This document is a book review by Br. Mtonga Rajab Joseph that analyzes the Book of Genesis in relation to natural and social sciences. It discusses the creation narrative from Genesis, emphasizing the compatibility of some scientific concepts with biblical teachings, particularly regarding the origins of life and the cosmos. The author presents a perspective that critiques evolutionary theory in favor of a creationist view, asserting that each species was created specifically by God and outlining the implications of this on human existence and ecological responsibility.

1. GENESIS, SCIENCEAND CATECHISM..
AUTHOR: Br. MTONGA RAJAB JOSEPH SFO, BSc, Dip.Ed. Cert. Med Ed. MSc
.biochem, UNZA (C), MPH LAMU (C)
EDITOR: FATHER FREEBORN KIBOMBWE OMI.
OVERVIEW: In this Book Review I will review the Book of Genesis of how the writings
in in this Book relate to the Natural and Social Sciences. In this review, where some concepts
are similar to those stated by some authors elsewhere they will be cited accordingly. I must
mention that these are my own thoughts and are not influenced by any religious thoughts or
bias. So read on. For reference, it is advisable that you have the Bible with you, especially
with the Book under discussion. Also there may be need to refer to the New Testament of the
Bible because there are some statements from the Book of Genesis that were fulfilment in the
New Testament that relate to the story of creation. Hence a full Bible not Just the Old
Testament would be handy if you are to follow this discussion.
In order to understand my arguments one has to have a background of the Natural Sciences
and Social Sciences especially starting from Senior Secondary up to Tertiary Education and
should have an understanding of the Creation Story of living organisms, the earth and the
universe as expounded by the two Chapters alluded to. Also a background knowledge in the
modern sciences like genetics and or molecular biology are necessary for you to follow my
arguments in this review. Read on.

2. CHAPTER 1
This Chapter looks at how God put in place the earth and the universe (i.e. the heavenly
bodies).
In Genesis Chapter 1 verses 1 and 2, the Word reads, “In the beginning, when God created
the heavens and the earth, the earth had no form and was void: darkness covered the
deep, while the Spirit of God hovered over the earth.” See Figure 1 below.
Fig 1.the earth was void without form.pininterest.com
Explanation: First creation means making a new thing from nothing that never existed
before. In this case heavens and the earth were created anew from nothing. In addition once
they were created they also had nothing on them. Ecologically this stage of development
when the earth was bare is what we call the primary stage of ecological succession -void of
any vegetation. There was no activity, on earth because it was all darkness-meaning there was
no source of energy to drive things around either in heavens or on earth below. Aspects of
thermodynamics needed to be put in place. That means some form of energy was required as
a driving force.
This then brings us to verse 3: God commanded that there be light and separated the light
from darkness. God called the light Day and darkness Night.

3. Fig 2.God commanded that there be light.biblword.com
Explanation: Light and darkness are two critical aspects in plant and animal metabolism and
in animal and plant behaviour and seasonality. Light is a source of energy. We would say it is
the original source of energy from which all forms of energy arise be it heat or chemical
energy. These forms of energy directly or indirectly drive metabolic processes in living
systems and chemical processes within and between none living materials. The darkness is
time of reduced light energy or no light energy. Normally during this stage, life processes are
in state of rest .For example animals behave differently during day light and at night. Also
day and night are directly linked to seasons.
1:6-9: Separation of sky and water. The water on earth was separated into land and
ocean.
Fig 3.Earth separated into land and ocean.quora.com
Explanation: Theory of Technotic plates, separation of oceans and seas from land or earth,
This agrees with origin of continents, that originally there was one land mass but because of

4. the theory of technotic plates, there developed present continents. For example the part of
South America fits well with the curved part of West Africa if these parts were to be brought
back together. Indicating that in the beginning there was only one land mass as described in
Genesis. Further the flora and fauna of South America are similar to that obtaining in West
Africa, further proving the theory of one land mass originally, Chapter1:6-9 here quoted.
1; 11 God said,” Let the earth burst with vegetation: Seed-bearing plants and fruit trees
bearing fruit in which is there in which is their seed, each according to its kind, upon
the earth.”
Fig 4.let the earth, burst with vegetation-----biblicalarchealogy.com
Explanation: The statement the earth burst with vegetation seems like spontaneous
generation, however, this was a directed spontaneous generation-There was a force-God said
let there be and there was. If this is difficult to understand, remember that before reaching this
stage, God had already put in place conditions necessary for vegetation to grow as we know it
scientifically, water, light ( the Sun was in place for photosynthesis) and air ( the Spirit of
God that was hovering over the waters and the earth.).So God was the Farmer and planted the
various seeds. He made and planted them and ordered them to give forth vegetation each of
its kind (This was the beginning of the Science of Genetics.).There was no evolution of plants
from lower forms to seed bearing plants.(refer: verse 12,”The earth produced vegetation:
plants bearing seed, each of its kind and trees producing fruit which has seed in it, each of its
kind. ”This statement rules out interspecies evolution or evolution of one species to another,
like a mango evolving into a pawpaw! Or a guava evolving into a strawberry or mulberry and
vice- versa).

5. 1: 14-15 God said, ”Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate day from night
and to indicate festivals, days and years, and let them be lights in the dome of the sky to
shine on the earth.
Fig 5. The ancient universe and the cosmic..biologos.com
Explanation: These lights are stars, moons and other galaxies of the universe to separate
days from nights, and bring about variations in weather patterns-described as festivals or
seasons in the passage.
1: 20-22 .God said, “Let the waters swarm with an abundance of living creatures and let
birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky
Fig 6. BBC.Earth.bbc.com

6. Explanation: Again here that is where evolution by natural selection as expounded by
Darwin is in agreement with Creation that life begun in water, except for the Birds, in that in
Genesis the birds seem to have been made at the same time as the sea creatures came forth,
unlike in evolution where it is stated that they evolved from reptiles hence the nick name “
glorified” reptiles, since they were capable to fly after beating the un-favourable conditions
then. The evolutionist say for reptiles to develop wings was a survival instinct. The first 'bird
that evolved from reptiles was a giant bird called archaeopteryx, unfortunately it did not stay
long.Its adaptive features according to evolutionists failed it one of which is that it was too
heavy for arboreal life, and it became extinct within a short period See figure 7 below.
Fig.7 archaeopteryx
God created the great monsters of the sea and all creatures that move and with which
the waters teem, according to their kinds (that is species specific –no macroevolution) and
every kind of winged bird, each according to its kind.

7. Fig.8 the dinausors
God saw that it was very good. God blessed them saying, “Be fruitful and increase in
number (intra-species reproduction) fill the waters of the sea and let the birds increase
on earth
Explanation: this command still stands –no population control. After the fall of man (sin)-
Population of species became self –regulatory through death via natural (like covid-19 which
has claimed so many lives this century and other natural calamities the world or earth has
experienced over the years inform of pestilences, floods and earthquakes) and man-made
calamities such as the first and second world wars as shown in figures 9 and 10 below. This is
why the church, in the Catechism of the Catholic Church has strong views on artificial
control of population growth (CCC.Population Control).
FIig.9 enyclopediaukraine.com Fig.10 historyextra.com

8. 1:24-25 God said, “Let the earth bring forth every kind of living creatures: cattle,
creatures that crawl along the ground and wild animals of every kind.” And so it was.
See figure 5.
Fig.5 various types of living creatures britanica.com
.Explanation: On face value this agrees with concept that all living organisms trace their
origin from inanimate matter. Refer to the statement, “Let the earth bring forth every kind-----
--“However, this spontaneity was a directed one that is there was a force (God) who
commanded that things happen. This in disagreement with the “Big Bang Theory.” This is
where evolution differs from Creation. Also from the creation point of view there was no
evolution from lower form to higher form as evolution through Natural selection purports?
The Book of Genesis is very clear that each kind of species was to bear its own kind. This is
in agreement with the science of genetics which gets its root from the Book of Genesis that
“like begets like”, unlike the erroneous view held for a long time that there is/was evolution
from lower forms to higher forms that is intra –species evolution, which again is against the
definition of a species, that species are organisms that are to reproduce among themselves
and produce viable species of their own kind.
1:26-31 God said, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness. Let them
have dominion over the fishes of the sea, over the birds of the sky, over the cattle, over
all the wild animals and over all the living things that creep along the ground. ”So God
created man in His image; in the image of God he created him. Male and female he
created them.
Explanation: with whom was God with? I suppose He was with the Son and the Holy Spirit,
three persons in One (i.e. in one God)-one of the verses to support the Trinitarian Godhead as
proclaimed by the teachings of the Catholic Church in its Catechesis.

9. Fig 11.God as man, and man as God. The conversation.com.
Explanation: This is where the equality of male and female stems from, both created in the
image of God. No cause for Gender Based Violence (GBV) between these children of One
Father. Dominion here should not be taken to mean over exploitation or abusing of other
living organisms but rather to be responsible for them.
228 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number, fill the
earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea and birds of the sky and
every living creature that moves on the ground.”
Explanation: In the first part the term being fruitful means that as a couple they were called
to be innovative, in all spheres of their life, increase in numbers refers to them populating the
earth with their offspring, subduing the earth means making use of our natural resources
prudently, for the benefit of humanity, avoiding excessiveness, that unfortunately has led to
the current situation of which Pope Francis refers to in his encyclical called Laudato si’
(Francis, 2015)(On our common home(Pope Francis,2015)-the environmental crises as a
result of resource depletion, overpopulation. Crisis of the spirit and pollution and the
consequent global warming and climate change.

10. Fig.12.Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.
1:29-31 God said,” I give you every seed-bearing plant which is on the face of all the earth
and every tree that fruit with seed. They will be your food. Giving here implies that the
couple and their generation were given the plants and fruits for their use. This also implies
that the diet for our first parents- Adam and Eve was vegetarian.
Fig.13. Dry land, Seed bearing plants. Pan--line.17qq.com
To every wild animals to every bird of the sky, to everything that creeps along the
ground, to everything which has breath of life, I give every green plant for food.
Explanation: This means that the primary food for all living things is plant food Making
green plants as primary producers in the animals’, food chain. Besides everything God made

11. was very good-unpolluted unlike how things are now.” For so it was. God saw that all that
he had made, and indeed.it was very good.''

12. CHAPTER 2
Introduction: This chapter focuses on what is referred to as the second creation story to
distinguish it from the one described in Genesis Chapter 1.
2 1-3 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished all the host of them and on the seventh day
God finished his work which He had done and rested on the seventh day from all his work
which he He had done and so God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it becauseon it God
rested from all his work which he had donein creation.
Explanation: God values rest for one’s activities during the weak. This is very important in
terms of labour and its conditions. That man should have a day to rest from his activities of
the week. And this day should be respected. Like God hallowed. His day of rest called Sabbath
meaning the day of rest or rest( not Saturday or Sunday).Giving the seventh day a specific day
such as Saturday or Sunday was man’s intuition. Remember a day in God’s eyes is not the
same as we see it. However, what is important is that man like God must rest from his/her
activities of the week and make that day of rest to praise his /her creator for what he is doing
in his /her life.
2 4-6 These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created.in the
day that the Lord made the earth and the heaven when no plant of the field was yet in the
earth and no herb of the field had sprung up-for the Lord God has not caused it to rain upon
the earth and there was no man to till the ground; but a mist (water vapour) went up from the
earth and watered the whole face of the ground. The first rains to fall on the ground
Explanation: God was very systematic in his creation. In the first Chapter we are told of his
creation of the earth and the universe. He put during that creation all the necessary
conditions for substance of life as creatures came in in the second creation which we go into
in this chapter.
He put in place water, air light as sunlight and soils as the earth or ground. But the earth was
bare i.e there was no vegetation.Now the ground was set for such to happen.God put in
place rain to facilitate the growth of Vegetation.To dothat a mist (Water vapour) from the
earth( from water bodies and transpiration from plants on earth made that possible).This was
the start of what we call the rain cycle or water cycle.See figure below.

13. Fig. water cycle. pininterest
2 7”Then the Lord God formed man of dust drawn from the ground and breathed into
his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living being.’’

14. Fig 14. Man was made of dust from ground.Goodnewsshared.wordpress.com
Fig14.1. God breathed through his nostrils.blogspot.com
Explanation: inanimate matter-soma of humans is inanimate, here again the origin of man
like other creatures is inanimate. This is where evolution and Creation at least agree about
origin of man.
There are questions which arise as to what pigmentation was the first human being? Was he
Caucasian or black? By implication one would assume that the first man –Adam could have
been black so was the first human race. This arises from the fact that if this making of man by
God was done from the garden of Eden whose soil I suppose was very fertile it means that the
soil could have been mainly loam (black soil), hence the soma of the first man should have
been black .Also this is supported by archaeological evidence where the first remains of
humans are traced from Africa, where it is generally very hot and thus human beings in this
region have more melanin which is responsible for their (our) dark pigmentation. Caucasians
have less melanin and hence their light pigmentation.(It’s like when you heat the loam soil it
turns brown even red depending on the extent of heat. The heat may represent mutation
associated with the gene for melanin hence the appearance of different shades of
pigmentation of our skins that have now come to determine our different races based on our
skin pigmentation .This may be was the beginning of the human race. The Spirit of God is
what we call air in the physical sense. This also was the beginning of concept of the body and
spirit dualism. This is why death may be defined as the separation of the spirit (air) from the
body (soma).This is why at your death if you are a believer during your internment the priest
will say from dust you came and to dust you return and it is believed that the spirit goes to the

15. one who breathed it in the first place-the Almighty God. To prepare for the habitation of man
God in verse 8 is said to have planted a garden. Here also making plants as a primary source
of food for man.
In Eden, he placed man to occupy the eastern part of the garden to live his life. Note the next
statement concerning the origin of plants that are in verse 9 of Chapter two of the Book of
Genesis and I quote:
”The Lord God caused to grow from the ground every kind of tree that is pleasing to
see and good to eat and also the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of
knowledge of good and evil.’’
Fig 15.Biblestorycartoons.com
Explanation: Again this so called unscientific Book makes a more credible statement of the
origin of plants that there was no evolution from lower plants to higher form, there was
independent evolution (or is it creation in this case) of various species of plants. So here the
Book of Genesis clearly indicates that there was no interspecies evolution where lower plants
developed into higher plants.

16. 210“A river flowed from Eden to water the garden and from there it divided to four
streams
Fig 16.biblekeyword.com
Explanation: The first River Irrigation was established by God in the Garden of Eden.
2:15: “Then the Lord God took the man and placed him in the Garden of Eden to till it”.

17. Fig17.pininterest.com
From the very beginning the first man was initiated in appreciating labour to obtain food.
Farming started with God and transmitted to Adam. There are no hand-outs from God. Where
is this prosperity Gospel coming from? Where people plant a seed and sit back to expect
returns without weeding when the seed grows? Can maximum harvest come from such
planted seed?.
2:16 “Then the Lord God gave this command to the man, “You may indeed eat of every
tree in the garden, but of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat, for on
the day you eat you are doomed to die.”
Fig18. tree of knowledge of good and evil.blogspot.com
Explanation: This was a directive to test man’s obedience to authority and rule(s) governing
his existence by trying to inform man that though the plants may appear pleasing to see and
eat not all of them may necessarily be useful as food. Also it was to show the limits which

18. man must have in exploiting his resources in the garden. Over exploitation would lead to the
disappearance of the plants and hence which in turn would lead to the death of all living
things that depend on plants for food. Hence the above statement.
2:18:”The Lord God, said, “It is not good for man to be alone, I will give him a suitable
companion. “Then the Lord God formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and
all the birds of the air and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them and
whatever Adam called every living creature, that was the name..”
Fig 19.normon.com
Explanation: Man and woman are companions that is equals in the eyes of God, were made
to complement each other not to be competitors but helpmates. Adam became the first
Taxonomist not Linnaeus, who gave names to living creatures both plants and animals. So
credit to our ancestor Adam from whom Linnaeus inherited the taxonomic genius.

19. 2:20 So, Adam gave names to all the cattle, the birds of the air, and to every beast of the
field. But he did not find among them a companion suitable for himself.
Fig 20. Fine art America.
Explanation: ‘’But he did not find among them a companion suitable for himself.’’ Wild
animals or tamed ones are not direct companions they cannot be more valuable than fellow
human beings especially of the opposite gender in the hierarchical order of relationships. It is
unfortunate that humanity thinks otherwise where we tend to value animals more than
humans. There are some people who value for instance, their domestic animals more than that
of fellow human beings. There cases where our colleagues the Europeans who would rather
put their worker behind a van while a dog is seated in the front sit with them. Or
conservationists that value the life of animals in a game park than the value of lives of the
people who stay with these animals. But here Adam showed that he can only be happy with
the companionship of fellow human beings especially in this case of opposite gender. And
God acknowledged his position and acted accordingly.
2:21: Then the Lord God caused a deep sleep (beginning of anaesthetic science) to come
over Adam and he fell asleep. Then he took one of the ribs (beginning of the practice of
surgery with God being the First Surgeon) and filled its place with flesh (beginning of
Replacement Surgery).
2:22”The rib which the Lord had taken from Adam, he formed into woman (cloning
science/stem cell science) and brought her to the man and 23Adam said, “This at least is
bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh, she shall be called woman, because she was
taken from man.

20. Explanation: ”Man finds fulfilment in woman not in a fellow man and vice versa. That is
why homosexuality or beastitiality are abominations which are not supposed to be entertained
in our societies as humans.’’
224 “That is why a man leaves his father and mother and becomes attached to his wife
and they become one flesh.”
Fig 21.husband and wife one flesh.
Explanation: This is an important statement as regards the relationship between man and
woman that have been joined as husband and wife. That is that this union is a union of equals
.And their actions should be that of one accord. And if something is one entity. Then any
moves to separate this entity result in destruction. This is why the Catholic Church teaches
strongly against divorce, for whatever reason. Jesus Christ also preached against divorce
(Matthew 5:31-32).

21. 2:25 “BothAdam and his wife were naked but were not ashamed.”
Fig 22.Pininterest.
Explanation: The relationship between husband and wife is unique not to be shared by any
third party, especially sexual relationship which the two share in their nakedness and they do
it freely without inhibitions. This is why if one partner commits adultery, there is no freedom
in carrying out the act., An indelible mark remains in the individual affecting person
psychologically that this person never feels at peace for the betrayal caused to the spouse .If
the other partner gets wind of what had happened, peace evaporates in that household. For
this situation becomes like the nakedness that Adam and Eve felt after the fall.

22. CHAPTER 3
Remember at the conclusion of Genesis Chapter 1:3 the word says and I quote, “God saw
that all that he had made and indeed it was very good.”
What went wrong? This what went wrong, that culminated in the present dynamics in the
world, that affected the Natural and social dynamics of both the living and none living of
God’s Creation.3:1 “Now the serpent was the most crafty of all the wild creatures that the
Lord had made (Some scholars are of the belief that the serpent did not exist in reality, but
that could have come as a result of Eve’s inquisitive or questioning mind. This is a clear
indication that God did not create humans to be like robots whose actions are manufacturer
designed. From the onset in this particular case Eve, was questioning in her mind whether a
tree that was so beautiful to the eyes and fruits thereof could bring harm to her and her
companion. The companion Adam was there, he also bought into the idea because he did not
resist when Eve gave her the fruit to eat. This is one aspect of what the bond of matrimony
does that you start doing things in common. You become people of one mind. Just as it is said
you are no longer two but one. This is because Adam pronounced with his mouth that the
New Creation that was made after all the animals were made, became its true companion that
was in his words, flesh of his flesh and bone of his bone. This was the model union before the
“fall”).
He said to the woman, “Did God really say,’ you must not eat from any tree in the
Garden?”(Here again it comes out like this aspect was just figurative, this was Eve
questioning herself as regards the pleasant tree with its fruits she was seeing each time she
was walking in the field. It could have been as pleasant as other trees and so its fruits may
have looked even more attractive to eat in that in her thoughts she forgot that the Lord had
commanded them to eat all plants as food except two plants the plant of knowledge and evil
and the one which would give them eternal life. She was struggling with dealing with a
wrong question ‘Did God say, you must not eat of any tree? “So she answered, he didn’t say
that, correct, but the action followed was wrong, she forgot the exception and that resulted in
her and Adam eating the forbidden fruit- the consequences of which are there now about our
relationships as creation God- both animate and inanimate).3:2The woman said to the
serpent, ‘We may eat the fruits in the garden, 3:3but of that in the middle of the garden
God said, ”You shall not eat and you shall not touch it or you will die.”(If I may be

23. allowed to take the idea of the serpent not being physically present especially if you rule out
animals vocalizing or having the ability to speak since they do not have senses like humans, I
would say the above statement was in Eve herself and even Adam whenever they looked at
that tree in the garden. This again points to man that is woman inclusive of having been
created with a probing mind. That is the mind of discovery. This mind of trying to discover
things has its own benefits and disasters. This also shows that the determination that our
women folk have when they need something is deeply rooted in creation or should we say
that it is a genetic disposition. Why did God forbid Adam and Eve to eat of the tree in the
middle of the Garden? There are two reasons in my view, one was to test if the two were
obedient to Him as their creator, secondly to show to man that though the plants were
available for food or exploitation, there should be restraint in how the resources could be used
for continuous sustenance. God was trying to inculcate the aspect of conservation of the
natural resources as man utilized them. Because from creation this action of not eating the
tree at the middle of the garden has continuously being abrogated by man and hence we find
ourselves at the verge of extinction because of extreme weather patterns such as increasing
temperatures in some places, floods and so on, what has become to be known as global
climate change. This is why God said, “If you eat of the tree in the middle of the Garden or
touch it you will die. “We are dying as a result of resource depletion, we are dying as a result
of eating poisonous plants which may be pleasant to look and eat because of disobeying God
not to eat of the tree in the middle of the garden.).
3:4 “The serpent said to the woman, you will not die,3:5 for God knows the day you will
eat it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, knowing what is good and
what is bad.”(The implication of the above verses is that all God’s creation had a language
and were able to communicate one with the other and even with a Eve. Here the serpent was
conversing with Eve about the fruit of good and evil. If there was no serpent as other Biblical
scholars portray, concerning this discourse it could only mean that from the beginning
humans Adam and Eve were created with a questioning or inquisitive mind means Adam and
Eve as they were moving around the garden they were always asking themselves as to why
God forbid them to eat the fruit at the middle of the garden. So the questioning mind could be
a “snake” or “serpent.” For you don’t know what will come out of that questioning whether a
right or wrong decision will come out of such inquisitiveness. The other reason why God
gave them that restraint was could have been to show Adam and Eve that despite all the
plants were pleasing to see and eat not all of them could be used that way-This is an aspect of

24. conservation of species and showing man some plants though beautiful may even be
poisonous if eaten. Just like in the forests there are plants from which fruits are none
poisonous and those that are poisonous. Finally in all that God was testing the human’s
obedience and above all to show man that he should use plants reasonably instead of
exploitatively through deforestation and none conservative approaches to dealing with flora
and fauna). 3:6 “The woman saw that the fruit was good to eat, pleasant to the eyes and
took some and ate it.”She also gave to her husband and who was with her and he ate
it.”(This move shows the relationship between husband and wife of being able to share
everything in common with him) 3:7 “Then their eyes were opened and both of them
realized they were naked so they sewed leaves of a fig tree together and covered
themselves (Realizing that they were naked was a sign of what God had said, they realized
that something had gone wrong (evil) the good thing that came from that realization was for
them to come up with a good thing of covering themselves with leaves-the beginning of the
textile industry/leather industry in that the Lord in his mercy made them animal skin clothes
that were stronger than the leaves that they had covered themselves with as they got dry and
were no longer fit for use indicating that Man’s thinking will always be superficial. That is as
long as we are in these mortal bodies our actions will always remain images of God’s
action.). 3:8 They heard the sound of the Lord God taking a walk (That is before the fall
God was freely interacting with His creation because as He said when he created all things
they were very good.) in the garden in the cool of the day (the earth, its air, and
surrounding were environmentally clean and unpolluted unlike what is obtaining in the
environment now. Then as God was moving in the garden He noticed that His friends were
nowhere to be seen.3:9 The Lord God then called to the man and asked him, ‘where are
you?’ Here was man’s response though not directly answering the question. ”I heard you in
the garden but I was afraid because I was naked. So I hid myself.” This in itself is the
culmination of having eaten the forbidden fruit that man became aware of his anatomy that it
needed not to be exposed-beginning of the law against indecent exposure-having coming to
grips of the knowledge of good and evil. Because of having eaten the forbidden fruit the
blame game started between and among living organisms. For example when man was asked
further concerning his strange behaviour, this is how he responded:” The woman whom you
put here with me-she gave me fruit from the tree so I ate it.”This was a sign of a broken
relationship between Adam and the woman, Adam rescued himself from the responsibility
that he was part and parcel of what transpired. Remember, this is the same woman Adam
referred to as bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh. When the woman was asked to why he ate

25. the fruit? She put the blame on the serpent.3:14-18These readings here focus on punishment
God meted to the different players who were complicity to crime: the insect was from then on
to crawl on its belly, this implies that the serpent could have been using limbs before
this,(compare with Lamarck’s Use and disuse theory in evolution).The snake was also told
other animals would not like it. The woman was told that there was going to be enmity
between her, her offspring and that of the snake and also that her pain would be increased in
child birth. Man because of his complicity in the crime was told that the land was cursed and
that he would from that time find it difficult to get crops from the land .In God’s words He
said man would “By the Sweat of your face shall you get bread to eat, until you return to
the ground from which you were taken: for you are dirt and to dirt you shall return.(
Again this shows the relationship between the biotic and abiotic(inanimate). This illustrates
the existence of biogeochemical cycles, such as carbon and nitrogen cycles. That there is
recycling and interdependence of God’s creation When animals die they become mineralized.
The minerals of which are absorbed by plants in the for growth and food production for
which animals will then eat to, in turn build their bodies and maintain life .”The thing to
notice about the reaction of God is that our God is a merciful God. He repented from His
action. He did not met out what He told man what would happen if he ate the forbidden fruit-
that man would die. Man in his acquired knowledge after eating the forbidden fruit was
expecting to die physically, no wonder Adam and Eve hid expecting that if God found them,
he was going to physically kill them. The death which ensured however was not the
separation of the spirit and the body (Soma) but that of broken relationships between man and
the environment, man and other living organisms and man with fellow human being ( Eve)
and above all broken relationship between man and God. It is these broken relationships that
make man/woman dead. It is these broken relationships that the Lord Jesus came to mend. A
quotation from John 3:16 is in support of that: ”For God so loved the world that He gave
his only son, so, that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life.”
3:20 “The man called his wife Eve, because she became the mother of all the living. “The
statement epitomizes the importance of women (in particular) as mothers of all creation .They
are custodians of all life be it plant or animal life and that of humans as well. Therefore
women should and must be given the respect they deserve for through them life comes into
existence and even the Lord our saviour came into the world through our Mother Mary- a
woman. Through our mothers we should as humans have the ability to care for other God’s

26. creation as a mother looks after her infant until it grows. If all us did that our world would be
a much safer place to live in.
3:21 “For the man and his wife God made leather garments with which he clothed
them.”(This was the beginning of the clothing (leather) industry .God felt pity for humanity
that there were clad in leaves and that would soon dry and expose their nakedness which they
were ashamed of.)3:22 Then the Lord God said: “See! The man has become like one of us,
knowing what is good and what is bad! (This stage in life of humanity if the stage of
innovation in humans being able to be on top of things though not being perfect.‘ Therefore
he must not be allowed to put out his hand to take fruit from the tree of life also and thus eat
of it and live forever.”(The tree of life is the tree of perfection and this is the one which God
did not want man to touch or eat else he lived for ever. This imperfection is the one that has
made our faculties limited, not according to the plan of God who wanted us to be like
Him).However, because God is love He forgave our imperfection through His son, whom He
gave us. ”For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who see the Son and believes in
Him may have eternal life and I shall raise him (on) the last day.”(John 6:40)
.3:23-24 “The Lord God therefore banished him (Adam) from the Garden of Eden, to till
the ground from which he had been taken. When he expelled the man he settled him
east of the Garden of Eden and he stationed cherubim and fiery revolving sword to
guard the way to the tree of life.(God expectation after the fall of man is that man must
work and earn his/her living by doing some work. Work is thus divine, ore so manure labour.
Those who equate manual labour as capital punishment of our flora and fauna. This is why in
some place in scripture it says “He/she who refuses to work must not eat.” The other aspect
that comes out from the reading is the aspect of conservation of our fora and fauna For
example do we have adequate personnel to guard our natural environment especially the
gazette protective forest land?
CHAPTER 4
Introduction. This chapter mainly looks at the family tree of Adam and the relationships that
followed thereafter. Let us look at what the Book of Genesis says and see how this
information is still relevant to us today, scientifically and socially.

27. 4:1 The birth of Cain and Abel: The man (Adam) had relations [sexual intercourse] with his
wife (Eve)- a woman and she conceived ( became pregnant) and bore Cain, saying “I have
produced a man with the help of the Lord.” This statement as it is brings the aspect of
man and woman in marriage as co-creators with God. The first when the two were
created when God commanded them to reproduce and fill the earth and here Adam
proclaims that he brought forth a man with the help of God. This means that children in
marriage are a gift from God and are a result of God’s willingness to provide. To those whose
focus in marriage are having children, avoid being stressed because of lack of children. God’s
time is the best time. Compare men and women some of whom stayed many years without a
child or children, but they kept the faith and God at appropriate time, gave them what they
had prayed for. This statement also shows marriage is between male and female; (i.e.
between man and woman).With this action God gave humanity the responsibility of
procreation and perpetuation of the human race through sexual reproduction between male
and female. This is one area in which God expressed that,” Man has become like us. ”This
is why God took a drastic step to chase man from the Garden, in the light of him eating fruit
from the tree of life which would have made humanity to live forever-This was the beginning
of natural population control in that humanity would start to die. So the fear of
overpopulation in world is the imagination of a sinful world. It is because our knowledge is
limited, about our relationship with the environment that we always think in terms of limited
space (habitat).In my view the world if we were an open society that love each other, then
everyone will find space where to live and will have enough food to eat and will be provided
adequate goods and services that are indicators to overpopulation or not.4:2 Next she bore his
brother Abel, Abel became a keeper of flocks and Cain a tiller of the soil. The statement
indicates that what you are was genetically disposed. This is what God says of each one of us
that,” Before you were born, I knew you.” This is why it is not advisable to insist to our
children about their vocation or what they need to do for their living this is because what they
will become is already with them and within them. The environment and humanity must be
there to nurture such children to identify their vocation and pursue it. Those who fail to
identify who they are usually have a fault start Career wise. I am an example of such fault
start. I thought I would train into becoming a medical doctor. I forced myself there, but I was
taken back where I started from to be a trainer (or teacher) of health workers. What a turn of
events. God just said through my situation that enveloped that becoming a medical doctor
was not my vocation. The other aspect to this statement is as parents we should be ready to

28. identify the vocation of our children at an early stage like in the above statement-Abel a
shepherd and Cain a farmer.
4.3-5 It happened after a time that Cain that Cain brought fruits (note it is not saying first
fruits) of the soil as an offering to the Lord. Abel for his part brought the first born of
his flock and some of his fat as well. Now the Lord was well pleased with his offering,
but towards Cain and his offering, he showed no regards.( This implies that in whatever
we do, we must put God first. God must not be taken as an alternative after all else has failed.
Also God need the best from us, not second rate material. Since all that we have is from God
so we must give to Him what is His before anyone else. This was the problem with Cain .He
gave to God not the first fruits from his produce, he gave to God the remains after having
given to the others and after he had collected for his use. Giving should be from the heart and
must be genuine little as it may be. If one gives because it is an obligation, then there is no
love attached to that giving, This is the same as not giving the first fruits or the first born of
our flock.
What are your first fruits or first flocks that you can give to God? It could be time. How much
time do Give to God that is being in His presence just to worship and adore or praise him? In
our time that is available daily, do we put God first? Materially how much do we give whole
heartedly to the service of God? How about charitable deeds how much of that is done to the
glory of God and not for our own glory to be seen by men/women. This where our Lord
concluded that you will receive their reward, but God’s reward will slip your fingers .For
goodness sake let us do the right thing(s) so that we do not become down cast like Cain.
4:6-7 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry and down cast? If you do right,
why do you not hold your head high? But if you are doing what is not right, sin is
lurking at the door. It is striving to get you, but you must master it.” This is usually our
normal response to blame our faults on others. Why not take responsibility for our own faults
and work towards correcting them or aiming at doing better the next time. If we don’t, this is
what the Lord is referring to that “sin is lurking or is on its way.” We are however called to
resist the temptation to sin and do the right thing. This is what the Lord is referring to as
“mastering it.”
4:8 Cain said to his brother Abel, “let’s Go out to the fields.” Once there, Cain turned on
his brother and killed him. This in legal terms is what is called premeditated murder and it
is a serious offence and in civil case it calls for serious sentence usually life imprisonment or

29. the person is also sentenced to death-like in Zambia it done by hanging until you are
pronounced dead.. In the Church it is equated to a grave sin, since it was well planned before
it was committed. So all sins like that(i.e.-.where there is some form of planning before
committing the sin) are regarded as grave sins and they call for serious penance, unlike none
premeditated sins.
4:9 The Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel? He answered,”I do not know;
am I my brother’s keeper?”This is one effect of sin, if the sinner does not realize that a sin
has been committed, one tends to give excuses for their sin and pretend as if he or she has not
done anything wrong. This is the situation which arose when Cain was asked about the where
about of his brother. Sin is this case is a distractor.
4:10-12 The Lord asked, “What have you done? Listen, your brother’s blood is crying out
to me from the ground. Now be cursed and be driven from the ground that has opened
its mouth to receive your brother’s blood that, your hand has shed. When you till the
ground, it will no longer yield you its produce. You will be a fugitive wondering on the
earth.” The death of Abel followed the spillage of his blood this pollute the soil and God told
Cain that because of that the soil would become unproductive. This is the first example of
pollution of the soil and the result there of. Because of this curse the soil will never be
co0ntinually fertile that is why Cain was told he was going to be a wanderer-the first shifting
cultivation farmer after the soil fertility in the first field is depleted as reported in verse 16
and I quote, “Cain then went away from the Lord’s presence and settled in the land of
Nod, east of Eden.”
4:17-26 Provides information about the fecundity of the two sons of Adam –Cain and Seth,
the children they had.
5:1-32 This is the passage about the descendants of Adam, that culminated in the birth of
Noah one of his great-great grandchildren. His Father was Lameck and when Noah was
born it was said he was to console the people in the toil and labour of their hands,
caused by the ground that was cursed by the Lord. One peculiar thing I have learnt from
this passage was the long life span of all the people in the passage compared with our life
span in this age and time which is comparatively very short indeed. Very few now live up to
a 100 years. For example it is stated at the end of Chapter five that “When Noah was five
hundred years old , he became the father of Shem, Ham and Japheth.”

30. 6:1-4When people began to increase on the earth and daughters were born to them. The
sons of God saw that they were very beautiful so they married as many as they chose.
The Lord then said, ”My spirit will not remain in man ( that is man would not live for
ever-that is he would be dying) for indeed he is flesh. His span of life will be a hundred
and twenty years (this should be our span of life if web remain health and live a life
following God’s tenets).At that time there were Nephilim (hybrids of the human race) on
earth and afterwards as well, when the sons of God went in (had sexual relationship or
married the daughters of men) to the daughters of men and had children by them. These
were the heroes of old, (special breeds) men of renown. This passage can be viewed as the
introduction of a new genome in the human race which was originally from one stock that
from Adam and Eve. Thus the coming of the Nephilim (a hybrid of offspring between the
sons of God and the daughters of humans) Thus a new stock of humans with different
genotype came into existence. This brought in variety in the human race.
6:5-22 This portion of scripture points to Noah as a saviour of creation of God. Had it not been
for his upright life, God had resolved to destroy everything that he had created including the
earth since the human race had degenerated into evil. Noah happened to be the only just man
who was not corrupted with evil as the word says and I quote,”Noah was a just man,
blameless among the people of his time, a man who walked with God. However this was
not so with the rest as it is stated here. The earth became corrupt in God’s sight and was
full of violence. God saw that the earth was corrupt, for corrupt indeed was the way of
all mortals and because of this God decided to destroy the earth and purify it? For Noah’s
Sake the God repented from destroying everything but decided to keep a stock of each of His
creation and instructed Noah accordingly. So the first generation of God’s creation was saved
from destruction through the righteousness of Noah. To continue the perpetuation of species
thereafter Noah was told in his preparation to keep two of each species male and female-
emphasizing the importance of sexual reproduction in perpetuation of speciation-where as
humans we participate in creation of plants or animals and that of ourselves and that was
started with Noah when he was told to take into the ark species of each kind two by two. That
was the beginning of selective breeding afterwards when these special species were taken
into the ark were preserved for the future. Noah did as he was commanded, ”You shall come
into the ark, you, your wife, your sons and your sons wives with you. You shall bring
into the ark two of every kind of living thing male and female to keep them alive with
you. Of the birds, the animals and all creeping things on the ground according to their

31. kind (according to their species) two every sort (this was for the purpose of reproduction) to
be kept alive with you. God went on further to instruct Noah,” Take with you every sort of
food that is eaten. make a store of it and it will be food for you and them.” This is where
it started from storing food for lean times.
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