In a recent argument over naming an official state fossil, an South Carolinian legislator wanted to make it clear that whatever its current status, the mastodon in question was created on the 6th day, along with all other animals, fossilized or not. We may think that the first chapters of Genesis demand that we take a stand: God’s word or science—which do you believe in? However when we actually read the words of Genesis, we find that the truths being proclaimed here have little to do with that debate. We can only claim that Creation stories of Genesis are meant to be an eye witness account or precise recounting of the way things started if we ignore the words before us. Here are some ideas to help us see what’s really written.
Biblical scholars tend to agree that the two stories of Creation have two sources. The first, from the Priestly source (for details on source criticism, go here:), is not as old as the second. The second, from the Yahwehist source, has its roots in oral traditions and myths, answering questions of why without paying attention to many of the details about how that we moderns are obsessed with. We can see differences between the two as we consider their pictures of God, humanity, and the particular questions each was written to answer.
The first story shares much in common with an ancient Babylonian Creation Myth called the Enuma Elish. Creation begins with chaos, not with nothing. Creation is an organizing of, even a fight against, chaos. Everything is made in an orderly way, with humanity as the final (and presumably best) creation. But there are differences as well. The Biblical story reads like a liturgy, with repetitive tag lines. Most importantly, Genesis witnesses to one and only one God who speaks everything into being. At the end of all this creative work, God rests, a rest which sets an example for humanity later to be written into the Sabbath law. Against that pagan story of violent and arrogant gods, our writer portrays a God of good intent, one truly worthy of worship. We can see that chronology of creation is not the point—light is created first as if to demonstrate something about God and his intent, since the sun and the moon, source of actual, physical light, are not created until after the earth and sea.
The second creation story begins with a barren earth. In one corner, God plants a garden. He then builds a human out of clay (in the first story God’s word alone is enough to create) and breathes life into it. Other animals are then created and brought to the man as companions until God finally concludes that his creature needs a companion like himself and then creates woman out of the man as “help-mate.”
This story continues with God’s command, humanity’s disobedience and the consequences. God’s judgment consists of punishment—the difficulty of work, the pain of childbirth—but also grace as God clothes the people with animal skins—no mention of where the skins came from. Sadly, the distance between humanity and God continues to grow in the story of Cain and Abel. Again, God’s justice contains mercy: while Cain is banished, God places a mark of protection on him so that he will not be killed by others as he travels alone. These stories do not explain why humanity rebels against God, but they bear witness to this reality and its consequences. The way things are now was not God’s intention.
Both stories describe a creation contained within this world alone. Neither story ponders the possibility of what existed before Creation—the concept of creation out of nothing (ex nihilo) is a later theological concept. Each story answers its own questions and witnesses to particular aspects of God. In the first story, God is worthy of worship, not part of this world. Humanity is created in God’s image, a description not found elsewhere in scripture. What that means is the source of endless theological speculation. In the second story, God is intimately close—he walks in the Garden; the man and woman imagine that they can hide from him. In the second story God has expectations of his creation—rules that they are to follow, and consequences when they are not obeyed. In the first story God gives humanity a purpose, but no instructions on how to follow it.
Christians refer to the story of disobedience in the Garden as the Fall, imagining a flaw in humanity that is passed down through the generations from Adam. We call this flaw original sin, and it is the source of much theological speculation, including the idea that people are not capable of doing good on their own, which is why they need a savior. St. Paul is the source of much of this thinking, but the Old Testament itself does not think of humanity in this way. In fact we will read that the Law can indeed be kept, we just choose not to.
Some questions to consider:
In Genesis 1, God’s first act of creation is to say, “Let there be light.” However, the sun, moon and stars, the actual sources of physical light, are not created until after the earth and sea. Assuming the author was aware that physical light comes from the sun, what might this chronology say about the author’s understanding about God and his creative intent?
Do you think it is possible for people to choose to be good? If we don’t need a savior to cleanse us from original sin, why do we need one?
What truths do you find about God, humanity and creation in these first chapters?