Genesis Paper-2
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Mount St. Mary's University *
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220
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Religion
Date
Apr 3, 2024
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docx
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6
Uploaded by dyanacastro03
Genesis Paper
Write a 6 page paper sharing what you have learned about the Genesis material we covered in class, following this prompt:
After the incredible classes in THEO 220, you are so excited that you look for someone to talk to about Theology. Obviously, you just cannot get enough of this stuff! You mention that you are learning a great deal about “creation” and “the fall” in chapters 1-3 of the Book of Genesis. Your friend begins to look at you strangely and says, “What is there to learn? It is one simple story of how God created the Garden of Eden in 7 days, beginning with the creation of man and then,
from his rib, woman—male and female God created them, in God’s image and likeness. And then the story narrates how Adam and Eve committed original sin by eating of the fruit of the apple tree. I thought you had a priest teaching you…
doesn’t he know anything?” --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How would you answer your friend, pointing out the complexities of Gen 1-3? A good answer will help your friend see that: (1) there are two different creation stories, written within different contexts; (2) there is a complex relationship between Gen 1 and the Enuma Elish
(a Babylonian
creation story); (3) how Gen 1 and the Enuma Elisha
provide different perspectives of how one might view God, the world, and human beings; (4) the significance of the prohibition to not eat from
the tree; (5) the subtle conversation between the serpent and the women, (6) the understanding of the fall as it appears in the punishments of (or consequences for) the serpent, the woman, and the man. Your essay should also contain (7) your understanding of the relationship between faith/reason, creation/evolution, and religion/science.
Criteria
Use the essay form with title, introduction, thesis, body, conclusion, work cited, and a standard method of citation. Cite the Bible in the text like this: (Gen 12: 8-9). You can answer the questions, each in turn, but try to make transitions that build on the complexities of the stories. THE COMPLEXITIES OF THE STORIES is your thesis or controlling idea…
each of the 7 points is an illustration of the complexities. 1
Use the biblical texts and the sources that we used in class: Lohfink, Birge, the Enuma Elish
, the Catholic Study Bible (2
nd
Ed), JPII, Ratzinger, Perry, and Barr.
Total 200 points
30 points for thesis, organizational clues, developed paragraphs with transitions, conclusion 140 points for answering each of the 7 areas (20 points x 7)
30 points for page numbers, work cited page, composition, and grammar Additional commentary: 1)
The paper is due on Feb 23 via Turnitin on CANVAS. 2)
If you have challenges in writing papers, you could ask someone to proof-
read your paper or you should make use of the Writing Center. (30 points are
earned thesis, organizational clues, transitions, and 30 points are earned for page numbers, work cited page, composition, and grammar.)
3)
There are 7 points to write on. You should be thinking about ¾ of a page for each of the points. So, don’t write 4 pages on the first point and then try to jam everything else into the last 2 pages. Be selective of material so that you present the best case to support your thesis that these stories are complex. 4)
You should start the paper right away when the material is fresher in your minds. Also, if you start now, you will have time to ask me questions if you are confused. Some further guidance on each of the 7 points:
1)
Provide some of the differences between the two creation stories and indicate the names of the sources and the historical context for each (place and date). (Birge and the CSB 2
nd
edition are helpful here.)
2)
Provide information that supports the view that Gen 1 is written with the Enuma Elish
in mind in order to undermine this Babylonian creation story. You could indicate that this is one of the ways that the Priest leaders are responding to the threat of Exile in Babylon. You could indicate the similarities between the texts. Some use of the EE would make this part better. (Birge and the CSB 2
nd
edition are helpful here.)
2
3)
Here you could concentrate on the differences between Gen 1 and the EE
. Gen 1 portrays a contrasting view of God, human beings, and the world. Some use of the EE is important here. (Birge and Lohfink are helpful here.)
4)
Here you can talk about what the “original sin” is. Clearly, it is that they did not trust in God’s plan and wanted to grasp what God freely planned to give Adam and Eve. (Birge and Lohfink are helpful here.)
5)
Here you can show the subtleties of the conversation between the snake and the woman and how it plays into a lack of trust. (Birge is most helpful here.)
6)
Here you could explain the etiological and theological meanings…the theological are more important, so make sure that you include them. (Birge is helpful here.)
7)
Many people think of these terms as opposites. So, for instance, in the case of science and religion, we have used scientific methods of archeology, history, literary studies, linguistics (language study) to help us to understand these stories of faith in ways that are intelligent and helpful. I included the statements of what Pope John Paul II and (then) Bishop Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI) said that clearly indicates that they do not think of Gen 1-3 as historical-scientific accounts. Also, Lohfink has some interesting thoughts about creation/evolution on pages 8-10 where he talks about how creation unfolds itself into history (evolution), and on pages 12-13 where he talks about the importance of freedom, not only in human choice, but in how
the world created by God has evolved. Barr is difficult to read, but you should grasp the main point. Perry can be used freely about the real “truths” of Gen 1-3. You might have your own thoughts here, especially if this course has changed your view at all!
Citing the Bible in your paper
By convention, we cite the Bible in a particular way in papers. We do NOT write: Genesis, chapter 3, verse 16 or Genesis, chapter 3, verses 16 and 17. Rather, we write: Gen 3:16 or Gen 3:16-7.
At the front of each Bible there is a set of abbreviations. Most of them are self-
evident. Gen for the Book of Genesis, Deut for the Book of Deuteronomy, Mk for the Gospel of Mark, etc. Examples:
3
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1)
There is an interesting exchange between the snake and woman in Gen 3:1-
5.
2)
At one point in the story, the snake says to the woman, “You certainly will not die” (Gen 3:4). {Note the punctuation here…the period goes at the end of the sentence.}
3)
The Creator is called “God” in Gen 1:1-2:3 and the Creator is called “Lord God” in Gen 2:4-3:24.
4)
Birge writes eloquently about the conversation between the snake and the woman (found in Gen 3:1-5), showing how the snake influences the woman to speak differently about God and God’s intentions (Birge 33).
Citing the Enuma Elish in your paper
For the
Enuma Elish
provide the tablet and lines that you use in the text of your paper: “No one among the gods shall transgress your bounds” (EE, Tablet IV, line 10).
Works Cited Page
I have supplied the Works Cited page…copy it but adapt it considering any differences, such as the Bible you used.
Works Cited
Barr, Steph M. “Chance, By Design.” First Things
10 (Dec 2012): 25-30.
Birge, Mary Katherine. Genesis: VTTH 203
. Compiled by Donohue, McCarthy, and Birge. Winona, MN: Professor’s Choice, 2013. [Originally published as “Genesis” in Genesis, Evolution, and the Search for a Reasoned Faith
. Winona, MN: Anselm Academic, 2011.]
The Catholic Study Bible
. Ed. Donald Senior and John J. Collins. 3
rd
Edition. New American Bible Revised Edition. New York: Oxford University Press, 2016. Lohfink, Gerhard. Does God Need the Church? Toward a Theology of the People of God
. Trans. Linda M. Maloney. Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1999.
4
Mark, Joshua J. Enuma Elish (The Babylonian Epic of Creation: Full Text). World History Encyclopedia
(May 4, 2018). https://www.worldhistory.org/article/225/enuma-elish---
the-babylonian-epic-of-creation---fu/
Perry, John Michael. Exploring the Genesis Creation and Fall Stories. New York: Sheed and Ward, 1992.
Pope John Paul II, “Message to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences,” October 22, 1996. https://www.catholicculture.org/news/features/index.cfm?
recnum=2784&repos=4&subrepos=1&searchid=2097457
“Reading Guide: Genesis”
in The Catholic Study Bible
. Ed. Donald Senior and John J. Collins. 2
nd
Edition. New American Bible Revised Edition. New York: Oxford University Press, 2011: 92-98.
Grading key: 100 points
30 points: thesis, organizational clues, developed paragraphs with transitions, conclusion 20 points: (1) there are two different creation stories, written within different contexts
20 points: (2) there is a complex relationship between Gen 1 and the Enuma Elish
(a Babylonian creation story)
20 points: (3) how Gen 1 and the Enuma Elish provide different perspectives of how one might view God, the world, and human beings.
(How is Gen 1 different from the EE?)
20 points: (4) the significance of the prohibition to not eat from the tree
20 points: (5) the subtle conversation between the serpent and the women
5
20 points: (6) the results of the fall as they are appear in the punishments/consequences of the
serpent, the woman, and the man
20 points: (7) your understanding of the relationship between creation/evolution and religion/science
30 points: page numbers, work cited page, composition, and grammar 6
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