CREATION: The divine act of bringing the universe and all that inhabits it into existence. The biblical presentation of creation is neither scientific nor monolithic, but testifies to the beauty and complexity of this foundational event in ancient Israel’s consciousness.
John E. Anderson, “Creation,” in The Lexham Bible Dictionary, ed. John D. Barry et al. (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).
INTRODUCTION
I began my day “work” today by reading and sorting through emails. As a subscriber to LOGOS Bible software, I get a few freebies every month, and this one included a free book titled Knowing Our Faith: A Guide for Believers, Seekers, and Christian Communities, by Justo L. González. I quickly skimmed the preview to see if it was something I would find useful and found this text:
On the other hand, those who insist that the world was created in six days, and that this is the meaning of the doctrine of creation, should probably go back and read the Bible again. It’s clear that at the beginning of Genesis there are two stories of creation that coincide in their theological meaning, but not in matters such as the order of the creation of things. In chapter 1 we hear of the six days of creation. In this story, the last thing that God makes, after all the animals, is human beings, man and woman at the same time. But in chapter 2, there is no word about the six days of creation, and there’s a different order. In this story, God creates first the man and then the animals to serve him as company, and finally the woman, who is to be the man’s perfect companion. It will not do to claim that one of these stories is correct and the other isn’t. Nor should we, as many have done, take a bit from each of the two stories, forget what doesn’t fit our scheme, and then call this “the biblical account of creation.” What we really must do is to discern the teaching or central message of both stories, the teaching on which both agree. When we follow this path, we see that both stories categorically affirm that all that exists is created by God. It is not the case that some things are made by God and others by an evil spirit or a lesser god. And since God is good, all that exists is good. This is particularly underscored with a repetition in the first story: every time God finishes something, we are told that “God saw that it was good.”
Gonzalez is a well-known Methodist theologian, and I find it disturbing that he, like so many, questions the literal six (6)- day creation. I get that it is hard for us mere humans to wrap our finite minds around that. No, more problematic is his questioning God’s Holy Word by declaring that Genesis 1 and 2 contradict each other ( 1 Corinthians 14:33) and Hebrews 6:18 ).
My response is to quote him: “You should probably go back and read the Bible again.” Genesis 1 is clearly a logical progression or chronology of Creation. When we flip to Genesis 2, chronology is put aside for a more detailed account of creation. The Bible does not, nor has it ever, contradicted itself. This has been the church’s stance, from the beginning. Questioning the Biblical account of creation did not begin until the late 18th century, when archaeological discoveries and atheist scientists began to advocate alternative explanations for creation. It must be noted that all these alternatives are theories; none can be proven, nor do they have supporting evidence as the Biblical account does.
Creation Series by Todd Linn, PhD
The following is a teaching series from a friend and Pastor. The Biblical Basis of Creation is the one that is most associated with today’s main topic.
Creation Introduction
Five Views of Creation
Biblical Basis of Creation
Why I Don’t Believe in Secular Evolutionary Theory
Creation Review
IN-DEPTH STUDY
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