Genesis 1

The Bible and Mesopotamian Myth: Iron and Myth podcast

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Skeptics often claim that the Hebrew Bible must have been copied from older Mesopotamian texts.

Frankly, this is lazy thinking by people looking for excuses not to deal with God.

Our Iron and Myth crew joins us to discuss the relationship between the Bible and Mesopotamian religion: Doug Van Dorn (www.douglasvandorn.com), author of Giants: Sons of the Gods and Brian Godawa (www.Godawa.com), best-selling author of Chronicles of the Nephilim, Chronicles of the Watchers, the theological thriller Cruel Logic, and a forthcoming novel based on the period of the Maccabees in Judea. Sadly, Dr. Judd Burton (www.BurtonBeyond.net) was unable to join us this month.

We discuss the parallels between creation stories from different cultures, including Mesopotamian and Mesoamerican myths, and the implications of these similarities for understanding the Bible.

We dig into the nature of myth and history, the importance of context in biblical interpretation, and the need for a nuanced approach to understanding ancient texts.

There is an intricate relationship between myth and history, particularly in the context of biblical narratives.

It’s important to understand ancient texts through the lens of genre and cultural context, and at the end of the day the Bible’s authority does not negate the value of other literature.

Watch or listen here

The Glory of Story: Genesis 1 and the Art of Storytelling

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I am posting this playlist of clips from my friend, Jim Womer’s class on The Glory of Story. It was a powerful influence on my understanding of story from the Bible.

Watch the complete playlist of all segments on YouTube here.

These are edited segments of a 2.5 hour lecture

To buy the full 2.5 hour lecture, The Glory of Story:
(includes movie film clips not shown on YouTube version)
https://godawa.com/Store/#GloryofStory

Discover the hidden treasures within the biblical “creation model” found in the book of Genesis. Decode the”seven days of creation” as an organic template for story structure.

• You will learn how to organically generate dimensional back stories and characters from a simple logline.
• Identify and address story problems in any stage of the writing process from outline to finished draft.
• Identify characters that are out of balance with the story, why they are out of balance, and what must be done to realign them or omit them.
• Identify the true motivations behind any character’s dialogue and actions.

CONTENTS:
Introduction: The WHY vs. the WHAT of story
Act One: Born Identity vs. False Identity and Hero’s Departure
Act Two A: Hero’s Descent, Plan A, Point of No Return, and Bonding
Act Two B: Hero’s Eclipse and Ascent
Act Three: Abyss, Gauntlet, Hidden Truth, Deliverance, and Return

“I heartily recommend this series on storytelling structure based on Genesis One. I use it myself. If you buy it in combination with my “Screenwriting for Christians,” you will have an unbeatable combination to help you write stories with an incarnate Christian worldview.”
— Brian Godawa