Scientific truth and religious truth are one and the same. When religion contradicts proven science it's superstition and dogma. When religion fails to acknowledge religion its materialism.
Did you mean to say here "When science fails...."?
I'm not asking you to buy my claims about anything,
We're asking you to consider the evidence for the Bible.
this is just a site where we express opinions.
We also discuss facts and evidence. Opinions are a dime a dozen.
My claims are a result of looking at the best science available,
Rather, your claims are the result of looking at secular dogma. In other words, it's not science.
the science you and I live by every second of every day
Speak for yourself.
and applying it to Scripture,
Applying science to scripture is what we've been asking for from the secular scientific community for the past however long. They refuse to comply, because doing so might invalidate their a priori notion of millions of years and evolution and the Big Bang (not that that hasn't already been upended...).
especially in places where a literal interpretation has made religion a mockery.
At no point has a literal interpretation of scripture (not woodenly literal, mind you, but a consistent application of reasoning, where what is written as literal is taken literally, and what is written as a figure of speech or metaphor is taken as such) ever made Christianity a mockery. Other religions, yes. But not Christianity.
What makes a mockery of Christianity is when people refuse to take God at His word, mashing it up and saying "it's all figurative."
Was there ever a point when there were no humans?
If so, was there ever a point where there was more than one human?
If so, then how do you go from zero humans to more than one human, without ever crossing having the point where there is a first human?
Satan certainly is a serpent.
One that caused the entire solar system to be affected? Yup, that did happen.
Yup, that existed too.
a wooden boat with two of every animal.
For most, and then 7 of other animals.
You should think about visiting the Ark Exhibit in Kentucky, run by Ken Ham and AiG.
Saying it doesn't make it so.
but it does hold within these stories a great symbolic wisdom.
Yes, those stories of REAL events do hold wisdom. Saying it's all symbolic, however, removes any wisdom you might gain from them, however.
All these subject points have appeared in various creation myths before Genesis was written.
Ever heard of the Tower of Babel?
It happened within a few hundred years of the Flood.
Guess what happens when you take a group of people who have the same history, then split them up by changing their native language and send them out across the earth?
You end up with nearly every culture on earth having those same stories about the flood and garden of Eden, even if they're all mashed into one.
Guess what happens when the actual account is preserved by God, and given to Moses, who wrote Genesis?
You get the Pentateuch, and then all you need are various authors of scripture throughout the next 1600 years or so.
They were used because they were part of the myth history of the region.
Except that the things in the Bible actually happened (or in the case of Revelation, will happen).
But the writer, via divine influence, wove a deeper truth into the narrative.
True, but that doesn't mean that what he wrote should be taken allegorically or non-literally.
Let me give you an example. Adam became a living soul when God breathed into his nostrils. So Adam had a living soul because of the breath of God.
You should listen to the recent episodes of Real Science Radio, where this exact subject is talked about.
Here's the links:
kgov.com
kgov.com
God obviously does not breath,
Duh. Yet he breathed life into Adam. It's a figure of speech that means he started the process of life. See the above kgov shows for reference.
It's also what man does.
so that breath was the image or likeness of God,
Nope.
The image of God is the image that He created for His Son to indwell, whom He then created man in the image of. (ie, head, torso, two arms, two legs, a face, etc...)
A spirit is something that isn't physical. What occurred when God breathed life into Adam was the start of a physical process, and the attachment of a soul/spirit to Adam.
God breath His spirit into him.
Yes.
Then Eve was made from a rib bone,
Correct.
in other words, from flesh and blood.
Yes.
So Eve is the human life force that comes about through flesh,
No.
Eve was the first woman. An actual living, breathing, human woman.
Procreation is involved, but Eve is not just a walking womb.
and Adam is spirit that comes about through God,
Nope, Adam was a human man, the first man.
Both Adam and Eve had souls and spirits.
which is the image or likeness to God that is a part of every single human.
False.
Humans being the only creature with a spirit because God breathed, or attached, or bequeathed each human with a living, eternal spirit.
Correct. Literally.
That's what makes man so special.
Adam and Eve represent ever human that will ever be.
No.
They are a generic representation of every one of us.
No, they're not.
Adam and Eve were created perfect. Then they sinned, and as a result, God cast them out of the Garden.
Adam the human spirit and Eve the human life force that is constantly being tempted.
New-age nonsense.
In this case the snake represents attachment because it is a creature with its entire body on the earth. We humans are always tempted by attachment to things other than God and this is when we are expelled form the Garden of Paradise of God's good pleasure. This is only a small part of the meaning behind this story.
More new-age nonsense.
Now of course I imagine this will go over like a lead ballon.
Lead balloons do float, by the way...
I will be very disappointed if I don't get a bunch of laughing emojis.
Sorry, no emojis here.
All the best, my wife is calling me and she must be obeyed at all cost.
Try telling her that she's actually just Eve, the human life force.
Bet you she smacks some sense into you.