Let There Be Light: What Genesis 1 Reveals About Creation

[Michie]

OLD TESTAMENT & ART: Each angel and orb in this work of Edward Burne-Jones reminds us of God’s orderly, purposeful act of creation.

Creation (Genesis 1)​

Last week, we broached the doctrine of creation by emphasizing the distinctive teaching of Judaism and Christianity: everything that exists comes from the hand of God. While the question of how God created might be open, that all that exists comes from his creative hand is foundational Judaeo-Christian insight.

The accounts of creation are found in Genesis 1 and Genesis 2-3. Note the plural: accounts. Genesis presents two accounts of creation. Genesis 1 situates the creation of man within the larger picture of the creation of the universe. Genesis 2 places the creation of man front and center.

Continued below.

Let There Be Light: What Genesis 1 Reveals About Creation

OLD TESTAMENT & ART: Each angel and orb in this work of Edward Burne-Jones reminds us of God’s orderly, purposeful act of creation.

www.ncregister.com

 

[Teofrastus]

Augustine, in "De Genesi," rejects a literal interpretation of the creation story. He suggests that God created everything simultaneously, where "the 6 days" represent logical distinctions rather than a temporal sequence. He introduces the concept of "rationes seminales" (rational seeds), namely the idea that God implanted potential forms in matter that would develop over time. Augustine argues that Genesis 1 was written in a way that ordinary people could understand, while containing deeper meanings for those who could perceive them. For example, he interprets the light on Day One as intellectual light (understanding) rather than physical light.

Unfortunately, the text has often been interpreted literally, especially among American Christian fundamentalists. This is problematic because it can then be perceived as an attempt at scientific description, which is not its purpose. At its core, it is a theological text that establishes several fundamental principles:

• God is the origin and creator of everything
• Creation is characterized by order and structure
• Creation itself is good
• Humans hold a special position in creation

These fundamental principles stand in contrast to several other religious and ideological perspectives. Many indigenous cultures, for instance, did not attribute any special status to humans. Manichaeans and Gnostics viewed creation as evil. Atheists deny God's role as the originating force of everything. Certain philosophical traditions and ancient religions, especially Mesopotamian, saw chaos as the origin of everything and order as secondary. This is illustrated in their creation stories through a "Chaoskampf" where a hero-god defeats a chaos dragon. This viewpoint was revived by Nietzsche and his followers. But in the biblical narrative, divine order comes first—chaos is the result of a deviation from this order. It is important that we maintain these biblical core principles, or else it leads to general decline.

 

[WarriorAngel]

The first thing in Genesis via my grandmothers old Bible was the earth was waste and void.


That verse alone tells us that the possibility of the earth age and previous life was to yet be discovered.

The old sun may have been decimated because we don’t know how long the light existed before earth was made.


Therefore the Lord created a new sun for the new age is most likely.


The Lord is outside of measured time…
And so is the universe itself and we are given only the knowledge of the new creation.

 

[WarriorAngel]

6 days is again not measured in time.
Because paradise was before time.

Only after the fall did anything become measured