Some school districts now require teaching the Bible. The First Amendment requires not teaching it as religious indoctrination. What approach can a teacher take? Here are some thoughts, covering just the first chapter of Genesis. I’m not a teacher and have no teaching skills, so if you’re a teacher, apply whatever adjustments might be necessary.

The translation I’m using is the New Jerusalem Bible. It seems like a pretty good translation, avoiding the problems of outdated language. Other translations should work, as long as they’re accurate.

These questions should be raised in a spirit of inquiry, not mockery. I may not be a teacher, and I’m going against the spirit of the times, but I’m confident that ridiculing people’s beliefs isn’t an effective way to educate them.

“In the beginning God created heaven and earth. Now the earth was a formless void, there was darkness over the deep, with a divine wind sweeping over the waters.”

At this point there was no light and no sun. What would the Earth have been like? What does “a formless void” mean? “Waters” are mentioned, but without a star, would they have been solid ice?

“God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. … God called light ‘day’, and darkness he called ‘night’. Evening came and morning came: the first day.”

There was no Sun until the fourth day, so how is this interpreted? Was there another light source? Why does it say he called the light day and the darkness night? Was he coining words for future humans?

“God said, ‘Let there be a vault through the middle of the waters to divide the waters in two.’ And so it was.” God made the vault, and it divided the waters under the vault from the waters above the vault. God called the vault ‘heaven’.”

What waters are being divided here? Perhaps the liquid water and the clouds? Keep in mind there is still no sun, so could water evaporate to form clouds?

“God said, ‘Let the waters under heaven come together into a single mass, and let dry land appear.’ And so it was.”

Same questions. This suggests that the Earth’s land was originally all under water. It also suggests that the water wasn’t solid ice, in spite of the lack of a star to warm the planet.

“God said, ‘Let the earth produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants, and fruit trees on earth, bearing fruit with their seed inside, each corresponding to its own species.’ And so it was.”

Again, were plants, including trees, growing without sunlight?

“God said, ‘Let there be lights in the vault of heaven to divide day from night, and let them indicate festivals, days and years. Let them be lights in the vault of heaven to shine on the earth.’ And so it was. God made the two great lights: the greater light to govern the day, the smaller light to govern the night, and the stars.”

Until this point, there were no stars in the universe, and in particular no Sun. The Earth was hurtling through empty, dark space. The existence of light is mentioned, but without identifying its source. The Sun’s stated purpose isn’t to warm the Earth, but to enable a calendar. At this point there are still no people to hold festivals. Why are those purposes mentioned without reference to the Sun’s life-enabling role?

“God said, ‘Let the waters be alive with a swarm of living creatures, and let birds wing their way above the earth across the vault of heaven.’ And so it was.”

Animal life now appears. What is the reason for this sequence? Is it saying sunlight is necessary for animals but not for plants?

“God said, ‘Let us make man in our own image, in the likeness of ourselves, and let them be masters of the fish of the sea, the birds of heaven, the cattle, all the wild animals and all the creatures that creep along the ground. God created man in the image of himself, in the image of God he created him, male and female he created them.”

What does “in the image of God” mean? Does God have a human-like appearance, or is “likeness” intended in a more abstract sense, such as the ability to think?

“God saw all he had made, and indeed it was very good. Evening came and morning came: the sixth day.”

What are these “days”? Does this chapter mean God literally made everything from the universe to Homo sapiens in a week? What was a “day” before the Sun was created?

Are there alternative readings beyond a literal account that make this narrative more comprehensible? Could it, for example, have been consciously offered as a myth? Some say the Bible is literally true throughout, in which case the account is difficult to understand. If infallibility isn’t assumed, we have to read it in the context of the scientific knowledge of the time. If we read it as mythology, then we have to look at the ancient Hebrew culture rather than science to understand it.

 
Teaching anything resembling this approach will probably get a teacher in a lot of trouble in any district that requires teaching the Bible. In principle, this is a way for teachers to follow the requirements while keeping their integrity. I can’t say whether it’s feasible. Proceed at your own risk.