Two Kinds of People

You hear it or read it frequently: A pundit, raconteur or comedian will say, "There are two kinds of people in the world --." Is this Genesis text suggesting the same thing?

Early 20th century humorist Robert Benchley once proposed what he called "The Law of Distinction," which goes something like this: "There are two kinds of people in the world: those who believe there are two kinds of people and those who don't." We love how Benchley pokes fun at our human tendency to perceive the world in dichotomous, Manichean terms of black versus white, good versus evil, Republican versus Democrat, Beatles lovers versus Elvis lovers .... Well, you get the picture.

We're really good at putting ourselves and others into categories, often with disastrous results. We all know how "us versus them" thinking based on false assumptions and stereotypes, can drive a wedge between people that can lead to anything from ridicule to outright warfare. We humans aren't very good at this kind of categorizing because our knowledge and perception are so limited.

But God has no such limitations, and the story of Scripture is the story about how God is distinct from humans, but also a...