In the first chapter of the Bible, we learned that God created the heavens and the earth. The second chapter--similar in many ways to the first--is a more detailed account of the creation of man.
Before I begin my study, however, I have to stress the importance of the first few chapters of Genesis. They are, after all, the foundation of the entire book and explain how we came to be. But if we question that account, if we don’t believe that God created us, then the rest of the Bible is essentially meaningless. As Ken Ham, president and founder of Answers in Genesis, explained: “If the first book in the Bible can’t be trusted…why should any other?” How can we accept God’s promises to us, the miracles He performed or His greatest act--Jesus conquering death for our sins--if we can’t even accept that He created us?
I know most people disregard the creation account because it conflicts with scientific theories of evolution. I understand this reluctance because I, too, was brought up believing that we evolved from lower life forms. Not only was my father a scientist, but I worked as an aviation weather forecaster for the U.S. Navy for five years. Science was my life. But surprisingly, it was my scientific work that convinced me that God had created the universe. I won’t go into the details of storm tracks, wind patterns and ocean currents (the Answers in Genesis site is an excellent resource), but I will say that the perfect harmony in nature was enough to convince me.
Also, I had a moment of clarity while studying my Bible one day: Darwinists believe that similar DNA structure proves that mammals, for instance, have a common ancestor; couldn’t similar DNA also prove a common creator? Look at the great works of art throughout history, for example. Most people can identify a Van Gogh, a Dali or a Monet because each respective piece, although different, had similar traits and qualities associated with the artist who created it. It makes perfect sense to me that life forms on earth should have similar traits as well.
But science aside, I also knew I had to accept the Genesis account for another, more important reason. If I wanted to be a faithful, responsible Christian, I couldn’t simply pick and choose the parts of the Bible I liked or disliked. Being a Christian, as I mentioned in an earlier post, means accepting the entire Bible as the true, inspired Word of God. Disregarding the creation account, to me, was akin to calling God a liar.
Now whether God created the earth in seven 24-hour days, or whether each “day” of creation lasted 1 billion years, I don’t know. I just know that God (the Intelligent Designer) created the heavens, the earth and all mankind. I also know that a growing number of scientists are coming to the same conclusion.
***
Chapter 2, as mentioned earlier, gives a more detailed account of the creation of man. We learn that God formed man from the dust of the ground, then breathed the breath of life into him. The Lord then created the Garden of Eden and filled it with beautiful, fruit-bearing plants. The Lord told the man (who was not yet named): “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden--except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you will surely die.” The Lord then brought all the animals and creatures of the earth for man to name, but the Lord recognized that man still did not have a suitable helper. So He caused the man to fall into a deep sleep, took a part of the man (most translations use the word rib, but others say “a part of his side”) and formed the woman. She became his “bone from bone, flesh from flesh.” Verse 24 explains: “This is why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are joined into one.”
One aspect of this story has confused many people, Christians included. Chapter 1 states that the Lord made animals before He made man. Chapter 2, however, says that God made man, and then “formed from the ground all the wild animals and all the birds of the sky” for man to name. It seems like a contradiction of sorts.
I think the “error” can be easily explained in one of two ways. My friend Lizzie pointed out that with the addition of one word--had--the sentence makes perfect sense. “So the Lord God (HAD) formed from the ground all the wild animals and all the birds of the sky. He brought them to the man…” The sentence, therefore, could be referring to the animals God had made previously. Another possibility is that because the Garden of Eden was formed specifically as a special place for man to live (and somewhat separate from the rest of the earth), God formed a new set of the animals he had already created (outside of Eden) for Adam to name. These animals that the Lord formed after man would live inside the Garden, while the animals God had formed previously, lived outside the Garden. I don’t know if this theory of mine has any validity, but it’s something that came to me as I read this chapter.
An important aspect of Chapter 2 concerns the Lord’s warning to the man, regarding the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He warns the man that if he chooses to eat the fruit, he will lose the right to live. The key here is that the Lord gave man a choice: life or death, obedience or sin. As we will learn in Chapter 3, man chose to sin, to disobey God. Therefore, he chose death (as a punishment of his sin) and a life of pain and suffering. God still gives us a choice, thousands and thousands of years later: do we choose to follow and live for Him, or do we choose to disobey Him and follow the world and all its evil? Sadly, most people choose the world. No amount of “evolution” has relieved us of our sinful natures.
The last part of this chapter--the creation of the woman--establishes the relationship that God wants men and women to have. When we marry, we are to become one, just as Adam and Eve were bone from bone, flesh from flesh. It is the reason the Lord hates divorce (Malachi 2:16), and why He honors marriage (Hebrews 13:4).
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Genesis 1 (Creation)
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
The first line of the Bible is arguably the most important, for it establishes two essential facts about God.
First, if God created the universe, then He is clearly separate from the universe and everything in it. This is important because belief in pantheism--the idea that God is within each of us and that we are a part of God--is growing, especially now that Oprah is endorsing this exact belief. But the Hebrew word for “created” (as used in this sentence) means to construct something out of nothing, or to fill (something that is empty). It is impossible to create (out of nothing) something that is part of the creator and already exists. I can’t create my own leg, for example, because it is a part of me and already exists, just as I do. The idea is absurd. So if God created the universe, and everything in it, then He is clearly not a part of it, and it is not a part of Him.
Second, if God created the universe, then He has the ability to control everything within it. Just as an inventor knows how--and why--every part of his invention works and knows how to fix those parts when they break, God knows exactly how everything in the universe works--from the revolutions of the planets, to the tides of the oceans and the jet streams in the sky. And if He knows how and why everything works, then He also has the ability to fix and alter things for the better--in the world, and in our own lives. Nothing is hopeless or impossible for Him, which means that we can take any problem, any hurt and any concern, and we can know--absolutely--that God can “fix it.”
And because we know that God is not a part of us or within us, we also know--absolutely--that we, alone, can’t “fix things” without God’s help. We need to turn to Him, just as a child needs to turn to his parents for advice and help.
Before I discuss the creation of man (the second most important aspect of Genesis 1) here is a quick summary of God’s creations:
Day 1: Light
Day 2: Sky and water
Day 3: Sea and land
Day 4: Sun, moon and stars
Day 5: Fish and birds (although I’ve read that the original translation was not birds, but “flying creatures” which could encompass things like Pterodactyls.)
Day 6: Animals and human beings
Day 7: God rested
I know some people will look at this and question how God created light before He created the sun and the moon. The answer, I think, lies in quantum physics, a relatively new branch of science that examines the earth at the sub-atomic level. (My father taught physics at the NJ Institute of Technology, and he had a particular interest in Quantum physics.) Light, quantum physicists discovered, has an interesting quality: it is neither a wave nor a particle, but has characteristics of both. They call this the wave-particle duality. This means that while it acts a wave--in the sense that we look at the sun and “see” the waves of light coming towards the earth, it also exists independently as a particle (like a tiny particle of dust). So it is entirely possible that God created particles of light at the sub-atomic level on the first day, then gave it wave qualities when he created the sun and the stars on the fourth day to “mark off the seasons, days and years.” (Genesis 1: 14)
Versus 26-28 describe the creation of man, in which God says, “Let us make man (human beings) in our image, to be like us.” This is a powerful statement, again, for a couple of reasons.
First, God uses the word “us,” which is the first reference to the trinity: God the Father, Jesus the son and the Holy Spirit. This is made evident by the fact that the word used in this sentence for God--Elohim--is plural, yet it is used with singular verb forms, adjectives and pronouns. (http://www.hebrew4christians.com/).
Second, God says that humans are to be created in His image. Some people think this means that our physical appearance is similar to that of God, but most scholars interpret it to mean that we can relate to His feelings: happiness, joy, sadness, anger, jealousy, etc. In this way, we should never feel bad about our feelings; it’s the motive behind those feelings that should concern us!
(Incidentally, elsewhere in the Bible, God refers to creating humans in His likeness, which means we were given a “like” role: just as He has dominion over the heavens, we have dominion over the earth. And I thank my good friend Annie for that insight.)
Another conclusion I came to after reading this sentence is that His love for us is more than I can ever understand. A parent loves a child, for example, but parents don’t have a choice as to what that child is going to look like or how the child will develop. Likewise, an artist creates and loves his work, but that inanimate piece of work will never love the artist in return or be able to thank the artist for creating it. God, therefore, is so much more than a parent or an artist, just as we are so much more than a child or a painting. We are the beautiful children He created, and that relationship is something that many people find difficult to understand. I know I struggle to understand that type of love.
But I also know that my knowledge is limited, and I realize that I don’t have to understand everything to know that God loves me.
The first line of the Bible is arguably the most important, for it establishes two essential facts about God.
First, if God created the universe, then He is clearly separate from the universe and everything in it. This is important because belief in pantheism--the idea that God is within each of us and that we are a part of God--is growing, especially now that Oprah is endorsing this exact belief. But the Hebrew word for “created” (as used in this sentence) means to construct something out of nothing, or to fill (something that is empty). It is impossible to create (out of nothing) something that is part of the creator and already exists. I can’t create my own leg, for example, because it is a part of me and already exists, just as I do. The idea is absurd. So if God created the universe, and everything in it, then He is clearly not a part of it, and it is not a part of Him.
Second, if God created the universe, then He has the ability to control everything within it. Just as an inventor knows how--and why--every part of his invention works and knows how to fix those parts when they break, God knows exactly how everything in the universe works--from the revolutions of the planets, to the tides of the oceans and the jet streams in the sky. And if He knows how and why everything works, then He also has the ability to fix and alter things for the better--in the world, and in our own lives. Nothing is hopeless or impossible for Him, which means that we can take any problem, any hurt and any concern, and we can know--absolutely--that God can “fix it.”
And because we know that God is not a part of us or within us, we also know--absolutely--that we, alone, can’t “fix things” without God’s help. We need to turn to Him, just as a child needs to turn to his parents for advice and help.
Before I discuss the creation of man (the second most important aspect of Genesis 1) here is a quick summary of God’s creations:
Day 1: Light
Day 2: Sky and water
Day 3: Sea and land
Day 4: Sun, moon and stars
Day 5: Fish and birds (although I’ve read that the original translation was not birds, but “flying creatures” which could encompass things like Pterodactyls.)
Day 6: Animals and human beings
Day 7: God rested
I know some people will look at this and question how God created light before He created the sun and the moon. The answer, I think, lies in quantum physics, a relatively new branch of science that examines the earth at the sub-atomic level. (My father taught physics at the NJ Institute of Technology, and he had a particular interest in Quantum physics.) Light, quantum physicists discovered, has an interesting quality: it is neither a wave nor a particle, but has characteristics of both. They call this the wave-particle duality. This means that while it acts a wave--in the sense that we look at the sun and “see” the waves of light coming towards the earth, it also exists independently as a particle (like a tiny particle of dust). So it is entirely possible that God created particles of light at the sub-atomic level on the first day, then gave it wave qualities when he created the sun and the stars on the fourth day to “mark off the seasons, days and years.” (Genesis 1: 14)
Versus 26-28 describe the creation of man, in which God says, “Let us make man (human beings) in our image, to be like us.” This is a powerful statement, again, for a couple of reasons.
First, God uses the word “us,” which is the first reference to the trinity: God the Father, Jesus the son and the Holy Spirit. This is made evident by the fact that the word used in this sentence for God--Elohim--is plural, yet it is used with singular verb forms, adjectives and pronouns. (http://www.hebrew4christians.com/).
Second, God says that humans are to be created in His image. Some people think this means that our physical appearance is similar to that of God, but most scholars interpret it to mean that we can relate to His feelings: happiness, joy, sadness, anger, jealousy, etc. In this way, we should never feel bad about our feelings; it’s the motive behind those feelings that should concern us!
(Incidentally, elsewhere in the Bible, God refers to creating humans in His likeness, which means we were given a “like” role: just as He has dominion over the heavens, we have dominion over the earth. And I thank my good friend Annie for that insight.)
Another conclusion I came to after reading this sentence is that His love for us is more than I can ever understand. A parent loves a child, for example, but parents don’t have a choice as to what that child is going to look like or how the child will develop. Likewise, an artist creates and loves his work, but that inanimate piece of work will never love the artist in return or be able to thank the artist for creating it. God, therefore, is so much more than a parent or an artist, just as we are so much more than a child or a painting. We are the beautiful children He created, and that relationship is something that many people find difficult to understand. I know I struggle to understand that type of love.
But I also know that my knowledge is limited, and I realize that I don’t have to understand everything to know that God loves me.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Genesis
In order to fully understand the Bible, it is important to have some background information about each book. I won’t go into much detail, but I will supply the basics.
Book: Genesis
Author: Moses
Date Written: Around 1400 B.C.
Setting: the Middle East (as the area is known today)
Book: Genesis
Author: Moses
Date Written: Around 1400 B.C.
Setting: the Middle East (as the area is known today)
Monday, April 14, 2008
In the Beginning...
Like many Christians, I never made time to actually sit down and read the entire Bible. I knew certain passages, of course, and I always enjoyed the sermons at church, but the thought of reading all 66 books seemed a little overwhelming. I have a full-time job that requires a lot of travel, and finding even a moment of spare time seems impossible at times. (I'm sure many of you can relate!) I was also a little hesitant because, quite frankly, reading about men who lived and died thousands of years ago didn't seem very appealing. (I love history, but I would have preferred reading about Civil War soldiers or WWII flying aces.) Also, I wasn't really sure how these stories could actually help me. If I needed spiritual guidance for a specific problem, I knew I could simply look up the subject matter or a keyword in the back of the Bible and find a passage or two that would help me through my day.
A few months ago, however, I decided to read through the books of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelations. I was inspired to do so after my pastor made some excellent points during his three-part series on the character of God. Too many Christians, he said, base their entire faith on one or two stories in the Bible without knowing God's character or plan for our lives. Some spend their lives condemning sinners to Hell, opposing homosexuality (Genesis 19) and screaming for the death penalty (Genesis 9:6, Exodus 21:23-25), while others (on the opposite end of the spectrum) refer solely to the Lord's command to love and forgive (Matthew 22:39, Matthew 18:21-22). They use those passages as an excuse not to correct or oppose behavior that offends or hurts God. They use it as an excuse to water down the message of the Bible and to accept beliefs and practices that God clearly opposes. These two groups of Christians, he said, have never taken the time to really know God. They take a few passages, or a few stories, and mold God to fit their own agendas and beliefs about what God should be.
But to truly be a faithful Christian, we must know and understand the God we have chosen to love and obey. A responsible citizen, for example, wouldn't choose (or dismiss) a presidential candidate based on one single statement to the media. A responsible citizen would choose a candidate based on his or her voting record, personal conduct and his or her stance on a variety of issues. Likewise, we should know God's stance on all the issues if we are going to accept Him into our lives. Otherwise, we are not really giving our lives and hearts to the God of the Bible. We are giving our lives to a god we have created in our minds, in which case, we can't really call ourselves "Christians."
Being a "Christian" means believing that Jesus gave His own life to save us from the penalty of sin, which is death. In other words, we had been condemned to death because of our sins, and Jesus, in His great love and mercy, took our place so that we could live. Being a Christian also means believing that the Bible is the inspired Word of God and that Jesus is the living Word. So being a faithful, responsible Christian means knowing what that Word is. If we don't know the Word, we don't know Jesus.
(John 1:1-In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.)
When I realized that I didn't actually know the Word (or the God I worshipped and prayed to) I knew it was time to make some changes. I opened my Bible to Genesis 1:1 and began reading. And to my surprise (and great joy) passages I had never understood suddenly made sense to me. Everything I read gave me a deeper understanding of the God to whom I had pledged my life and love. And I found so many ways in which to relate the Word to my own life in the 21st Century.
I haven't finished reading it yet, and I probably won't for some time (it is a long book, after all). However, I decided to start this blog as a way to share my thoughts and insights to those--who, like me--may have been intimidated by the idea of reading the Bible. It is also for those who might not be Christians, but wonder how the Bible could possibly relate to modern life. But to be clear, I am neither a Bible scholar nor a student of theology. This is simply a blog to show the many ways in which the Bible has helped me. And above all, I encourage those of you who enjoy this blog to examine the Word yourselves. God speaks to His children in special, unique ways, so I might have insights that wouldn't specifically apply to you, just as you might have thoughts and insights that wouldn't apply to me. Most of the thoughts I write here on this blog, however, apply to everyone.
And again, the most important thing to remember is that the Word itself is far more important than any blog or book you could read. The Word, after all, is the direct story of God's love for us.
Blessings to all,
Jenn
A few months ago, however, I decided to read through the books of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelations. I was inspired to do so after my pastor made some excellent points during his three-part series on the character of God. Too many Christians, he said, base their entire faith on one or two stories in the Bible without knowing God's character or plan for our lives. Some spend their lives condemning sinners to Hell, opposing homosexuality (Genesis 19) and screaming for the death penalty (Genesis 9:6, Exodus 21:23-25), while others (on the opposite end of the spectrum) refer solely to the Lord's command to love and forgive (Matthew 22:39, Matthew 18:21-22). They use those passages as an excuse not to correct or oppose behavior that offends or hurts God. They use it as an excuse to water down the message of the Bible and to accept beliefs and practices that God clearly opposes. These two groups of Christians, he said, have never taken the time to really know God. They take a few passages, or a few stories, and mold God to fit their own agendas and beliefs about what God should be.
But to truly be a faithful Christian, we must know and understand the God we have chosen to love and obey. A responsible citizen, for example, wouldn't choose (or dismiss) a presidential candidate based on one single statement to the media. A responsible citizen would choose a candidate based on his or her voting record, personal conduct and his or her stance on a variety of issues. Likewise, we should know God's stance on all the issues if we are going to accept Him into our lives. Otherwise, we are not really giving our lives and hearts to the God of the Bible. We are giving our lives to a god we have created in our minds, in which case, we can't really call ourselves "Christians."
Being a "Christian" means believing that Jesus gave His own life to save us from the penalty of sin, which is death. In other words, we had been condemned to death because of our sins, and Jesus, in His great love and mercy, took our place so that we could live. Being a Christian also means believing that the Bible is the inspired Word of God and that Jesus is the living Word. So being a faithful, responsible Christian means knowing what that Word is. If we don't know the Word, we don't know Jesus.
(John 1:1-In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.)
When I realized that I didn't actually know the Word (or the God I worshipped and prayed to) I knew it was time to make some changes. I opened my Bible to Genesis 1:1 and began reading. And to my surprise (and great joy) passages I had never understood suddenly made sense to me. Everything I read gave me a deeper understanding of the God to whom I had pledged my life and love. And I found so many ways in which to relate the Word to my own life in the 21st Century.
I haven't finished reading it yet, and I probably won't for some time (it is a long book, after all). However, I decided to start this blog as a way to share my thoughts and insights to those--who, like me--may have been intimidated by the idea of reading the Bible. It is also for those who might not be Christians, but wonder how the Bible could possibly relate to modern life. But to be clear, I am neither a Bible scholar nor a student of theology. This is simply a blog to show the many ways in which the Bible has helped me. And above all, I encourage those of you who enjoy this blog to examine the Word yourselves. God speaks to His children in special, unique ways, so I might have insights that wouldn't specifically apply to you, just as you might have thoughts and insights that wouldn't apply to me. Most of the thoughts I write here on this blog, however, apply to everyone.
And again, the most important thing to remember is that the Word itself is far more important than any blog or book you could read. The Word, after all, is the direct story of God's love for us.
Blessings to all,
Jenn
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