I have no professional theological training other than a minor in biblical studies during my university education and exposure to many wonderful teachers and ministers during my high school years at Western Christian College at Weyburn, Saskatchewan, Canada in the 1960s and 70s. My upbringing in the church was principally as a fundamentalist Christian but I have lightened up a bit over the passing years.
I started writing this book as a blog – it was a personal challenge to see if I could come up with some thoughts about each chapter in Genesis. But soon it became more of a commentary with a personal life application. It also ended up becoming a motivational exercise that has made my forced retirement more endurable and useful. I have never before studied Genesis to the extent that I did here. The number of hours I spent on each chapter, researching and writing was only a few but far exceeded the number spent in my past 65 years. It was such an enjoyable project that I am seriously considering beginning a layman commentary on another Bible book – perhaps a New Testament book.
Speculation: questioning and postulating is one form of my meditation on the Word – I think we all speculate unconsciously every time we read scripture when we picture what the characters may have looked and acted like, their motivations, aspirations and behaviors.
Sources of information: I used online commentaries from Matthew Henry, James Coffman, Adam Clarke, and others. It was somewhat disappointing to read how much discussion they devoted to infighting and criticism of others opinions and preaching, but their expertise was greatly appreciated and respected. I also researched archaeological sites (websites) for relevant material and I do have an abiding passion for old stuff. One of my most memorable vacations was a month spent in Israel living in youth hostels and traveling around the country by bus and walking to investigate Bible locations. I rode a bicycle around the Sea of Galilee and discovered that there really is only one place the demon possessed pigs could have run off a cliff into the sea. Archaeological evidences continue to accrue year by year that show that the historical accuracy of the Bible is irrefutable.
A note about the artwork. The pictures are my original paintings, usually inspired or painted from a famous artwork, and then run through goart.fotor.com, which is an an online art manipulation tool that allows one to mimic other art styles.
Finally, I hope readers of this book will be motivated to write their own layman commentary after witnesssing my feeble efforts.
God Bless!
