The Order of Things

[Mark A Becker]

The Order of Things

First light, and above the formless Earth
an opaque sky; below, a primordial water world.
The sun and moon then appeared through clouds,
and once dry land had formed, plants that signaled life.
Suddenly, there was an explosion of fish and fowl,
then, on land, multitudes of mammals.  And finally, us.

The order of things, as science has shown, 
how were they known, 40 centuiries ago?

Each of the first six lines in this piece condense, and paraphrase the six "days" described in Genesis. Although the Genesis account was written 3-4 thousand years ago, it is remarkable that modern science can (sorta) corroborate the Genesis depiction with how events on Earth unfolded over 4+ billion years.  One big discrepancy is that life in the oceans almost certainly began before plant life on land.  The fact that light appears on the first "day" is not out of line with big bang theory: an "explosion" of particles (including photons).  Regarding "day" 3, it is understood now that the sky was opaque before any type of observation from Earth would have revealed the sun, moon , and stars; the sky as we now see it (and well before any creature was alive and able to see it).  Most remarkable is that Genesis fairly accurately describes the Cambrian period, when the oceans suddenly began teeming with life (though birds actually do not appear in the sequence that Genesis recounts). Genesis, rather astoundingly, accurately places that period as occurring before life appears on land. Of course, humans do appear last. It really is uncanny that the writers of Genesis, in a time when almost everybody was illiterate, could create a story that can (sorta) be corroborated by science today.      

[Tiger the Lion]

The Order of Things

First light, and above the formless Earth
an opaque sky; below, a primordial water world.
The sun and moon then appeared through clouds,
and once dry land had formed, plants that signaled life.
Suddenly, there was an explosion of fish and fowl,
then, on land, multitudes of mammals.  And finally, us.

The order of things, as science has shown, 
how were they known, 40 centuiries ago?

Each of the first six lines in this piece condense, and paraphrase the six "days" described in Genesis. Although the Genesis account was written 3-4 thousand years ago, it is remarkable that modern science can (sorta) corroborate the Genesis depiction with how events on Earth unfolded over 4+ billion years.  One big discrepancy is that life in the oceans almost certainly began before plant life on land.  The fact that light appears on the first "day" is not out of line with big bang theory: an "explosion" of particles (including photons).  Regarding "day" 3, it is understood now that the sky was opaque before any type of observation from Earth would have revealed the sun, moon , and stars; the sky as we now see it (and well before any creature was alive and able to see it).  Most remarkable is that Genesis fairly accurately describes the Cambrian period, when the oceans suddenly began teeming with life (though birds actually do not appear in the sequence that Genesis recounts). Genesis, rather astoundingly, accurately places that period as occurring before life appears on land. Of course, humans do appear last. It really is uncanny that the writers of Genesis, in a time when almost everybody was illiterate, could create a story that can (sorta) be corroborated by science today.      

Hey Mark. Did you add the spoiler later? I didn't catch it on first read. Critwise, "signaled" and "suddenly" might be improved.
Always been fascinated by the interplay between Gen 1:1 and John 1:1

[Mark A Becker]

Hey Mark. Did you add the spoiler later? I didn't catch it on first read. Critwise, "signaled" and "suddenly" might be improved.
Always been fascinated by the interplay between Gen 1:1 and John 1:1

Hey Paul-
Yes, I did add the spoiler later.  In fact the spoiler is the actual point of the piece.  And I agree that "signaled" and "suddenly" might be improved, though I really just slapped this one together.  Posted in MISC since I'm mainly trying to get the idea/comparison out versus seeking to improve it as a poem.

While I was raised Catholic, I currently practice no religion, but I've done quite a bit of Bible study, because it's fascinating.  I'm also of the mind that if I ever want to debate something, then the least I can do is study it.

That said, John 1:1 definitely echoes Genesis 1:1.  Many scholars see John 1:1 as a poem that the author of John did not write, but used as a prelude to that gospel. 

GEN 1:1-  In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth  and John 1:1- In the beginniing was the Word

Interesting that Genesis begins each section with "And God said...", essentially speaking the universe into exisitence with The Word.

[Mark A Becker]

The poem, again:

The Order of Things

First light, and above the formless Earth
an opaque sky; below, a primordial water world.
The sun and moon then appeared through clouds,
and once dry land had formed, plants that signaled life.
Suddenly, there was an explosion of fish and fowl,
then, on land, multitudes of mammals.  And finally, us.

The order of things, as science has shown,
how were they known, 40 centuiries ago?


known/nōn/: recognized, familiar, or within the scope of knowledge.

Wthin the scope of knowledge available thousands of years ago I still find it fascinating that folks were smart enough that they recognized some semblance of the order of things.  I did not change the order of those six "days" within the way I paraphrased the "days" of Genesis in the first six lines of the poem, knowing full well of the inaccuracies. 

Of course, science easily blows holes in the order described in Genesis, but Genesis is not science, or a theory, it is an interesting story. And if I'm praising anything, it is the ingenuity and intelligence of humans well before scientific methods were even developed.

Even if it were just some largely forgotten ancient text, and not part of a book that has been studied for centuries, I would still be impressed that people noodled through a creation story as well as they did. Not a bad attempt at trying to explain things at a time when the vast majority of people were illiterate. Those writers were definitely *creative*. 

I approached this subject as a poet, not a lawyer.  If y'all want to continue to prosecute your cases, have at it. I'm glad that I could provide the poem as "exhibit A".  

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.  I'm on to the next one...

[Quixilated]

Hello Mark, an excellent poem which has generated a lively discussion.  

Note to members: As this is a poetry forum, I have moved the discussion side of things into a discussion forum.  For further comments of that nature please see a discussion on origins.  All further arguments or proof of knowing things must be posted there.  It is protocol to remove a discussion when it is no longer about the poem. Thank you.

And to that point, I did want to say, Mark, that I did enjoy reading this poem.  "Primordial" is one of my all time favorite words.  Also, I very much enjoyed the "explosion of fish and fowl," though I might be imagining it more 'explody' than you intended, still, it's a dramatic image and it makes the poem pop.  I think of those nature shows where suddenly an entire flock of birds take flight all at once and the air is filled with the sound of flapping wings and bird calls.  And also I like the ending lines which provide much food for thought (as we have seen).