Monday, January 3, 2011

January 1 Creation, Eden, Sin

Genesis 1:1 - 3:24

I remember a time in elementary school, where for a time, I learned not to think. It was during a religion or science class in Catholic school when I raised my hand, and asked these questions, “What about evolution? Couldn’t God have created in that way? I must have just watched Inherit The Wind and was feeling a bit feisty.

After being berated and humiliated by my nun for asking such a question (I think she was biased), I began to silently question many things I was being taught. Some were about God Himself, but mostly they were about religious traditions. It wasn’t until I was 26 and began reading the Bible for myself that some of the answers to those questions began to take shape. I emphasize some, because like a woman who doesn’t necessarily like to reveal her age, God chooses to keep some revelations to Himself. And, no, I am not comparing God to a vain woman.

When reading the Bible, I have learned to approach the text with great humility. We would be wise to pray asking God to give us guidance, and to check our biases and traditions at the door… but not our brains. 40 percent of the Old Testament is narrative. That means that it is written in story style. Genesis is the retelling of historical events of the past. While interpreting, one to needs to be careful not to read into the text something that wasn’t intended. I recommend this book. How to Read the Bible for All Its WorthContrary to what I was led to believe by the spiritual leaders of my youth, the Bible is accessible.
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Genesis chapter 1 is the account of the creation of the heavens and earth and everything in them. There are three primary interpretations of Creation prevalent in the Christian community today. They are; Young Earth Creationism, Old Earth Creationism, and Theistic Evolution. You can read about them in more detail here. How Did God Create The Universe?

For the record, I tip the scale towards Old Earth Creationism for one reason that I can’t get past. “God created human beings in His own image. In the image of God He created them; male and female he created them.” This is something so unique and precious. It is so wonderful, that I can’t even fathom what it all entails to be created in the image of an all Sovereign God. We are created to reflect His glory! God created by His spoken word, and He has the power and authority to have done so any way He chooses. We can have opinions, intellectual discussions, and scientific discoveries, which are profitable, but in the end, I think we’ll see creation to be evermore spectacular than our finite minds can ever conjure up.


A few years ago, I attended a conference where Dr.Richard Swenson was one of the guest speakers. His presentation on the scientific intricacy’s of the human body and the universe increased my faith in God’s creative majesty. He presented interesting facts, like this one about nuetrinos. Some prefer to continue the raging battle, but I find science and faith to be unlikely allies in seeing the majesty and sovereignty of God. Personally, I think the question of how God created has caused too much division and is distracting from the true intention of the writer of Genesis, which was to proclaim that God IS the Creator “In the beginning, God...” Carl Sagan said, “The cosmos is all there is, all there ever was, and all there ever will be.” The biblical text emphatically denies this claim, and declares God as eternal, present before the created universe, and separate from His creation. This reality should stir in us worship and wonder at His majesty and sovereignty.

This next portion of the daily reading, Genesis chapter 3, is the story of the fall of humanity. God placed the man and woman in the most perfect environment, and they became the first dysfunctional family. In a narrative, you will find three parts…characters, plot and plot resolution. In the Biblical story, the main character, or protagonist is God, the antagonist is Satan, and God’s people are the other main characters, or agonists. Simply put, the plot is that God created people as His image bearers and creation stewards. The enemy persuaded them to bear his image instead, and the resolution is the great story of redemption. This story of redemption is God’s unwavering pursuit of mankind, to bring them back into fellowship, to reflect His image once again, and to eventually redeem them, along with all of His creation in the new heaven and earth. It is an astounding, epic, utterly true and crucially important story!

I think it’s time to worship Him!



Be Blessed…and stay tuned!

2 comments:

  1. I love that you are writing!

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  2. Thanks Rob! I have so much to learn, and the personal deadline is interesting to say the least.

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