THE CREATION STORY

Greetings. This is a personal project of mine dedicated to my journey as a struggling Christian. I’m attempting to gain insight and understanding of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. Please keep in mind that I’m not a theologian, nor do I possess great religious knowledge or insight. This is simply my humble attempt to understand the teachings and become a better Christian and this is really the only way I know how to. I plan on doing this every two weeks or so.

Thank you very much and, let’s begin.

The creation story begins in Genesis 1:1–2. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.”

Already, we begin by demonstrating that even before the earth existed, he was. “The earth was without form and void.” God’s existence as an eternal being preceded the earth, the heavens and the universe. Therefore, by definition, he exists outside of time, space and matter, which makes him eternal.

Today, we have several creation stories proposed by several proponents of belief systems, scientific or religious. One of the most widely believed proposals is the creation of the Big Bang held primarily by astronomers as well as atheists and agnostics. They argue that the creation of the universe began as an extremely hot and dense singularity, which then expanded rapidly. After this, the universe began to expand and cool which led to particles grouping together to form atoms. This inevitably led to the creation of stars and galaxies which led to the creation of planets, including our solar system and the planets within.

The Bible however, points out that there was a cause that sparked the creation of the earth and the heavens, and that cause was this..

“Let there be light”

This simple utterance by God sparked the creation of the heavens and the earth. It is important to note that emphasis is laid on the utterance, because it signifies the “Word.” This term is significant because it foreshadows events to come in the future, but for now, let us proceed. Now, whether or not the creation story took place in merely six days is truly anyone’s guess, but, at least for me, it doesn’t really matter.

After God created the earth and all within, he rested on the seventh day. Note that the word rest in this context does not necessarily mean to “relax the body” in a physical sense. It is merely a representation of God completing his work. He then blessed the seventh day and sanctified it. To sanctify means to make something sacred and holy. This implies that the seventh day was set for a sacred and religious purpose.

Already, we reach a point of contention amongst believers. The primary argument comes from whether it is holy for Christians to sanctify the seventh day of the week or the first day of the week. While many Christians from various denominations sanctify Sunday as the first day of the week, the issue of whether it should be the seventh day, Saturday, is not the focus of this essay. To add to this, I believe that this question is addressed later in the Bible. Therefore, we will set it aside and proceed.

God’s most important creation in this story was a being “made in his image.” This being, was man. As verse 27 says: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” After creating both male and female, he blessed them and said to them “Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth and subdue it…” As the statement implies, he gave both male and female dominion over the earth and provided food for them through the fowl of the air, the beast of the earth and the seeds of the world.

Now, we head to Chapter 2 which serves as the second act of this story.

Chapter 2 is a more detailed look into the creation of man, woman and the foreshadowing of the events that will lead to the fall of man. In verse 7, man was formed of the dust of the ground and received the breath of life from God which made him a living soul. The term soul is important because it distinguishes the difference between how we use and perceive the terms spirit, soul and body. According to this verse, the soul is the aggregate of man’s being. It is the combination of the physical body and the breath of life.

This chapter also establishes the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil which is crucial for this creation story. After the creation of this tree, God commands man not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, for “in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” This is God’s second primary commandment to man and is the first to establish consequences. It is here that we begin to delve into the questions surrounding this sequence of events. After all, isn’t knowledge a good thing? Why should man be punished for simply seeking knowledge? We shall explore these questions as the story progresses.

After this, God causes a deep sleep to fall upon man, who, at this point, is named Adam, takes one of his ribs and uses it to create woman. This woman is created to be a help mate for man and to be his companion. Verse 23–24 emphasizes this by saying “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife; and they shall be one flesh.” The verse afterwards also states that they were not ashamed of their nakedness. This can be taken as both literal and symbolic as, both Adam and Eve, the newly created woman, are sinless and blameless and as such, lay bare in the eyes of God.

We reach chapter 3 which serves as the climax and crescendo of this creation story. This chapter also serves to introduce the primary antagonist and details the fall of man. Let’s begin.

The chapter begins with introducing the serpent. It is made clear in verse 1 of chapter 3 that this creature is “more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made.” The beast approaches Eve and questions her on God’s commandment concerning the tree of knowledge of good and evil. She responds in verse 2–3 saying; “We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden; But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.” The serpent, however, intercepts this by pointing out that “God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.”

The question now is this, why would God punish man for seeking knowledge? Isn’t it good that man should seek knowledge?

What the tree of knowledge of good and evil alludes to isn’t simply just the knowledge of good and evil, but the moral authority upon which one can decide on what is good and evil. The serpent says, “Ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” This indicates that eating of the fruit would essentially give both Adam and Eve the ability to decide for themselves what they deem morally good or evil. This contradicts the will of the creator who, by extension of being the creator, is the supreme moral authority on all things good and evil.

Listening to the serpent, Eve eats of the fruit and gives her husband to eat as well. After consuming the fruit, their eyes are opened and their nakedness is revealed to them, which forces them to sew fig leaves together and hide from the presence of God. Much like earlier, this can be viewed as both literal and symbolic.

One could say that this was inevitable, which would imply that God was aware that this would occur. After all, he is eternal. So, why would he create the conditions necessary for this betrayal to occur? Why didn’t he intervene when Eve was being deceived by the serpent? My best explanation falls to the concept of free will. When God created man and woman, he blessed them with the gift of free will as a symbol of his eternal love for them. However, with this gift comes unforeseen consequences. The ability to freely choose (being free moral agents) also creates the possibility of evil. This possibility is manipulated by the serpent who twists God’s words to affirm that eating of the fruit is in the best interests of man and woman.

Well, why didn’t God intervene? Why did he create the conditions necessary for this betrayal to occur? This is mostly likely to ascertain that the love he has for his creation is reciprocated as well. Adam and Eve might not have been aware that their actions were sinful because they had no knowledge of good and evil before eating the fruit, but they were aware that God had explicitly said not to eat of the fruit. Whether or not they knew of the gravity of their actions made no difference.

Let us proceed with the climax of this story.

After the betrayal, God meets Adam and Eve and learns of their betrayal (note that God, being eternal is already aware of their betrayal. This statement is simply used to keep the flow of this essay) He questions them on their actions and both Adam and Eve avoid responsibility for their actions. Adam blames Eve by saying “The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree and I did eat” Note the almost condescending way he speaks.

“The woman whom thou gavest to be with me.”

Not only does Adam avoid accountability and responsibility, he seems to be implying that God himself is indirectly responsible for this, after all, “HE GAVE HER TO HIM.” This act continues to be a trait consistent in man even till this day.

Afterwards, God confronts Eve and she too refuses to take accountability and instead directly blames the serpent saying; “The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.”

Disappointed by their acts of disobedience, God punishes mankind as well as the serpent. Firstly, addressing the serpent, he states that “thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I put enmity between thee and the woman and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head and thou shalt bruise his heel.” This is a very interesting statement as it seems to imply that the creature in question is a snake. To be candid, I am not sure and this isn’t really the phrase that interests me. What I find very interesting is the second half of this statement. “I shall put enmity between thee and the woman and between thy seed and her seed.”

I believe that this foreshadows the eternal conflict between the descendants of Adam and Eve and this creature. This essentially foreshadows this beast as the eternal antagonist of mankind and the obstacle that must be defeated. The second half of that statement also implies a climax of this conflict that culminates in a sort of joint infliction of pain. We shall discuss this as this series continues.

God then faces Eve and punishes her saying “I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children…” I think this statement is very self explanatory, however, it is the second part of this verse that intrigues me. God states that “Thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.”

What exactly does that statement mean?

The New Living Translation translates this verse as “You will desire to control your husband, but he will rule over you.” This seemed to reaffirm the belief that a power struggle will always occur in a relationship between a man and a woman. However, almost every other translation, including KJV reiterates the former statement from the latter. Perhaps, this indicates a problem with the translation, but no matter.

My estimation is that this verse infers to the nature of women in relationships to become completely submissive to the man they enter into a deep relationship with, particularly those who exhibit traits they find attractive or desirable. I cannot speak for women because I am not a woman, however, generally speaking, it seems to be the case that women are innately attracted to men who exude a certain sense of superiority. This is the case whether it be in the form of height, wealth, wisdom, mental/physical strength or emotional strength. From an evolutionary standpoint, this also seems to be the case as women desire men who are in positions where they can effectively protect and provide for them.

This however, effectively serves as the punishment because women inevitably fall into the trap of establishing the man as the moral authority. This is a deviation from the will of God who is the supreme moral authority. It is also crucial to note that the punishment does seem to fit the crime. When Eve took the fruit of good and evil, she did not go to God to inquire for his opinion or for his permission, she instead went to Adam and persuaded him to eat of it as well.

After God punishes Eve, God then faces Adam and says “Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life….In sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.”

Note that God emphasizes that Adam listened to his wife. I do not think God is saying that Adam was in the wrong for listening to his wife, however, the point is that he should have consulted God first. This is especially the case considering Adam was God’s very first unique creation. God created Eve to be a helpmate to Adam, but Adam was the very first being to be given the breath of life. This sin Adam committed also applies to Eve as well and this trait that Adam exhibits is also very similar to another important figure in the Biblical narrative, but that is for another day.

What both Adam and Eve have exhibited through their actions is an adherence to what they view as good and evil. They, regardless of God’s instructions, decided for themselves on what was morally good or evil. They, in effect, used their free will and created the first sin.

Heartbroken, God sends them away from the garden of Eden and places a flaming sword to keep the way of the tree of life.

This effectively kick starts the Biblical narrative. It establishes the protagonists of this story, Adam, Eve and their descendants. It also establishes the ultimate antagonist of the story, the beast and establishes the central struggle the protagonists will face, which is sin. At the same time, it hints at and foreshadows a great climax that will serve as the culmination of this narrative.

Thank you for reading and I will see you again.