Creation
How did the universe come into existence? Who is the creator and how was it created?
It is a remarkable factor that most of the ancient philosophers and the so-called intelligents were interested in the origin of the universe. Knowing the origins was not only a matter of the past but scientific experiments are carried out even in present time to get to know the glimpse of what would have really happened. So many theories, so many hypotheses are stirring the world and yet man is not able to come to a unanimous conclusion.
Here I am putting forth the ideas regarding the creation narrative that is found in Genesis. St. Augustine considers this creation narrative as scripture par excellence. Scholars like Gordon Wenham tell that this story was created to put down ‘MARDUK’ the god of Babylonians and to prove the power of YAHWEH when Israelites were in captivity.
The creation story of Genesis has its roots in ‘ENUMA ELISH’ a Babylonian text that speaks about creation though differs in its monotheistic approach. It is the prologue for the entire Bible introducing characters and themes that are developed in the other books that follow. The genre of the unit of creation is like a report – a genre that communicates events for the sake of communication and not for the sake of building interest or developing plot. The narrative doesn’t bother about the plot, and the plot is only a means to an end.
Here the story teller has two difficulties. One is that he is a third person who did not witness the events of creation and not even the second person along with god. The second problem is God’s confrontation with ‘utter blank,’ “without form and void.” Creation is nothing but this meaninglessness is put in order. God gives it a name and continues to separate and name its component parts.
Few Key elements
- In the entire Bible only God is the subject of the verb and so when he makes he does it completely freely and effortlessly. God is an un-created, genderless, powerful God creating without any energy at all.
- Lacking a vocabulary to express nothingness, the author sets a scene where he gives a picture that negates every positive things.
- There are eight creative acts by God in six days, first to create the physical environment and then to fill it with life. God orders, names, distinguishes, putting things where they belong, blesses to fill the world with life.
- God inspects all that has been made and saw it good.
- God creates man in his image and likeness thus the possibility of attaining perfection was given to him in the beginning through the honour the ‘image.’
The second creation account
The scholars attribute this to Yahwist tradition that gives more importance to the creation of the humanity, how they live, why they behave in certain ways. This narration brings forth the answers for why there are genders? Why do they marry? Why do they wear clothes?...etc.
Two trees play a major role. One is tree of life and the other tree of knowledge of good and bad. The former tree disappears from the story until the very end. Why should God forbid the ethical knowledge for the humanity? But we see that Eve possessed that knowledge when the serpent approached her to take it. She knew that it was wrong. If she already knew the nature of evil and possessed the ability to make moral choices, the tree’s meaning must be something else.
When god saw everything as good, he felt that man shouldn’t be alone and so created a partner. Here solitude for the human has been declared as not good. Having found what has been missing, one desires both to know the difference of the undiscovered other and to enjoy the unity that makes life possible. This is indicated by their nakedness and lack of shame. Shame which they do not yet feel is the guilt of the condemned (Ps 6: 11) or of the defeated enemy (Ps 83:17-19).
The man and the woman are naked whereas the snake is sly. The desire of the couple to attain real wisdom makes them to follow the serpent rather than God. The result was so horrible that instead of attaining wisdom they only discovered that they were without clothes.
After eating both man and woman lose their communion and so they had to hide from each other. When god does not present, there exists mistrust. God comes to the scene and with him come speech and the need to take responsibility. The response of the man and the woman is fear, knowing themselves untrustworthy and in the wrong.
Both serpent and ground are cursed, however heavy their punishment, are not cursed. Partly because the snake only told them partial truth and not the consequences.
Both of them are expelled because they chose not to live in Eden. Why there is evil in the world? Because we choose it and brought it with us.
Conclusion:
When St. Augustine speaks of this fatal end of the first parents and why God allowed man to be tempted, “I do not think that man deserves great praise if he had been able to live a good life for the simple reason that nobody tempted him to live a bad one.”
Yes! Who are we to judge the plan of God? The contemporary thinkers say that unless the expulsion takes place there is no way for real life. For example the fetus in the womb has to be expelled from the so-called cocoon. The ship is safe in the harbor but it is not meant to be there. The real life is not in the safest place but in the everyday struggle that man goes through. Only then he can think of God his creator and be grateful for his goodness in providing him, or feel sorry for the moments of his failing, or look up-to for his needs. Man is dependent on his creator only when he knows that he is weak and imperfect. But God is kind enough to be in touch with him and even to come down and relate with him in space and time. It is something that can’t be just taking for granted. God doesn’t need man for his existence because He is… but man needs him for his survival and God who is omniscient and almighty is eveready to bend down to feed him (Hosea 11).
