Creation What Does it Mean to Say that God Created All Things Visible and Invisible?
Overview In this PowerPoint we will look at God as Creator Creation as different from God Analogy of an Artist to art Babylonian Creation Stories Both Genesis Stories The Differences The Similarities Evolution Salvation
When we say God Created we mean: God calls everything out of nothing and into existence (Rm. 4:17; Heb. 11:3; 2 Mac 7:28) God gives each thing an independent existence so it can act on its own God sustains all things in existence (Col. 1:17 and Heb. 1:3) God as Creator
Creation as Different Creation is different from God God is I AM, the subsistent act of existing itself Creation is what is called into being, not what is its own being Like an artist is different from a painting, even if the painting is of the artists image, so too is God totally other than creation.
Babylonian Creation Stories The Babylonian story is called Enuma Elish. It is also known as The Seven Tablets of Creation. It also contains the story of Gilgamesh. There are some who point to the Babylonian Creation Stories as the source of the Hebrew Stories Some even say the Hebrew people copied these stories But there are important differences
Babylonian Creation Stories In Genesis God creates by speaking (non-violence) Marduk makes the earth and sky by killing Tiamat (the Sea god) by splitting her in two and using the top half as the sky and the bottom half as the land (violence and destruction creates)
Babylonian Creation Stories In Genesis God creates humans in God s image and gives them a day off (Sabbath) Marduk creates humans as slaves for the gods Marduk kills a lesser god and uses the blood of the dead god to create human beings The gods are fearful of humans and try to keep them enslaved
God vs. Babylonian Gods God of Genesis 1. God calls in existence gives being to all things 2. God speaks and allows things to exist independently of God 3. Humans are created in God s image as stewards 4. Humans share in God s rest 5. Love creates order, beauty, justice and peace Babylonian Gods 1. The gods transform things that already exist 2. The gods are threatened by humans (and each other) 3. Humans are made out of the blood of a god to be slaves 4. Slaves have no day of rest, always a slave 5. Violence is seen as the creative act. But violence does not create but destroys
Two Creation Stories First Story Gen 1:1-2:3 In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth and the earth was without form or shape, with darkness over the abyss and a mighty wind sweeping over the waters Then God said: Let there be light, and there was light. God saw that the light was good. God then separated the light from the darkness. God called the light day, and the darkness he called night. Evening came, and morning followed the first day. Then God said: Let there be a dome in the middle of the waters, to separate one body of water from the other. God made the dome, and it separated the water below the dome from the water above the dome. And so it happened. God called the dome sky. Evening came, and morning followed the second day. Then God said: Let the water under the sky be gathered into a single basin, so that the dry land may appear. And so it happened: the water under the sky was gathered into its basin, and the dry land appeared. God called the dry land earth, and the basin of water he called sea. God saw that it was good. Then God said: Let the earth bring forth vegetation: every kind of plant that bears seed and every kind of fruit tree on earth that bears fruit with its seed in it. And so it happened: the earth brought forth vegetation: every kind of plant that bears seed and every kind of fruit tree that bears fruit with its seed in it. God saw that it was good. Evening came, and morning followed the third day. Then God said: Let there be lights in the dome of the sky, to separate day from night. Let them mark the seasons, the days and the years, and serve as lights in the dome of the sky, to illuminate the earth. And so it happened: God made the two great lights, the greater one to govern the day, and the lesser one to govern the night, and the stars. God set them in the dome of the sky, to illuminate the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. God saw that it was good. Evening came, and morning followed the fourth day. Then God said: Let the water teem with an abundance of living creatures, and on the earth let birds fly beneath the dome of the sky. God created the great sea monsters and all kinds of crawling living creatures with which the water teems, and all kinds of winged birds. God saw that it was good, and God blessed them, saying: Be fertile, multiply, and fill the water of the seas; and let the birds multiply on the earth. Evening came, and morning followed the fifth day. Then God said: Let the earth bring forth every kind of living creature: tame animals, crawling things, and every kind of wild animal. And so it happened: God made every kind of wild animal, every kind of tame animal, and every kind of thing that crawls on the ground. God saw that it was good. Then God said: Let us make * human beings in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the tame animals, all the wild animals, and all the creatures that crawl on the earth. God created mankind in his image; in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and God said to them: Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all the living things that crawl on the earth. God also said: See, I give you every seed-bearing plant on all the earth and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit on it to be your food; and to all the wild animals, all the birds of the air, and all the living creatures that crawl on the earth, I give all the green plants for food. And so it happened. God looked at everything he had made, and found it very good. Evening came, and morning followed the sixth day. Thus the heavens and the earth and all their array were completed. On the seventh day God completed the work he had been doing; he rested on the seventh day from all the work he had undertaken. God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work he had done in creation. Second Story Gen 2:4-25 This is the story of the heavens and the earth at their creation. When the LORD God made the earth and the heavens there was no field shrub on earth and no grass of the field had sprouted, for the LORD God had sent no rain upon the earth and there was no man to till the ground, but a stream was welling up out of the earth and watering all the surface of the ground then the LORD God formed the man out of the dust of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. The LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and placed there the man whom he had formed. Out of the ground the LORD God made grow every tree that was delightful to look at and good for food, with the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. A river rises in Eden to water the garden; beyond there it divides and becomes four branches. The name of the first is the Pishon; it is the one that winds through the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. The gold of that land is good; bdellium and lapis lazuli are also there. The name of the second river is the Gihon; it is the one that winds all through the land of Cush. The name of the third river is the Tigris; it is the one that flows east of Asshur. The fourth river is the Euphrates. The LORD God then took the man and settled him in the garden of Eden, to cultivate and care for it. The LORD God gave the man this order: You are free to eat from any of the trees of the garden except the tree of knowledge of good and evil. From that tree you shall not eat; when you eat from it you shall die. The LORD God said: It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suited to him. So the LORD God formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds of the air, and he brought them to the man to see what he would call them; whatever the man called each living creature was then its name. The man gave names to all the tame animals, all the birds of the air, and all the wild animals; but none proved to be a helper suited to the man. So the LORD God cast a deep sleep on the man, and while he was asleep, he took out one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. The LORD God then built the rib that he had taken from the man into a woman. When he brought her to the man, the man said: This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; This one shall be called woman, for out of man this one has been taken. That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body. The man and his wife were both naked, yet they felt no shame.
The First Story This story is newer than Genesis Chapter 2 Divides the acts of creation into 6 days that move from night to day (Jewish day) God brings order out of Chaos God is the King who commands and it is done
The First Story Empty Formless Sun, Moon, & Stars Day & Night Sabbath Fish & Birds Sea & Sky Man Animals Grass Land Time Space Life Rulers Realms The desert dwelling (Ex 39-40) and the dedication of Solomon s Temple (1Kg 6:38, 8:2, 8:12-53) are based on creation being God s Temple and man being the priest. Rev 21:22 there is no Temple because the New Temple is the Body of Christ. This first story is used in the Jewish celebration of their new year There is a Pattern and Structure to this Story Creation is the temple of God and we are the priests who offer back to God what God has given to us.
The First Story The first story presents Human beings as being: In the image & likeness of God Of being created in the divine image (likeness is not mentioned) Both male and females are made at the same time.
The First Story Created to be in God s Image and Likeness we are then created in God s Image: We are incomplete, not finished We get to shape our lives to become someone who can give and help shape the world We are dynamic beings in a dynamic universe The Glory of God is living Man--Irenaeus
The second story is actually the older story Things are created in a different order Humans are created differently than anything else We work in a garden We find joy in each other The Second Story
The Second Story There is no time reference in this second story and a different order of when things are created Ha Adama (Red Clay) A Garden Animals The dividing of Ha Adama and the creation of gender (male and female)
The Second Story Ha Adama is placed in the Garden (Eden or Paradise) to care and cultivate the garden These are the same two verbs that will be used to describe the duties of the Priests in the Temple Nm. 3:7-8; 8:26; 18:5-6
The Second Story There was no grass because God had not sent the rain and there was no man to till the soil The way the world is, is due to the work of God and human beings Ha Adama names the animals In the 1 st story God names Now humans name, we share in shaping creation Showing that creation is intelligible, we can know creation (think science, etc.)
Ha Adama is not male or female, but is a generic human God splits the Adam (physics pun) and creates woman Gender is first mentioned in verse 22 Love is the defining relationship between humans who are made in the image of love The Second Story
Similarities For all the differences the similarities become very important: Human beings occupy a unique place in creation We are Priests and the pinnacle of creation Human beings are made by love, for love, to love We are in the image of God who is love We find our joy in loving each other The universe is ordered and intelligible Creation is knowable and by analogy the Creator (Wis. 13:5) Creation itself is made in a state of journeying We are dynamic beings in a dynamic universe
Similarities As human beings, as dynamic beings in a dynamic universe: We are able to know, to reason and understand We can recognize mystery and grow daily in knowledge of it We are able to love We give ourselves to another (agape) and can receive another as gift (never as a possession but always gift) Love wills the good of the other as other We create our identity, to become someone Life is God s gift to you, who you become is your gift to God How you love (or hate) shapes who you are We are free beings We can make choices, to love, to learn, to become someone Freedom is the discipline of desires so as to make the Good first possible and then effortless We must be free in order to love
Creation and Evolution Though faith is above reason, there can never be any real discrepancy between faith and reason. Consequently, methodical research in all branches of knowledge, provided it is carried out in a truly scientific manner and does not override moral laws, can never conflict with the faith, because the things of the world and the things of faith derive from the same God. The Catholic Church has never stood against evolution Before something can evolve it must exist The creative act is giving being Because it exists it can change, grow, & evolve God gives independent existence to each thing so it exists as itself
Salvation What does creation say about salvation? God created us for himself, so God who creates is the God who saves Salvation returns us to the harmony of Holiness and Justice Salvation is accomplished through theosis, the sharing of God s life offered to us in Christ.
Summary God is not part of creation, but other than creation-- God creates by giving existence All of creation is to be a temple and we are priests who care and cultivate the temple We are made in the image of God and called to be like God--theosis The universe was created in a state of journeying (in statu viae) toward an ultimate perfection yet to be attained, to which God has destined it. We call divine providence the dispositions by which God guides his creation toward this perfection.