize the absence of man-made cultivated plants i.e., broccoli, cauliflower ------ while other translations emphasize their precursor, the wild ancestor, mustard plant which man used ARTIFICIAL SELECTION to cultivate . . . man created these vegetables, God did not create them. The author of Genesis confirms this:

(1) CULTIVATED PLANTS DO NOT EXIST

English Standard Version
"...no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up .... there was no man to work the ground..."

New American Standard Bible
"...no shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted .... there was no man to cultivate the ground."

(2) WILD PLANTS DO EXIST

King James Bible
"...And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew ....there was not a man to till the ground."

Jubilee Bible 2000
"...and every plant of the field before it was in the earth and all the grass of the field before it grew... neither was there a man to till the ground."

Of course some translations go off the rails... because some translators, not being knowledgeable about ancient worship of Agriculture, had little knowledge of what they were actually translating -- the cultivation of crops ... Agriculture Worship... it's my guess these translators are most likely indoctrinated Young Earth Creationists... therefore, they see no difference between "plants of the field" and "wild plants".

But the King James translation, is emphatic in its use of the evolutionary term, every plant "before its kind" DOES exist while Young's point to cultivated plants of the field, DO NOT.

Young's Literal Translation
"...and no shrub of the field is yet in the earth, and no herb of the field yet sprouteth ... and a man there is not to serve the ground,"

Awesome. The ancient Greeks had no word for "Evolution" (I had read) . . . so the author is trying to imply it with difficulty, by saying "After their kind" and "Before its kind" because livestock and crops, may transform into new, yet similar.. evolving kinds.

EVOLUTION... Artificial Selection... Science is Awesome!
"Every plant before it" was in the earth... but "no plant of the field" grew... for there was no man to (cultivate) till the ground.

The ancient Greeks were awesome... ahead of their time.

The Author of Genesis...

Hellenistic Judaism
". . . Hellenistic Judaism was a form of Judaism in the ancient world that combined Jewish religious tradition with elements of Greek culture. Until the fall of the Roman Empire and the Muslim conquests of the Eastern Mediterranean, the main centers of Hellenistic Judaism were Alexandria (Egypt) and Antioch (Northern Syria—now Turkey), the two main Greek urban settlements of the Middle East and North Africa area, both founded at the end of the 4th century BCE in the wake of the conquests of Alexander the Great. Hellenistic Judaism also existed in Jerusalem during the Second Temple Period, where there was conflict between Hellenizers and traditionalists (sometimes called Judaizers). The major literary product of the contact of Second Temple Judaism and Hellenistic culture is the Septuagint translation of the Hebrew Bible from Biblical Hebrew and Biblical Aramaic to Koiné Greek, specifically, Jewish Koiné Greek."
(Source)

Hellenistic (Greek) Jewish ideas, are quite intriguing... This Hellenistic Jewish "Law of Nature" and what it is. They were beginning to observe the Natural World, and presumed what the "Natural Order" must be. . . I really am not certain if the author referred to is pro-homosexual or anti-homosexual, but none the less sheds some light on ancient Hellenistic (Greek) Jewish thought.

The Bible and Homosexual Practice: Texts and Hermeneutics
By Robert A.J. Gagnon
(Source)

Ancient Greek thought is elaborated in the following excerpt -- the Hellenistic Jews under influence of Greek thought reveal some of the earliest traces of Human "Reason"... observation of the "Natural Order" -- perhaps Paul didn't get his conclusion, correct, but at least it is evidence the ancients were making an attempt at "Reason." Interesting, because there existed a conflict between the Hellenistic Jews and their earlier predecessors.

It is obviously the Greeks who introduced the Hebrew to the concept of "Natural Law"... as in the Hellenistic Jews enlightened by Greek thought... and "Reason".

At least, that is how I interpret these passages.

Past Renewals: Interpretative Authority, Renewed Revelation, and the Quest for Perfection in Jewish Antiquity Front Cover
Hindy Najman
BRILL, 2010 - Religion - 270 pages
(Source)

Now.. if only the YEC could catch up with where the Hellenistic Jews were, scientifically, 2300 years ago because "Evolution" happens.

The ancient Hellenistic Jews who are responsible for the passages in Genesis were copying Greek philosophy when they mixed their religion with bits and pieces of Greek culture, "God said, '...Let the waters bring forth..."

It was the Greeks who first suggested it.

Evolution and Paleontology in the Ancient World

"...Even "primitive" peoples may have extremely detailed knowledge of the living organisms around them, knowledge on which their survival or well-being often depends. When such knowledge is arranged systematically and used to make general statements and predictions about the world, one may speak of a scientific tradition. Such traditions were developed among the ancient Egyptians and Babylonians; the Egyptians, in particular, developed a scientific tradition in medicine, one based on careful observations. It was the Greeks, however, who led the way in developing a general scientific worldview -- one in which natural, non-miraculous explanations for the causes of phenomena were sought. The earliest Greek philosophers lived and worked, not in Greece itself, but in the Greek colonies of Ionia (the Mediterranean coast of Asia Minor -- now Turkey -- and the nearby islands). Because it was favorably located for trade among Greece, Egypt, and the Near East, Ionia was not only wealthy, but well placed for the dispersal of ideas; thus Greek thought drew on the knowledge of the Near East, Egypt, and even India at various times in history. Later, the thinkers of the Roman Republic and Empire carried on the Greek tradition, although relatively less original scientific thought was developed among the Romans.
We can't showcase the entire spectrum and long history of the scientific thought of the ancient world. This exhibit is simply intended to point out some currents within ancient thought that foreshadowed later developments in evolutionary biology.
[...]
For Anaximander, the world had arisen from an undifferentiated, indeterminate substance, the apeiron. The Earth, which had coalesced out of the apeiron, had been covered in water at one stage, with plants and animals arising from mud. Humans were not present at the earliest stages; they arose from fish. This poem was quite influential on later thinkers, including Aristotle.
Had Anaximander looked at fossils? Did he study comparative fish and human anatomy? Unfortunately, we have no way of knowing what evidence Anaximander used to support his ideas. His theory bears some resemblance to evolutionary theory, but also seems to have been derived from various Greek myths, such as the story of Deucalion and Pyrrha, in which peoples or tribes are born from the Earth or from stones. His concept of the apeiron seems similar to the Tao of Chinese philosophy and religion, and to the "formless and void" Earth of the Hebrew creation account and other creation myths. However, even though Anaximander's ideas drew on the religious and mythical ideas of his time, he was still one of the first to attempt an explanation of the origin and evolution of the cosmos based on natural laws.
[...]
In the 6th century B.C.E. Xenophanes of Colophon (died ca. 490 B.C.E.), who was a disciple of Anaximander, developed Anaximander's theories further. He observed fossil fishes and shells, and concluded that the land where they were found had been underwater at some time. Xenophanes taught that the world formed from the condensation of water and "primordial mud;" he was the first person known to have used fossils as evidence for a theory of the history of the Earth.
The Greek historian Herodotus (484-425 B.C.E.) also observed fossil shells in Egypt, and cited them as evidence that Egypt had once been underwater. He also described a valley in Arabia, in the Mokattam mountains, where he saw "the backbones and ribs of such serpents as it is impossible to describe: of the ribs there were a multitude of heaps. . . " He ascribed these bones to winged serpents that had been killed by ibises. We now know that these are the bones of fossil mammals that wash out of the rocks every rainy season. Several other ancient historians briefly mentioned fossils in their writings. Finally, the famous Greek physician Hippocrates of Cos (460-357 B.C.E.) is known to have collected fossils; in fact, modern excavations at Asklepion, the famous medical school of Hippocrates's day, unearthed a fragment of a fossil elephant molar.
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Hellenistic Philosophy (300BCE-200CE)
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I know the various "dates" scholars assign to scripture (and, oh how they vary) ... I also know, and you know, that certain forgeries, attempting to misrepresent certain patriarch were pawned --and even believed . . . purposely retroactively, misdated into the past, such as the book of "Enoch". Show me ancient autographa, before time of Thallus and Anaximander, which discuss the act of ARTIFICIAL SELECTION "no plant of the field yet grew" because "there was no man to till(cultivate) the ground" but "every plant before it, grew wild."

I heard Norman Geisler make the argument once, "No Original Autographa Remain".

The Oldest Medical Books in the World
"...Long ago, when writing was a secret science, the Egyptian scribe was not a simple copyist. He had the combined training of a calligrapher, a philosopher, a scholar and a scientist. Many physicians prided themselves on bearing the title of scribe among their others, and like Hesyreh, had themselves portrayed with the palette and reeds, the sesh, symbol of that learned class. The actual copying was probably performed in the pir-ankh or Houses of Life that were attached to the temples and where the scholars, physicians, philosophers and scientists of the time used to meet. We know of nine principal medical papyri. They are called after their original owners (Edwin Smith, Chester Beatty, Carlsberg), the site of their discovery (Kahoun, Ramesseum), the towns were they are kept (Leyden, London, Berlin) or their editor (Ebers).
The Kahoun Papyrus is the most ancient scroll and was discovered at Fayoum and was called by mistake the Kahoun Papyrus. It dates from 1950 B.C. And has on its back an account from the time of Amenemhat III (1840-1792 B.C.). Not only is this the oldest known papyrus, but the original from which it was copied seems also more antique than the originals of the other papyri."
"...The Ramesseum IV and V papyri were probably written about 1900 B.C., i.e. At about the same epoch as the Kahoun Papyrus."
"...The Ebers Papyrus is the longest of all the known papyri and the most important, considering the physiological and medical knowledge it reveals. It is complete in 108 pages and bears the date of the 9th year of the reign of Amenophis I (1550 B.C.)."
(Source)

A certain Atheist, wrote: "....is nothing more than a ludicrous, bald-faced attempt to rewrite the Bible!"

WHO WOULD DO SUCH A THING?

"...All the pieces are in their proper, chronological order, and they form one, seamless, complete account. The attempt to fracture this account by abruptly jumping 250 years into the future, by dragging in Alexander the Great out of the blue, all of this being based on the odd usage of "they" in verse 12, is nothing more than a ludicrous, bald-faced attempt to rewrite the Bible! The clear intent of such nonsense is to nullify, at all costs, the obvious failure of the prophecy, a prophecy that plainly features Nebuchadrezzar throughout. If that's what it takes to make the Bible "inerrant," then that battle is already lost."
Apologists tell us, on the basis of their analysis of the ancient Hebrew, that we must break the obvious unity of this account, jump hundreds of years into the future, and drag in a person of their choosing!"
- Ezekiel's Prophecy of Tyre: a failed prophecy

Another Atheist writes:
"...Finally, when discussing the autographs of the OT, I like to ask, what is the autograph of the Psalms which were written over a 1000 years? How about Jeremiah? The original was burned by the king. Then Jeremiah wrote or rather dictated an expanded copy, but that was over twenty years before the last events of the book were recorded. Even then the Hebrew tradition grew after Jeremiah died as evidenced when it is compared to the LXX. So, what was the autograph of Jeremiah? The argument for the inerrancy of the autograph has a number of problems. Making the concept a statement of faith as some seem to argue is a corruption of orthodox Christianity."

Biblical text, the oldest find since the Dead Sea Scrolls, revealed in digital image of a charred scroll
"...JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli archaeologists said on Monday they had discerned biblical writing on a charred 1,500-year-old parchment with the help of digital imaging and described the text as the oldest found since the Dead Sea Scrolls.
U.S. and Israeli researchers made the discovery using advanced medical and digital technology to examine the object, first unearthed 45 years ago when then-standard forensics could not decipher any script on the scroll."
(Source).

CT scan of charred scroll yields oldest Biblical remnant after Dead Sea Scrolls
High-tech deciphering of parchment found in ancient Ein Gedi synagogue, excavated 45 years ago, yields text from Book of Leviticus
"The document, found during the excavation of the synagogue in Ein Gedi 45 years ago, was burned 1,500 years ago while stored inside the ark in the ancient house of worship. Since then, however, the text has been unreadable."
(Source)

Dead Sea Scrolls
"...Biblical text older than the Dead Sea Scrolls has been discovered only in two silver scroll-shaped amulets containing portions of the Priestly Blessing from the Book of Numbers, excavated in Jerusalem at Ketef Hinnom and dated c. 600 BCE. A burnt piece of Leviticus dating from the 6th century CE analyzed in 2015 was found to be the fourth-oldest piece of the Torah known to exist.[5]
Most of the texts are written in Hebrew, with some in Aramaic (in different regional dialects, including Nabataean), and a few in Greek.[6] If discoveries from the Judean desert are included, Latin (from Masada) and Arabic (from Khirbet al-Mird) can be added.[7] Most texts are written on parchment, some on papyrus and one on copper.[8]"
(Source)

"...The Isaiah Scroll, found relatively intact, is 1000 years older than any previously known copy of Isaiah. In fact, the scrolls are the oldest group of Old Testament manuscripts ever found."
(Source)

Dead Sea scrolls: world's oldest copy of the Ten Commandments to go on display in Israel
2,000-year-old scroll will remain at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem for two weeks
(Source)

The Dead Sea Scrolls in Context: Integrating the Dead Sea Scrolls in the Study of Ancient Texts, Languages, and Cultures
Armin Lange, Emanuel Tov, Matthias Weigold
BRILL, 2011 - Dead Sea scrolls - 980 pages
(Source)

"...The oldest Egyptian leather manuscript has been found in the shelves of the Egyptian museum in Cairo, where it was stored and forgotten for more than 70 years.
Dating from the late Old Kingdom to the early Middle Kingdom (2300-2000 B.C.), the roll measures about 2.5 meters(8.2 feet) and is filled with texts and colorful drawings of the finest quality.
“Taking into account that it was written on both sides, we have more than 5 meters (16.4 feet) of texts and drawings, making this the longest leather roll from ancient Egypt,” Wael Sherbiny, the Belgium-based independent scholar who made the finding, told Discovery News."
(Source)

If Medical Scrolls and Literature from Egypt still survive, couldn't the Almighty God have preserved his written word as good or better than the Egyptians?

The scrolls pretty much begin disappearing from history, the further one moves back into time toward 300-600 BC. Which tells me the approximate time such books were written... by Jews in Hellenistic Greece.

The Almighty God of the Universe... and the best they can do is produce an inconclusive string of text on a shard of pottery dating 1000 BC that may or may not, be Hebrew.
If these people actually did what some claim:

"...the ancient Israelites would be recording their history in real time instead of several hundred years later..."

There would be much older manuscripts, all over the place with radiocarbon dating, verifying the authenticity. The evidence points to their "history" being written several 100 years later.

3,000-Year-Old Inscription May Be ‘Oldest Form Of Written Hebrew’ "...“The letters of the inscription match those of contemporary inscriptions, many of which form words that clearly are part of the Hebrew language. Hebrew speakers were controlling Jerusalem in the 10th century, which biblical chronology points to as the time of David and Solomon," ancient Near Eastern history and biblical studies expert Douglas Petrovich told Fox News.
If Petrovich’s claim is accurate, the inscription could prove the veracity of the Old Testament. That is, if the Hebrew language dates back to the 10th century B.C., the ancient Israelites would be recording their history in real time instead of several hundred years later.
But other archaeologists do not support Petrovich’s theory. Earlier this month, Hebrew University of Jerusalem's Eilat Mazar, who found the relic, said that the text was written in the Canaanite language, which translates to M, Q, P, H, N, possibly L, and N. The combination of letters doesn’t correspond to any words in west-Semitic languages, but it may describe the contents of the jug or its owner, NBC News reports.
“Because the inscription is not in Hebrew, it is likely to have been written by one of the non-Israeli residents of Jerusalem, perhaps Jebusites, who were part of the city population in the time of Kings David and Solomon,” Mazar describes in a paper for the Israel Exploration Journal."
(Source)

Ceramic shard may bear oldest Hebrew inscription
Bernat Armangue / AP
"...A 6-by-6-inch pottery shard unearthed at the archaeological dig site of Hirbet Qeiyafa (the Elah Fortress) in Israel, shown here, contains five lines of faded characters that may bear the oldest Hebrew inscription ever found. The 3,000-year-old text dates to the time of the Hebrew Bible's King David and is thought to be written in proto-Canaanite, a precursor to the Hebrew alphabet. While other people used proto-Canaanite characters as well, the inscription contains a three-letter verb meaning "to do" that existed only in Hebrew, according to Yossi Garfinkel, a Hebrew University archaeologist in charge of the dig. "That leads us to believe that this is Hebrew, and that this is the oldest Hebrew inscription that has been found," he told the Associated Press. Other scholars, however, have urged caution until more is known about the inscription and its context."
(Source)

"Before its kind" . . . "After its kind". Such a strange way to word something when speaking of cultivated "plants of the field" vs. "every plant before it," but that is because :

History of Evolution
" ... The Greeks had, it is true, no term exactly equivalent to "evolution"; but when Thales asserts that all things originated from water; when Anaximenes calls air the principle of all things, regarding the subsequent process as a thinning or thickening, they must have considered individual beings and the phenomenal world as, a result of evolution, even if they did not carry the process out in detail. Anaximander is often regarded as a precursor of the modem theory of development."
(Source)

The Greeks: Triumph of Rational Thought and Mathematics
"... The long era of Greek Philosophy (literally, “love of wisdom”) began in the early seventh century B.C. (Table 3.1). The concept of “science” as an organized view of the world (expressed by the Greek concept, “Cosmos”) arose alongside mythology as an alternate way of viewing and interpreting nature. The two parallel ideals developed and prospered together for several centuries, neither entirely supplanting the other.
[...]
"...On the other hand, science – as we define it today -- was born and given shape and form during the age of the Greek philosophers. Modern students should be cautioned not underestimate their profound contributions to scientific understanding.
Two “schools of thought” arose during the Grecian philosophical era. These competing groups were: the Ionians -- a group of great thinkers, most of whom lived on islands or coastal city states scattered along the east coast of the Aegean Sea, an area of Asia Minor now administered by Turkey (Fig. X) – and the Mainland Greeks who lived in large city states like Athens. The Ionians produced the first great Greek philosopher, Thales (pron: Th-all-es) of Miletus.
Miletus stood in the middle of a swampy deltaic flood plain at the mouth of the Meander river (from which the term meander is derived). In Thales’ time it was a center of maritime trade, sporting no fewer than four separate harbors. It was here around 640 B.C. that the mutiny against superstition and fuzzy thinking took root with the birth of Thales, commonly accorded the honor of being the world’s first scientist. Thales claimed that human reason could be applied to questions regarding the nature and origins of natural phenomena; the gods of Olympus were of no help in that endeavor. In his time his Greek contemporaries deemed him one of the Seven Sages, the seven wisest men on earth.
Thales also spent considerable time in Egypt. He stunned the Egyptians with his ability to measure the height of the pyramids by applying the law of similar triangles, and was celebrated for his ability to measure the shoreline distance of a ship in the Mediterranean Sea. His mathematical prowess was such that he laid much of the groundwork for the great mathematician Euclid, who lived centuries later.
He is credited with the first system of logical reasoning, and he coined the word geometry, Greek for “earth measurement”, the terminology he learned from the Egyptians.
Perhaps Thales’ greatest contributions to modern science – and astronomy – are the notions that all natural phenomena can be understood via reason and observation, and the idea that nature follows regular laws. He firmly rejected the intercession of the gods in creating natural materials or events. These concepts are the underpinnings of what is now popularly termed the “scientific method”.
In an amazing leap of intuition, he also explored the ultimate nature of matter and space. He speculated that despite apparent differences, all matter must be composed of a single, fundamental material (anticipating the concept of atoms). Thales is commonly derided for assuming that this fundamental material essence was, in fact, water, but living in a watery world no doubt lead him to that “logical” conclusion. His notion that the earth is a flat disc floating on water, however, does illustrate the limitations of some of his cosmological constructs.

Anaximander, Student of Thales
Like Thales, Anaximander was a resident of Miletus, although very little is known about his life. Most of what we know about him was handed down from Aristotle and his student Theophrastus. He was probably a student, or at least an important contemporary of Thales, founded a colony on the Black Sea (Apollonia), and introduced the gnomon-style sundial to Greece. He was a seasoned traveler and besides astronomy, also contributed to the study of geography and biology. For instance, Anaximander is credited with producing the first major world map (550 B.C.), and speculated that life evolved from lower forms of life, in a very primitive precursor to evolutionary theory. Humans, for example, evolved from fish, which constituted the first animals. Remember, like Thales, Anaximander lived in a world dominated by water.
Perhaps his most profound contribution to astronomy is the “Boundless” principle, known as apeiron in Greek. The apeiron was a highly abstract concept but contained the idea of “that which has no boundaries”, a system without limits. It was philosophically at variance with Pythagorean virtues of a harmonious, symmetrical, and finite world, reassuringly accessible and knowable through mathematics. In fact the Pythagoreans listed the apeiron concept as a “negative thing”, and Aristotle is known to have been troubled by its lack of limits. The “Boundless” seems to embrace the infinite, and somewhat parallels our current overall concepts of the nature of the universe.
Anaximander was not content to simply propose an abstract concept like apeiron without presenting logical arguments in its defense. In that respect he seems to be the first Greek to make use of true philosophical argument, an important step toward the systematic, rational analysis of nature embodied in modern science.
Anaximander was not an observational astronomer like the Babylonians and Egyptians, but a speculative astronomer. He relied on pure reason and logical arguments to prove his points, a situation in keeping with the teachings of Thales. For example, Anaximander speculated that (1) celestial bodies make full circles and may pass beneath the earth, (2) the earth is a free-floating body in space, and (3) celestial bodies may lie behind one another (not “painted” on a two-dimensional surface).
As for the “Boundless” concept, he offered logical arguments for each speculation, and for each he should be awarded a gold star for accuracy. Interestingly, his argument for a suspected earth includes the notion of the centrality of the earth compared to the rest of the universe. Since all things should seek that central point, that which occupies that space must hang suspended. Interesting philosophical argument, even though the science lacks some rigor. Gravity and the non-centrality of the earth were still distant ideas in his day."
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Einstein's God

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LOL, for those like myself who are unfamiliar with the order in which "God creates" (Einstein's God, that is)

"A transcriptome is a collection of all the transcripts present in a given cell. There are various kinds of RNA. The major type, called messenger RNA (mRNA), plays a vital role in making proteins."
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Killing Einstein's God
"...Krauss, and Richard Dawkins, who makes similar claims in his bestselling 2006 book The God Delusion, are making a serious historical mistake. It has to do with the definition of "God," both for Einstein and, in contrast, for religious people around the world. As someone who has spent a decade and a half studying Einstein's writings, I see it as my responsibility to correct this prevalent misconception [...] Albert Einstein believed in something like Spinoza's "God": a powerful entity that transcends the world. To Einstein, "God" was the maker of the laws of physics that he, Einstein, saw as his life's role to uncover. This is far from the "God" of all organized Western religions, to be sure, but it is equally far from Krauss' "universe from nothing," meaning a universe without any maker of the rules of physics or any creator of the quantum foam that gave rise to our universe through a quantum fluctuation. Krauss places a "[sic]" after "God" when quoting Einstein mentioning the "deity." He tries to reinterpret Einstein's words as not meaning what he writes. Richard Dawkins does the same in a chapter titled "A Deeply Religious Non-Believer," referring to Einstein.
But these are unjust pronouncements."
- Amir D. Aczel is a lecturer in mathematics and the history of mathematics and science, and an author of popular books on mathematics and science.
(Source)

Einstein raised doubts in the concept of God envisioned and created in the image of modern judeo-christianity. I do too.

The mysterious "God" Einstein knew of is unknown to western religions.

Likewise... when I read and re-read the opening of Genesis, it began to dawn on me, after many years, "...these words are not saying at all, what the Young Earth, "Designer" creationist crowd, are attempting to interpret it to do." The descriptions are of evolution, "every plant of the field before its kind was in the earth, though no plant of the field yet grew" and God commanded... "the water, the earth... to bring forth living creatures, "after their kind," -- the opening writers were (as I only recently realized) speaking from ancient Greek wisdom -- and there was no word in the Greek for "Evolution".

"...From Genesis to Revelation it is a Greek document, written around 300BC in Alexandria Egypt..."
"...Jewish people who became Greeks migrating to Alexandria in 300 BC, who wrote the Bible under Greek direction, and in the Greek language."
(Source)

The ancient Greeks were ahead of their time.

The western religions today, do not know God's "mysteries".

The ancient people of Greece did not need a university degree in Biology to understand evolution, or "artificial selection". The entire ancient near-east practiced SCIENCE; the cultivation of livestock and produce in their daily lives. The Egyptians made a religion based on their agriculture and nature. Many of their great religious deities were actually scientists/men of medicine. They saw the "natural fact" they could take a useless plant in the wild, cultivate it, to where it would produce desirable fruits/vegetables.. transforming with each successive generation, "after its kind," -- or evolving, and if it were possible to do with agriculture (cultivation through "artificial selection") then, surely the great minds of Greece surely must wonder, that same occurs in nature. (Thales of Miletus, attributed "water" as the first cause) Therefore, God said, "Let the waters bring forth moving creatures after their kind," -- it would have been normal to the people of the ancient near east, who had cultivated wild Aurochs and other beasts, into the domesticated "cattle" as they are known today... "cattle after their kind," -- the Greeks and Egyptians had seen it done. These ancient scientists religiously worshipped agriculture.

Smarter than western religions.

The "Sacred" Olive Tree of the Bible (cultivation in Greece).

"...Nothing is more characteristic of Crete than the millions of olive trees that grow in valleys and mountainous areas. Cretans have been cultivating the olive tree and have been using olive oil since 3500 BC during the early Minoan period, as archaeological findings have proved. The olive tree (Olea Europea) is one of the few trees that can still produce fruits even in rocky and unproductive land. Olea’s main characteristic is its longevity and the preservation of its productivity. The olive tree has been the symbol of wisdom and peace. The olive tree was the sacred tree of goddess Athena and Athens, the capital of Greece, took its name from the goddess. Zeus had decreed that the city should be given to the god who offered the most useful gift to the people."
(Source)

YEC and other creationists (the western religions) take for granted that (cabbage, onion, garlic, lentils, chick pea, beans) and orchards (fig, almond, pomegranate) come in the form "God designed" them... "before Adam."

But God did not "design" them. The author of Genesis, says so. The author of Genesis explains, "Every plant of the field BEFORE IT was in the earth" and "No plant of the field yet grew for there was no man to til the ground."

The Greeks lacked a word for "evolution" that is associated with "artificial selection," or, "cultivation."

Ancient religious obsession with their Agriculture.

The ancient near east deified their scientists.

One of the Egyptian's "gods"...

Imhotep: The Father of Mathematics (architecture, mathematics, medicine and patron of the scribes)
(Source)

The religions of the ancient near east were nothing like modern day western religions. The ancient near east prized science and medicine. The modern west, scoffs it. Takes for granted, that "beans, peas, collards, corn, cucumbers," were magically designed by a god and set before man. The author of Genesis knew better.

Since, such thought guided the writing of the opening of Genesis, it is no wonder that modern Christians can not understand when Genesis describes the fundamentals of Agriculture 101.

Many non-believers might rarely crack open a Bible and read Genesis and probably think "silly eastern religion".

The ancient author of Genesis looked at his food and marveled with an awe... knowing that he could cultivate it into fuller, sweeter varieties...

The western religions look at their food and think, "God designed it this way in the beginning," and tune into another episode of "Wheel of Fortune".

I look at it, and realize, "What is, was not always so. Many mysteries are held in those gourds... and ponder on history -- and the mysteries of Einstein's 'God'" and I marvel a bit too (like the author of Genesis).

SOME WEB REFERENCES ON PUMPKINS, SQUASH AND GOURDS.
"Every squash of the field before it was in the ground, but no squash of the field yet grew because there was no man to cultivate and till the ground."

The name pumpkin originated from the Greek word for "large melon" which is "pepon." "Pepon" was nasalized by the French into "pompon." The English changed "pompon" to "Pumpion." Shakespeare referred to the "pumpion" in his Merry Wives of Windsor. American colonists changed "pumpion" into "pumpkin."
A pumpkin is really a squash.
Pumpkins are believed to have originated in Central America. Seeds from related plants have been found in Mexico, dating back over 7000 years to 5500 B.C. Native Americans used pumpkins as a staple in their diets for centuries. They called the pumpkin “isqoutm Squash.” Native Americans used pumpkin seeds for food and medicine. They also flattened strips of pumpkin, dried them and made mats. Early settlers ate pumpkin as a staple in their diet. Colonist filled a hollowed out shell with milk, honey, and spices, then baked it in hot ashes. This is considered the origin of the pumpkin pie.
Pumpkins, squash and gourds are members of the enormously diverse Cucurbitaceae family, which contains more than 100 genera and over 700 species. They have been providing mankind with food and utilitarian objects since before recorded history. Various members of the genus Cucurbita are known as squash or gourds.
Spaghetti squash and most of the colorful, warty and star-shaped ornamental gourds seen at Thanksgiving time also come from varieties of Cucurbita pepo. Since they all belong to the same species, ornamental gourds, summer squash and pumpkins may cross pollinate in your garden, resulting in some interesting hybrids. In fact, some farmers avoid planting ornamental gourds near their edible crops to prevent pollen contamination and bitter, inedible squash and melons.
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