Question: Greg,

My daughter is a ninth grade student in a Christian Academy and has to do a report on the Lost Books of Genesis. I have asked several ministers about the subject and they have never heard of such. I went to the Baptist, Methodist and Church of God pastors as well as asking members of the church I attend. No one seems to know of any lost books. Do you have any idea what she means by "lost books". The only thing we have found is the Babylonian Genesis, which is just a different interpretation of Genesis. Please help if you can. I would like to know for myself if there are any other books of Genesis.

Answer: Dear Susan,

Sorry, I am not aware of what’s behind this assignment. I suggest that your daughter ask her instructor for some direction – does this assignment imply the answer is to be found in orthodox history, history which is authentically documented, or in some allegation made by someone on the fringes of reality?

There are some bizarre claims that have been made about other books that claim to tell us about our origins – Immanuel Velikovsky authored several books along this line some decades ago. Supermarket checkout stand tabloids often claim that other "lost" sources have been found. Of course it seems that their credibility must be questioned as they are clearly selling sensationalism to a gullible public. I hope your daughter’s instructor does not have such a wild goose chase in mind – and that if he/she does, his/her purpose is to show his/her students that we can’t believe everything we read – that there is such a thing as verification, documentation, and true evidence.

Another thought about this project – the humans sources of Genesis have been discussed by scholars for many years, with some believing in what is called the documentary hypothesis – that anonymous sources they identify with the letters J – E – D – P – each supposedly representing an individual who made a particular contribution, with the general consensus being that Moses was the editor who put all the contributions together. Some who hold to this theory believe that humans and humans alone, apart from God’s inspiration, handed down what we read in the book of Genesis. Others generally believe this theory, but believe that God used these sources, and that the book that we now know as Genesis is inspired by God.

Others reject this idea all together and contend that God directly revealed all of the material to Moses, and that that God’s inspiration to Moses was direct, with no human sources involved, inspired by God or not.

Hope this helps – all the best with the assignment (it’s parents who often learn just as much as our children with these projects!)

In Christ,

Greg Albrecht