Christian beliefs about God as Creator in Genesis

Why would the Bible tell the story of creation twice, and in two different orders? Open it at the very start and that is what you find. In Genesis chapter one, plants and animals come first and humans come last of all. A chapter later, the first man is formed from dust before any plant has sprung up, and before the animals are made. A quick reply would be that one of the two must be a slip. Christians keep both accounts side by side, and they do not read them that way. To see how they do read them, start at day one.

Genesis chapter one tells creation in seven days. It opens with the words "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." On day one God makes light. On day two God makes the sky, separating the waters above from the waters below. On day three God gathers the seas, lets dry land appear, and makes plants. On day four God makes the sun, the moon and the stars. On day five God makes the creatures of the sea and the birds. On day six God makes the land animals, and then human beings. On day seven God rests. Genesis says God rested, and it never says God was tired, so a detail like tiredness is something added to the text. Now an outline task: give three things God makes in the Genesis one account. Try it on paper before I show you the answer. Here is one model answer. Light, made on day one. The sun, the moon and the stars, made on day four. Land animals and then human beings, made on day six. You do not have to give the day. If you give one, it has to be the right one. One examiner's report, written about a question on the days, says the majority did well. It adds that students were not required to give a day, but where they did, it had to be correct to gain the mark. The way to stay safe is to name what was made, and to add a day number only when you are sure of it. Now a sentence from a student's answer to test. What is wrong with this sentence: on the third day God made the sun? The sun comes on day four. Day three is the seas, dry land and plants, so the sentence needs day four, or no day at all.

Christians read Genesis one for what it shows about God, and each detail of the text points to a belief. First, God is the Creator of everything. Nothing in the account exists before God makes it, and many Christians draw from this the teaching that God created out of nothing. Second, God creates by command. Again and again the text says "And God said", and then it happens: "Let there be light," and there was light. Christians see two characteristics in that. God is omnipotent, all-powerful, because a word is enough. God is also transcendent, meaning beyond and above the universe, because God stands outside what is made and speaks it into being. If you already know transcendent as beyond the universe, you are in good company. One examiner's report on a question about the word says the majority of students identified that meaning correctly. Now one for you to finish. The account opens with God already there "in the beginning", before anything has been made. Which characteristic of God does that detail point to? Eternal. God is there before all else, so Christians believe God has no start and no end. After each stage of creation the text says God saw that it was good. At the end, Genesis one, verse thirty-one, says "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good." Now another. Which characteristic of God does "very good" point to? Benevolent, meaning all-loving. A God who makes everything very good wants good for what is made. One report, on a question about how the creation account shows God's nature, says many students did this well, using characteristics such as omnipotent and eternal. A detail from the text, then the characteristic it shows, is that move.

From Genesis chapter two, verse four, the story starts again, and the name for God changes. Genesis one says God, while from here the text says the LORD God. Genesis two, verse seven, says "the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being." Christians take this to mean God is personal and close to his creation. Like a potter, God shapes the man by hand, and then breathes life into him. God then plants a garden in Eden, puts the man there to work it and take care of it, and gives him food from its trees. Christians see a God who provides for what he has made. Then, in verse eighteen, God says "It is not good for the man to be alone." God brings the animals to the man to name, and then makes a partner for him. What belief about God do Christians draw from that detail? That God wants his creatures to have companionship and cares about loneliness, so God is caring and personal, never distant. Two students answer a question on what Genesis two shows Christians about God. The first says: God is the creator of everything. The second says: God breathes the breath of life into the man, which shows Christians a God who is close and personal. Which answer would earn credit, the first or the second? The second answer would. The first only repeats that God is creator, with no detail from the text. One examiner's report, on a question about God as creator in this story, says some answers were very general, just repeating what was in the question, and those could not be credited. The fix is a detail from the text in every point: the dust, the breath, the garden or the partner, each turned into a belief about God.

Set side by side, the two accounts differ in four ways. They differ in order, because Genesis one ends with humans and Genesis two begins with a man. They differ in style, because Genesis one is ordered and repeating, while Genesis two reads like a story. They differ in the name for God, God in one and the LORD God in the other. And they differ in how they show God: beyond the universe and commanding in Genesis one, close at hand, shaping and breathing, in Genesis two. Christians see the two as two angles on one God, like a wide shot and a close-up of the same scene. God is transcendent and immanent at once, so it takes both accounts to show both. Match one belief to one of two verses. The belief is that God is close and personal. The first verse is "And God said, Let there be light." The second is "the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground." Which verse fits that belief better, the first or the second? The second verse. Forming a man from the dust by hand shows God close at hand, while speaking light into being shows God beyond the universe. Christians also link creation especially to God the Father, whom the creeds call "maker of heaven and earth". How the Son and the Spirit share in creation is the job of the video on Christian beliefs about the Word and the Spirit in creation. The story turns in Genesis chapter three, when the first humans disobey God, which the video on Christian beliefs about the Fall and original sin takes up. Whether Christians read the days as ordinary days is a different question again, covered in the video on literal and metaphorical Christian interpretations of Genesis.

Belief in God as Creator shapes Christian life today in four ways. It leads to worship and thanks: many churches hold a harvest festival to thank God for food and the natural world, and hymns praise God as maker of all things. It leads to wonder. Christians see the natural world as God's work, so a sunrise or a forest can lead them to praise God. It leads Christians to value all life, every creature included. Now apply that. Why might a Christian oppose cruelty to animals? Because God made the animals and saw that they were good, so harming them for no reason treats God's work with contempt. The fourth way is a duty of care for the world. Psalm twenty-four, verse one, says "The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it", so many Christians believe they must look after what belongs to God. Christians weigh that duty differently, though. Some Christians argue that the first duty is to people, so human needs come before protecting nature. Some also believe God will one day make a new heaven and a new earth, so they put less weight on campaigns to save this one. A Christian charity chooses to spend its money on clean water for villages, rather than on saving a rainforest. Which Christian argument could the charity give for that choice? That the first duty is to people, so human needs come before protecting nature. Other Christians would answer with Psalm twenty-four: the earth is the LORD's too.

The days come first in this last set of questions.

First, what does God make on day five? The creatures of the sea, and the birds.

Now, which characteristic of God does Genesis one show, and through which detail? Omnipotent is one, because God creates by speaking: "Let there be light," and there was light.

One detail went unmentioned. In Genesis one, verse sixteen, after the sun and the moon, the text adds almost in passing: "He also made the stars." What does making the stars in half a sentence suggest about God? That God is omnipotent. The whole night sky takes God no effort at all, only a few words.

Now the final question. How does Genesis two show God differently? Close at hand and personal, forming the man from dust and breathing life into him, where Genesis one shows God beyond the universe, creating by command.

So back to the Bible that tells creation twice. Genesis one shows a God beyond the universe, who speaks creation into being and calls it very good. Genesis two shows the same God close enough to breathe. For Christians, the two orders give two angles on one Creator.

If you can now name what is made on three of the days and turn a detail into a belief about God, thumbs this up, because that's in the bag. If it is still shaky, leave it unmarked and save it for another go, since this sort of thing comes with the questions.

Next in the chapter is Literal and metaphorical Christian interpretations of Genesis. Hopefully that's next in your feed, but if not, search for ScholaFly R, S, oh one, oh four.

Every other video is on scholafly.com too, easy to search by video code or by keyword. Whatever you're revising, go there and have a look, or, watch the next video.