How to Question the Bible: Genesis 1

This is the first in a series of posts that take a look at the bible from what I hope to be a critical analysis. I feel I've read the bible, or most of it anyway, throughout the course of my life, but I want to make sure.

I've always learned things best when writing notes as I read, so I'm outlining the bible as I read it. As well, I'll outline any questions that I have as I go along. Anyone is welcome to answer any questions or point out any fallacies in my thinking and I'll consider them.

I grew up reading from the King James version of the bible, but I'll be using the New International Version for this project. I know how difficult it is to read from the KJV. From begging to end, here here's installment one:

Genesis 1

• 1:2 – The earth was a formless, empty shape of dark water and god hovered over the water.
• How would you know it was dark? Light and dark hadn’t been created yet.
• How could you know it was water? Earth and water hadn’t been separated yet.
• 1:3-5 – On the first day of his existence god created light separate from the dark.
• Again, how can there be dark, without light?
• Also, who created god? Where did he come from?
• Was there nothing before god?
• 1:6-8 – On the second day of his existence, god separated the earth and the sky.
• How were they the same thing?
• Is the reference to the sky a metaphor for heaven?
• Was earth a part of heaven and he cast it out?
• Also, the author seems to consider the sky to be a sort of body of liquid similar to water, which it is obviously not.
• 1:9-13 – On the third day, god moved all the water into one place and let the ground appear, and called them ‘land’ and ‘seas.’ On this day he also created the plants and made sure they only produce seeds and fruit according to their kind.
• So, if he moved all the water to one place, why do we have millions of lakes, ponds, rivers, oceans, streams, creeks, etc.?
• Also, for what purpose would he create such diversity in plants? Why would he not create only one or two and fill the earth with those plants? He must have a reason to give the earth such variety.
• One other thing, did he really have to make sure that a plant could only produce fruit and seed based on the kind of plant it was?
• Also, fruit and seeds must be fertilized correctly in order to bloom, so in essence, god might have also created sex on this day.
• 1:14-19 – On the fourth day, god separated day from night, and formed the sun, the moon and the stars so that there could be markers to for sacred times, days and years. He also dictated at what times of the day or night that the sun, moon and stars would be visible.
• How did four days go by without separation of day and night? How could he have marked those days when those markers hadn’t even been created?
• If god just now created the sun, moon and stars, what was the source of light and darkness prior to this point?
• Each previous section says ‘And there was evening, and there was morning,’ but how can there be evening or morning without a sun to mark them?
• 1:20-23 – On the fifth day, god created all the animals that live in the water, and all the birds that fly in the sky but live on the earth, telling them to multiply and fill the earth and water with their kind.
• Again, was there really a need to tell them they could only be fruitful ‘according to their kind?’ Why would you create intermixing species of birds and fish?
• Again, why create such variety and dictate that none are allowed to partake in other varieties? (Why dictate that different birds cannot intermingle? And why don’t the mindless animals that god controls follow that rule?
• Why did he create birds and fish at the same time, but waited to create non-flying land animals?
• 1:24-31 – On the sixth day, god created the rest of the animals (the ones that can’t fly and don’t live in the water), including mankind in ‘our likeness.’ This includes both male and female. He also told the new humans to rule over the animals, fish and birds, as well as to ‘be fruitful and increase in number’ so that we could ‘subdue’ the earth. He told the new, as-of-yet-unnamed humans that he had created all the seed-bearing plants and trees so that they would have food. He also tells the animals of the land that the green plants are their food.
• Did god create humans as an afterthought? Did he think, “Gee, I need someone to control this place when I don’t want to have anything to do with this, I need to clone myself to create a sort of governor”?
• Did god intend humans to be vegetarian? This section says that he gave us the plants and trees for food, but mentions nothing about eating the flesh of animals.
• Did god intend all land animals to be vegetarian? He mentions that he has given every green plant for food to the beasts, creatures and bird that move along the ground, without mention of them hunting and eating each other.
• SUMMATION
• God created everything in six days, including the concept of days, months and years (the calendar).
• Based on the amount of information, it would seem that it was easier or less important for god to create the sky, the sun, the moon, the stars and the earth than it was for him to create the animals, fish, birds and humans. There’s short passages for the first few days, and they get longer and more complicated as we get into higher forms of animals.
• What’s with the OCD-like references to the ‘according to their kind’ in every reference to plants or animals (birds, fish and land animals) increasing their numbers? Does this mean that god was severely concerned that plants and animals would reproduce with others not of their kind? Why would it be so important to segregate the world like that?