The Intrapsychic Structure of Christian Existence

A Process Theological Interpretation of the Primeval History in Genesis 2–11

“…18 Process theologians are equally attentive to the nuances provided to Whitehead's thought by Charles Hartshorne. 19 Further direction to this theological tradition has been provided by notable theologians such as Norman Pittenger, 20 Schubert Ogden, 21 John Cobb, Jr., 22 and numerous others. In the past I too have tried to assess this movement.…”

“…A generation ago some scholars delineated a more detailed pattern of divine grace, human sin, punishment intended or received, and divine forgiveness. 10 The pattern would read thus in Genesis 2-12: GRACE-creation of the man and woman and their life in the garden (Gn 2:4b-24), the birth of sons (Gn 4:1-2), the increase of population prior to the flood (Gn 6:1), fertile land after the flood (Gn 9:20-21), and increase of population after the flood (Gn 11:1-2); SIN-rebellion and the desire to be like God/the gods (Gn 3:1-19), envy and murder by Cain (Gn 4:3-8), intermarriage with gods and violence on the earth (Gn 6:2-4), Ham "seeing" his father (Gn 9:22), and the rebellion and pride of the builders of the tower of Babel (Gn 11:3-4); PUNISHMENT-expulsion from the garden (Gn 3: [22][23][24], exile from the land (Gn 4:9-14), flood , curse on Canaan (Gn 9:24-25), and dispersal over the earth 5 Blenkinsopp, Pentateuch.…”

“…(Some have seen three-way parallels between Adam, Cain, and Noah and their respective descendants.) Motifs that have been highlighted by scholars in these literary comparisons of Adam and Noah include the following: 1) both were primeval ancestors of all humanity (Gn 2:7, 9:20); 2) Adam was created from the ground (Gn 2:7-8), Cain worked the ground (Gn 4:2), and Noah brought relief from the curse on the ground (Gn 5:29) and was removed from the ground by flood; 3) animals were both in Eden and in the ark "according to their kind'; 4) animals and people were secure first in a garden and later in an ark; 5) adam lived with the animals, Noah was permitted to eat them (Gn 9:2); 6) Adam ate fruit in the garden (Gn 2:17), Cain produced grain (Gn 4:2), and Noah partook from his vineyard (Gn 9:20-21); 7) the consumption of fruit by Adam and wine by Noah led to trouble for both; 8) in both narratives of Adam and Noah "eyes were opened" (Gn 3:7, 9:22) and nakedness seen (Gn 3:7, 9:22); 9) Adam and Eve gained knowledge (Gn 3:7), Cain denied knowledge of his brother (Gn 4:9), and Noah lost knowledge while drunk (Gn 9:21); 10) after the human sin, God "came down" both in Eden and at Babel (Gn 3:8, 11:5); 11) out of the primal experiences of Eden (Gn 3:14-19), the first brothers (Gn 4:11-12), and Babel there came curses (Gn 9:25-27); 12) whereas Adam (and also Cain) were cursed by God, Canaan was cursed by a human, Noah, which implies the rise of human autonomy and the withdrawal of God; 13) both ancestors, Adam and Noah, were told to increase in population as they respectively left the garden and the ark; 14) both ancestors had eponymous children (Gn 4:1-2, 9:18); 15) both ancestors had three children, one of whom was cursed; 16) farming was an occupation of their children (Gn 4:3, 9:20); 17) the children were divided or fought each other (Gn 4:4-8, 9:21-23); 18) a curse fell upon one of the children, a brother (9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26); 19) the one cursed was expelled from the family (Gn 4:16, 9:27); 20) Adam's family gave rise to city culture (through Cain) (Gn 4:17-24), and Noah's family gave rise to national groups (Gn 10); 21) the first world was destroyed by a flood, the second world was permitted to exist after Babel's sin because God had admitted that people were naturally sinful (Gn 8:21-22); and 22) God feared the line between human and divine would be blurred (Gn 3: 22-24, 11:6).…”

“…11 A third approach to understanding the progression of narrative in Genesis 2-11 has been to compare it with the narrative material in the Babylonian account, The Atrahasis Myth, for the plot sequence is quite similar and divergences appear to be an attempt on the part of the biblical author to critique Mesopotamian understandings from the perspective of the biblical world view. In general, the Atrahasis Myth and Genesis 2-11 share common motifs: 1) people are created from the ground (Gn 2:7); 2) people are created to till the ground (Gn 2:7-8); 3) a chance exists for human immortality (Gn 2:9, 3:22-24); 4) sexuality and marriage are created (Gn 2:24); 5) a goddess for a woman is named "mother of life" (Gn 3:20); 6) people reproduce rapidly; 7) people rebel against the god(s); 8) people are repeatedly killed in Atrahasis or exiled eastward in the Bible (Gn 2:24, 4:10-16); 9) a flood kills most of humanity; 10) a hero and his family survives; 11) sacrifice pleases the 11 Gros Louis, "Genesis 3-11," 37-52; Jack Sasson, "The 'Tower of Babel' as a Clue to the Redactional Structuring of the primeval history (Gen. 1-11)," in Gary Rendsburg, ed., The Bible World (New York: KTAV, 1980) [20][21][22]; 12) the god(s) accepts the nature of humanity (Gn 8:21); and 13) people repopulate the world (Gn 9: 18-27, 10:1-11:19). 12…”

The Lure and Necessity of Process Theology

“…After his ecological and liberationist conversion, he gave up the idea that Christianity has an essence, and thus relinquished his concept of Whiteheadian theory as the answer to an essentialist question. 14 To the later Cobb, Christianity has no essential nature aside from its transformative capacity. Creative transformation is the inclusive and inspiriting ideal that progressive Christianity should stand for, and God is the lure for creative transformation.…”