Happenings 16/06/22

One of the things I encourage is book reviews! Stan Yee has recently read a book which has some pretty intriguing thoughts on the early knowledge of God in Chinese history. Here is his review:

Genesis and the Mystery Confucius Couldn’t Solve
Ethel R Nelson / Richard E Broadberry
Book Review by Stan Yee 12/06/2022

The author discusses the significance of the mysterious Border Sacrifice which had been carried on annually by the Chinese Emperor for 40 centuries, from the first dynasty in 2205 BC until 1911. In 1420 emperors continued the sacrifice in the Temple of Heaven, built on the border of Beijing, to worship the god ShangTi.
Characters in ancient Chinese writings reveal that this god was in fact the Hebrew god of Adam and Eve. The author presents pictograms from Chinese words to prove that the origins of these writings were about creation written by the descendants of Noah.
There is presented in detailed pictograms the creation of Adam, then Eve, and describes the Garden of Eden. The book connects God and Adam and Eve by translating the pictograms. The temptation by Satan and the Fall of Man is also shown in the pictograms, and the promise of God to provide redemption through the Seed of the Woman.

The book concludes with the genealogies of Genesis 5-10 which records the descendants of Adam. This includes the Flood at about 2348 BC and later the Tower of Babel at about 2247 BC to scatter the inhabitants of Earth. The author notes that the timing is just before the first dynasty in 2205 BC. Confucius records that a ruler named Shun sacrificed to ShangTi in 2230 BC.
Five generations were to pass between the Flood and the Tower of Babel, Noah, Shem, Arphaxad, Salah and Eber, who would offer sacrifices to God in anticipation of the sacrifice of the sinless Jesus the Lamb of God. The author argues that if Adam lived 930 years, and Noah lived 350 years after the Flood, and his father Lamech was 56 years old when Adam died, it is possible for the creation story to have passed by word of mouth by only two intermediaries – Lamech and Noah. The author further argues that it is entirely possible therefore for the recording of Genesis by Moses, a descendant of Eber, the father of Peleg, to have had the same creation story handed down some 700 years later.

Thanks, Stan!

Murray