[fgitonga]

Your contest isn't new because it has existed over the ages. The bible exists beyond doubts and it's the proven living word of God. In the years 1200 - 1000BC there was a great spiritual awakening among the jews and as such, there arose a period of judges. These were spiritual leaders, priests and prophets who warned Israelites of their wicked ways which were destroying their relationship with God. There was nothing like a collection of the torah untill in exile in 587 - 539BC. Well, the bible stories begin with King Josiah wanting to reform the jerusalem temple and there by finding a lost manuscript which guides him.

The Israelites wanted to know why they were who they are (chosen of people of God) and their relationship with God. So Genesis is part of an explanation of who they were and why they were in exile. In actual sense, most of the bible stories are adoptions from diverse communities existing then. They may never have existed in the first case yet they teach us alot in who God is to us.