Genesis 3 and the Rest of the Pentateuch are Likely Works of Fiction Pretending to be History and I Present a Probable “Method of Deception” for Their Origin
Kevin R. Henke
November 24, 2022
Lundahl (2022x) extensively discusses my essay, Henke (2022bq), “Mr. Lundahl Still Fails to Respond to Secular Hypotheses #3 and #4, which Rationally Explain the Origin of the Talking Snake Myth of Genesis 3.” In Henke (2022bq), I stated the following:
“Again, point #8 mentions secular Hypotheses #3 and #4 from Henke (2022a) and Henke (2022b), which explain the origin of the Talking Snake myth of Genesis 3. Lundahl (2022k) makes the following comments about point #8:
“I already refuted that claim, his hypotheses #3 and #4 basically involving a process where made up stories (comedy's like Menaechmi, novels like Apuleius' Golden Ass, comic books like Spiderman, fantasy novels like Lord of the Rings) for no reason at all get to be considered as historically transmitted arguably true stories.”
No. As I explained in Henke (2022b) and my other essays, Lundahl (2022c) and his other essays totally failed to refute Hypotheses #3 and #4. Also, in the above quotation from Lundahl (2022k) on point #8, Mr. Lundahl is totally confusing and improperly equating Hypothesis #4 with #3. In his paragraph, Lundahl (2022k) doesn’t realize that the two hypotheses have very different origins. As explained in Henke (2022a) and Henke (2022b), Hypothesis #3 states that the Talking Snake story arose because a group of people misinterpreted a campfire story or another work of fiction and thought that the story actually happened. On a smaller scale, this was also seen in one of President Reagan’s speeches, where he and his staff mistook a work of fiction about WWII as an actual event (Henke 2022a; 2022b). Fortunately, President Reagan’s mistake was quickly caught by fact checkers in the media before it could spread and become widely believed as an urban legend. In ancient times, fast checking and the rebuttal of misinterpretations was not so efficient. As I explain in Henke (2022a; 2022b; 2022ek), there have always been cases where large groups of people have misinterpreted works of fiction as something that actually happened.
While Hypothesis #3 involves people making accidental misinterpretations, in Hypothesis #4 people are deliberately deceived with propaganda and other lies by influential people. That is, in Hypothesis #4, powerful religious and/or political leaders deliberately deceive a large number of people through oral or written transmissions (Henke 2022a; 2022b; 2022es). Currently, this type of deception is being seen in how a majority of Russians believe the propaganda from Putin’s government on how Russia is supposedly “liberating” Ukraine from NAZIs. Also, see Henke (2022cc) for discussions on how tens of millions of Americans currently believe the lies that President Trump actually won the 2020 election. The fantasy involving St. Philomena is another prime example of how Hypothesis #4 can occur (Henke 2022es). A delusional 19th century nun invents a biography about an early saint and the 19th century Roman Catholic Church, as well as Mr. Lundahl and some other current conservative Catholics, blindly accept and believe that the lies are real.
Even if Mr. Lundahl eventually manages to dismiss Hypothesis #3 as a likely explanation for Genesis 3, he still has to dismiss Hypothesis #4, find acceptable evidence for his preferred Hypothesis #1 and then demonstrate that it’s more likely than Hypothesis #2. So far, he has not succeeded in any of his lofty goals. All of his talk about “first known audiences” is worthless rhetoric.” [my emphasis]
In my previous essays, Henke 2022Lj and Henke 2022Lk, I responded to Mr. Lundahl’s (2022x) comments on some of my statements in the above quotation from Henke (2022bq). Here, Mr. Lundahl in Lundahl (2022x) responds (in red and bolded italics) to my bolded statement in the above quotation from Henke (2022bq) and asks me to identify a method of deception that was involved in either Hypotheses #3 and #4:
“Mr. Henke has failed to provide a method of deception.
Henke (2022bq): ‘Currently, this type of deception is being seen in how a majority of Russians believe the propaganda from Putin’s government on how Russia is supposedly “liberating” Ukraine from NAZIs.’
Loosely based on facts like the "special operation" (to the rest of the world known as invasion), like the Ukraine having a régime supported since 2014 by a free militia regiment known as Azov regiment, and that one containing quite a few Nazi sympathisers or otherwise right wing such.
What is the similar loose basis for Genesis 3?
Henke (2022bq): ‘Also, see Henke (2022cc) for discussions on how tens of millions of Americans currently believe the lies that President Trump actually won the 2020 election.’
Given what I have heard about some Democrats stealing ballot boxes or getting access to them well before the count, that would be an interpretation which is at least possible as one of legitimacy status.
Henke (2022bq): ‘The fantasy involving St. Philomena is another prime example of how Hypothesis #4 can occur (Henke 2022es). A delusional 19th century nun invents a biography about an early saint and the 19th century Roman Catholic Church, as well as Mr. Lundahl and some other current conservative Catholics, blindly accept and believe that the lies are real.’
We are very aware that St. Philomena was not transmitted by tradition from her own times. Weren't you the one giving high credits to archaeology, Mr. Henke?
As far as I recall the story, we deal with a combination of archaeology and prophecy. And it is not clear when Genesis 3 would have been so presented.
Henke (2022bq): ‘Even if Mr. Lundahl eventually manages to dismiss Hypothesis #3 as a likely explanation for Genesis 3, he still has to dismiss Hypothesis #4…’
For #3, the process is only shown in the margins of otherwise good fact. For #4, Mr. Henke has failed to provide a credible modus operandi for the deceiver.” [my italics and bold]
I added references to the above quotation from Lundahl (2022x) to distinguish Mr. Lundahl’s words from mine. For now, I will only respond to the italicized and bolded comment from Mr. Lundahl in Lundahl (2022x). I’ll respond to Mr. Lundahl’s other comments in this section in upcoming essays.
Ukraine and most other nations certainly have right-wing or NAZI extremist minorities. Also, here. However, they don’t control President Zelensky of Ukraine, who has Jewish heritage and had relatives die in the Holocaust. Despite the war, Ukraine is currently adopting western values and plans on joining the European Union. Now, Freedom House is a non-partisan organization that ranks countries on their human rights, freedoms and access to the Internet. This organization currently notes that Ukraine is “partially free” with a freedom ranking of 61/100. This is pretty good considering the country’s wartime restrictions. In contrast, Putin’s Russia is not free with a ranking of only 19/100. So, Ukraine is far more democratic and humane than Putin’s dictatorship. There is simply no justification for the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Mr. Lundahl should be concentrating on the real villains in this war: Putin and his allies in the Russian Orthodox Church.
Mr. Lundahl again repeatedly fails to realize that he has the burden of evidence to demonstrate that Genesis 3 actually happened. As a skeptic, I don’t have to demonstrate that Genesis 3 did not happen and I don’t need to demonstrate a method of deception. The reasons for this are clearly stated in Henke (2022ju):
“I’ve already explained in a number of my essays that I don’t have to answer the questions: "is there evidence for a misunderstanding" or "is there evidence for a successful fraud" .... The default position for all claims is skepticism (Henke 2022dv). The burden of evidence is on those that want to believe that a Talking Snake and magic fruit trees were real. They have to demonstrate that their beliefs actually happened. We already know that people often lie and misinterpret accounts. There’s also not a shred of evidence for the existence of a Talking Snake and magic fruit trees. Thus, as I argued back in Henke (2022b), Hypotheses #3 and #4 are far more probable when they state that Genesis 3 is a myth as opposed to the groundless wishful thinking in Hypotheses #1 and #2 that claim that Genesis 3 actually happened. So, Mr. Lundahl and his allies have to demonstrate that Genesis 3 actually happened, I don’t have to provide evidence of a misunderstanding or a successful fraud. That’s already the likely default position until demonstrated otherwise. In the exact same way, if someone claims that their house is haunted, I don’t have to demonstrate that the claim is false to his/her satisfaction. He/she has to demonstrate that the claim is true. Similarly, I don’t need to demonstrate that Xenu did not exist, Scientologists have to demonstrate that he did exist 75 million years ago. I also don’t need to demonstrate that Moroni did not exist, the Mormons have to demonstrate with external evidence that Moroni existed. At least the Mormons, unlike Mr. Lundahl, fully recognize that they need archeology to back up the claims in their ‘scriptures.’”
Although I don’t have the burden of evidence in this situation and I don’t need to provide a method of deception to explain how the Pentateuch arose as a false religious history, it’s not difficult to hypothesize how it could have easily happened. The following hypothesis is far more probable than the idea that angels, demons, a Talking Snake, and magic fruit trees ever existed. Now, religions have always been jealous of each other’s wealth and power. This is still clearly seen today among ultraconservative and exclusivist Roman Catholics, Baptists, Mormons, Muslims, Orthodox Jews, and others. Each of these groups declare themselves to be the only “True Faith”, the only way to God, and that all other religions are heresies, corruptions, works of the devil, etc. Now, the Jerusalem priests of Yahweh in ancient Israel did not like the people giving their wealth and allegiance to Baal, Moloch, Chemosh and other gods, or even sharing their allegiance with these other gods. They didn’t even like people locally worshipping Yahweh with their tithes and offerings outside of the Jerusalem Temple. So, how did the Jerusalem priests of Yahweh attempt to get rid of the competition and gain a monopoly on the allegiance, wealth and power that they wanted? They embrace monotheism and declared that all other gods and goddesses were delusions (Deuteronomy 4:28). The Jerusalem priests of Yahweh were very clever. Their God was not just the god of thunder, the Moon, the Sun, war, fertility, etc. Their God made and controlled everything, and only resided in the one Temple in Jerusalem. No other gods or goddesses were to be worshipped and Yahweh could only be worshipped in the Jerusalem Temple. As seen in the archeological results in Finkelstein and Silberman (2001) and Dever (2005), this explains why the Israelites went from polytheism to henotheism (e.g., Judges 11:24) and then to strict monotheism (Isaiah 44:6). This religious agenda also required fictionalizing a human history and establishing strict laws, which were eventually summarized in the Pentateuch. Eventually, enthusiastic and powerful Yahwehistic kings, such as Hezekiah (2 Kings 18:3-8), helped to impose the will of the exclusivist Yahwehistic Jerusalem priests on the population of Judah.
References:
Dever, W.G. 2005. Did God Have a Wife?: Archeology and Folk Religion in Ancient Israel: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, MI, USA, 344pp.
Finkelstein, I. and N.A. Silberman. 2001. The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of its Sacred Texts: The Free Press: New York, USA, 385pp.