Christianity 101: Part II, In the beginning God ...

The incredibly obvious place to start, of course, is at the beginning! 8-)

Genesis 1:1

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

The world view options are: there is a god and there is no god.

Within the "no god perspective" there is the stronger claim (atheism) and the weaker claim (agnosticism).

Within the "there is a god perspective," one could broadly designate those who believe god is in the creation (pantheism) and those who believe god is separate from the creation (theism).

Genesis One tells us that God approached creating in a fairly systematic way and is separate from it.

There is a long running argument about whether aspects of evolution are compatible with Genesis. I think trying to read Genesis One as a scientific textbook is not necessary and not the original intent. I think of the creation account of Genesis as an impressionist painting. There are limits to using analogies but I do find the idea of this analogy helpful.


image source: http://www.toffsworld.com/art_artists_painters/impressionist_impressionism_art_movement.htm

One could have a photograph of the same scene. But in the case of the painting, the details are important only up to a certain point; there are enough details for the viewer to know what the scene is about in a general sense. But beyond those details, the painting hints at mood, emotion, beauty and narrative ... various, if you will, pun intended, "impressions" about the scene.

And so one impression we can pick up from Genesis One is that God is orderly as each day something happens.

There is a current mode of thinking that places science and religion on opposing sides. However, upon reflection, the theological premise of God creating the physical world in an orderly manner may have driven the rise of science. This idea is explored in one of sociologist Rodney Stark's best selling books.

The other idea we can gain from Genesis One is that the physical world is good from the refrain (verses 4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31) "God saw that it was good."

Whenever I get the chance to stop and contemplate the wonders of the natural world ...

hearing birds sing
observing the color of flowers
reflecting on the ginormousness of whales
marveling at the intricacy of the molecular biology and biochemistry happening in each cell
enjoying the taste of fruits
add your own favorite experiences here ...

I recognize the goodness of God and the power of God in the extravagant beauty in the creation of the physical world.

Finally, we find out from Genesis 1:27 that humans have a special relationship to God.

So God created human beings in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.

The restoration of this special bond runs as a thread throughout the story of the Scriptures and is the heart of the Christian faith. This bond was broken in Genesis Three. The various dramatic stories of the Bible thereafter are about the efforts of God to reconcile us to himself.