It all begins at creation. The story we have come to know as the Bible begins its long journey in a two chapter account of creation. Chapter one is a marvelous poetic description of God powerfully "speaking" creation into being. The culmination of this creating is the making of human beings in the image of God. "So God created human beings in God's own image; male and female God created them." Along the way God had declared each part of the creation "good". The closing words of this act have God declaring that the entire creation, taken together, is better than good; it is "very good."
The second chapter offers us a very different look at creation. In this story we find ourselves in an earth that looks more like the moon. There are no plants or animals…just a rocky landscape. God then causes the rains to come (bringing plants forth) and creates a perfect environment for humanity, Eden (delight). From the dust of the earth (the name Adam is closely related to the Hebrew word for dirt) God creates the first man. The man, Adam, then works alongside God to name all of the creatures God forms to help Adam in his job of watching over the creation. None of these animals are adequate co-workers so God takes a rib from Adam and makes the primordial woman (the Hebrew for woman is "ishshah" meaning the one who came from man "ish").
Though there are Christians around the world who take these stories at face value (those who believe the earth was created in six 24 hour days; that the earth is only 10,000 years old; and that Adam and Eve were the two original instantaneously created humans) the Bible makes no internal claim that these stories are historically and geologically accurate. They are instead presented as theological explanations of who God is, who we are, and what our task is to be as God's creatures.
We discover who God is. God is the one who creates. God is not a created being, but the one who has the power and inclination to create all that is. God is the one who chooses to create and personally interact with human beings. God is not "the force" from Star Wars. God is not a feeling. God is powerfully and personally connected to all that God has created; humanity and the physical universe in which we live.
We discover who we are. We are part of creation. We are loved by God and have been declared to be "good". We are not God or gods. We are creatures who are different from other creatures only because we are made in the image of God. Being made in the image of God does not give us special privileges; instead it gives us special work to do.
We discover what our task is. We were created for a purpose. Our purpose is to steward (care for) God's creation. This means caring for both one another as well as caring for the world in which we live. We are able to carry out this task only by being in relationship with and God, with one another and with creation itself. Our relationship with God is the primary relationship because God as creator show us how to care for one another and our world.
As we close these chapters we are presented with an idyllic vision of how the world could be. The next chapter in the Bible story shows us that humanity is responsible for derailing this idyllic state through its failure to listen to God's loving directions. Next – The Fall.
John
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