The Bible actually extends beyond the realm of religion. It has had immeasurable impact as a work of literature, and on our culture as a whole. It has shaped our ideas of the meaning of life: hope and despair, love and hate, loyalty and betrayal, and good and evil.

How did the Bible make such an impact? The stories in the Bible emerged from ancient and oral traditions. The prophets and Holy Men who roamed the Middle East were seeking the truth and preaching God's word, as they perceived it. The stories were passed on from generation to generation.

In the case of the Old Testament, the stories were passed on as tale- tellers centuries before the Phoenicians invented writing. Each tale- teller would find a child of about eleven-thirteen, and start telling them the stories to memorize, therefore being able to continue the tradition and keep the stories alive.

In listening or reading these captivating stories, we learn about the many key players in world history, in which Moses is one of the main characters. He's mostly known as the man who received the Ten Commandments, twice from God. The first time he came down from the mountain with the tablets, he saw his people worshipping a golden false idol, which they had made. In his anger he threw down the tablets shattering them into pieces.

There are more books about Moses than anyone except Jesus.

After forty years of leading his rebellious people through the desert, they finally came to their destination. However, God would not allow Moses to cross the Jordan with his people.

Creation stories have been a central feature of different cultures world- wide. The stories in Genesis have much in common with the origin myths of other cultures. In one ancient Egyptian myth, the God, Khum makes humans out of clay, and then breathes life into them. This is similar to the story of creation in the Bible that says, God formed man out of the earth itself and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. The big difference between the early stories of Genesis and the creation myths of most other ancient cultures - prior to the birth of Judaism, is most people believed in a whole group of Gods. But in the Bible there is only one Almighty God in charge of the heavens and the earth, and everything in-between, on and under. We are also told in the Ten Commandments, "Thou shall have no other Gods before me."

In every culture, in every time, man has trusted to capture the face of the Almighty. We don't know if anyone has gotten close, but the image of God introduced in the first chapters of Genesis remains incredibly vivid - even in this day and age.

The first eleven chapters of the book of Genesis, which includes the stories of creation and the flood, deal with mankind in general. The remaining chapters talk about a single people, the Israelites, and the great patriarchs of the culture. The first of these patriarchs is Abraham.

In the story of Abraham, we learn about a man's need for faith, and God's expectation of sacrifice - through his story and others like it. We learn our faith is what allows us to endure our sacrifices.

At 99 years old, Abraham does not have any children, as his wife Sarah cannot have children. But he continues to talk to God and take God at his word that, "Kings shall come out of him." Later, when God's promise begets Abraham a son, God calls upon Abraham to make the greatest sacrifice of all. The son he has waited for, for so long is to be delivered to God as a sacrifice. Abraham does not hesitate. He walks with his son to the alter where he lays him upon it; as he raises his hand to slay his son, God has mercy and stays his hand. For Abraham's obedience, he is rewarded.

In the Old Testament, we read of God's temperament and mercy. Later in the book of Genesis, God is grieved by the wickedness of humans in general. And for a moment at least, He is sorry that he has even made them. But he finds one righteous man - Noah - and decides to spare him. After the flood, God vows that He will never again "curse the ground for man's sake," even though "the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth."

Perhaps Psalm 103, describes God the best: "The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. He will not always strive with us, nor will he keep His anger forever."