REB said:
"One thing we must remember when discussing the Old Testament is that it was verbally passed down several generations before it was written. Then it was written in Hebrew. Not only do things get change through verbal passing down, things get changed when things are translated.

J-- I agree that this can happen, even though the Bible translators had checks and counter checks in the form of word counts and instructions not to change the meaning of the sentences.

REB-- "That being said, I do feel the OT is based on actual events. For example, Noah's flood. I think this was some great local flood. Either from rain, or possibly the filling of the Black sea or Mediterranean basin (Both of which have been fairly dry in the past).
When the OT talks about the world being flooded I believe it is talking about Noah's world- everything he knew- and not the whole Earth."

J-- You may be right at that.
Same as you, I am not a Biblical Scholar, I only have a casual interest and ideas in the writings that are further than the genesis.
I have studied the words in genesis as thoroughly as I can and have come up with a deeper understanding of the structure and behavior of nature.
Like I said before: I suspect that the word earth as mentioned in the Bible and spelled with a small "e" instead of a capital E, means that the meaning intended for the word is the same as the modern scientific word mass or rather the essence that mass is composed of.

Like you said, the writing in the book did get it right, the Earth was without form when it was nothing more than atomic particles or molecules in a nebula, however, at that stage the atoms or molecules were moving and had energy, therefore they were not "void" as it mentions in the book.

In my opinion the word void being used after the fact that the earth was created, implies that there was no energy or motion of any kind involved in the created earth/mass.
In fact this mass or earth was not exactly like the mass we are familiar with.
Since the information is about the beginning of the universe, this earth/mass had to be something that filled the totality of space, and in that sense it would be something similar to the aether idea.

After this earth/mass started moving and light energy was created then this earth/mass became the mass that we know today.

REB-- "I have been in a couple of bad floods and you do feel like your whole world is in ruins."

J-- You did survive and so did Noah

REB-- "The New Testament can be taken more literally, for it was written on paper soon after the events it covers, and we have several sources confirming the same story.
I am not a Biblical Scholar, but I have studied it some. I find it interesting that the Apostles didn't agree on how method of getting Jesus teachings out. I believe this is why we have several Christian churches. I think this was planned by Jesus. There is not one mold that fits all. This way, we get several different presentations to hear the same Word."

J-- Interesting view, I never looked at it from that perspective.

REB-- "I think the whole thing about eating from the tree of knowledge is a warning. It is a warning that Knowledge can give you wonderful things (Cures for illnesses), but it can also give you evil things (Weapons).
Be careful with knowledge and use it for good,
That is my take. I don't take it literally.

I agree that knowledge can be used for good or bad, in fact, I believe that if knowledge is not combined with wisdom it can be very bad.

"Knowledge is happiness, because to have knowledge— broad, deep knowledge— is to know true ends from false, and lofty things from low. To know the thoughts and deeds that have marked man's progress is to feel the great heart-throbs of humanity through the centuries; and if one does not feel in these pulsations a heavenward striving, one must indeed be deaf to the harmonies of life.