The God of Creation

I’ve always had a problem reconciling the Genesis account of creation to science and to itself.

My pastor and I had a conversation recently regarding the apparent contradiction between the Genesis 1 and Genesis 2 accounts of creation.

He pointed out that in Genesis 1, the word for God is “elohim”which means just “God.”In Genesis 2, the words are “yhwh elohim”which means “Lord God,”signifying a more personal view of God.

So, I take it to mean that Genesis 1 is the big picture, whereas Genesis 2 is the beginning of the real story of God’s desire for a personal relationship with mankind.

As far as science goes, I think that we run the risk of losing the very purpose of the Bible when we try to use it as a science text book.
I read the other day from a book published in the 1930′s about the reason that the Earth was shown as being created before the sun in Genesis. Many religions of the day worshiped the sun and stars. God wanted us to understand that mankind was the center of His creation. The easiest way to express that was to place that first in the story of creation. The sun and stars came along later to serve a purpose for man.

An important theological point that is lost when you try to view the Genesis creation story from a scientific viewpoint.

That being said,   we can’t “compartmentalize”our lives. Everything must point back to God. When science/culture/poltics/psychology/etc.   disagree with the Bible, God’s Word must take precedent.

I do think however, that there are so many holes in the creation story of Genesis that it makes me question how literal it is meant to be taken.

Chapters one and two do not agree with each other.

Based on a literal interpretation, the Catholic Church once thought that the Earth was the center of the universe. That has been proven false.

There is no mention of other planets or their moons, yet they exist.

In Gen 4:14, Abel says, “Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence;I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”  Who are these people? This is the first mention of anyone other than Adam, Eve, Cain and Abel.

I say these things not to say that the Bible is wrong. I say them to prove that there are too many things that we don’t know (and will never know in this life) about the creation to make it such an “important”aspect of our theology.

I have a very scientific minded friend who couldn’t get over these issues. Not the Bible, but people telling him he had to believe the whole Bible literally or believe none of it was a huge stumbling block for him. It took the literal voice of Jesus to bring him to salvation. Since that time, he glosses over the creation issue and will not discuss it with anyone. The only thing that matters is that Christ spoke to him and he is now saved.

I believe the real purpose of Genesis is to make these points:
1. God is the creator of everything in existence.
2. Mankind is the center of that creation.
3. From the beginning, God has given mankind freewill, which has been used by man to try to become as gods.
4. God knew this outcome and planned for the sacrifice of His Son for our salvation.

New Century Version (NCV)
The Holy Bible, New Century Version ®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.