The Real Creation Story, part 3: God Rests

God Rests

Before we move on to the next phase of earth’s physical creation, let us look at the following verses:

And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made. (Genesis 2:2-3.)

What exactly is meant by the word “rested”? It certainly implies a ceasing of some sort of activity; i.e., in this case, the physical creation of the earth, as well as the spirit formation of heaven and earth’s flora and fauna established in Genesis chapter 1. But is there anything else we might learn from this word?

The Real Creation Story, part 2: Creation of Mankind

The Creation of Mankind

Now we shall consider the creation sequence that exists in Genesis chapter 2. It isn’t as extensive as in chapter 1 and only covers the physical creation or formation of the earth’s fauna and flora.

However, before we begin, let us take a closer look at Genesis 1:26-28:

"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
"And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth . . ."

The Real Creation Story, part 1: It's All Wrong

It’s All Wrong

This may come as a shock to you, and perhaps you won’t believe it, but a good deal of what we’ve been taught in Sunday School about the creation of the earth is wrong.

However, before you get your knickers up, to quote an old expression, allow me to explain.

If you read Genesis chapters one and two carefully, you should come across a bit of a conundrum: Why are there two creation accounts instead of just one?

Be honest: Have you ever noticed that before? If you did, what did you think about it? That it’s just repetition?

Correct me if I’m wrong, but haven’t we been taught since we were toddlers, and for thousands of years before that, that Genesis chapter one chronicles the physical creation of the earth and all that dwells on it?

If that’s so, why, then, are there two separate creation accounts, or at least one whole and one partial account? And the second one in reverse order from the first?

Was Adam Created from Clay? (What About Eve?), part 2 of 2

The design that went into the human body is a miracle beyond miracles when you consider how everything is integrated together, yet each organ and system working its own individual miracles. And the deeper one gets into the body’s functioning (via microscope), the more miraculous it becomes.

I must admit that given the complexity of the human body, I have a hard time with the one-puff-of-air theory of creation from a sculpture of dirt or clay. The only choice I have is to consider that this one sentence verse is symbolic in nature.

I will briefly discuss the creation of Eve. It is different and equally mystifying.

“And the Lord God said, It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. . . . And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man” (Genesis 2:18,21-22).

Was Adam Created from Clay, part 1 of 2

“And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul” (Genesis 2:7).

We live in an orderly universe.

I believe God to be a God of order.

I believe God works by universal laws and principles.

Whether or not God created those laws and principles is irrelevant to me.

What is relevant to me is—if God broke those laws, he would cease to be God.

On Being a Biblical Apologist

For those not familiar with the concept of an apologist, I will say a few words. The word apologist is derived from the Greek apologia, meaning, “a speaking in defense” (Webster’s NewWorld Dictionary, Second Concise Edition, 1982). Specifically, it refers to “a person who writes or speaks in defense or justification of a doctrine, faith, action, etc.” (ibid.).

However, the concept most of us are familiar with is found in the second definition of the word apology: “an acknowledgment of some fault, wrong, etc., with an expression of regret” (ibid.). This is not what this blog is all about. (By the way, the first definition of the word apology is essentially the same as that of apologist, so it definitely has the longer history.)