How Do the Writers of the Bible Explain the Concepts of God as Creater
How do the writers of the bible explain the concepts of God as creater? ‘ In the bible there is two main creation stories; genesis one and genesis two. Each of these are very different concepts of God as creater. In genesis one the world is created by God in six days, and on the seveneth day God rests. On the first day God created light, on the second day God created day and night, on the third day God created earth, on the fourth day God created sky, on the fifth day God created sea and fish, on the sixth day God created animals and on the seveneth day God rested.
This is an example of creation ex nihilo (creation from nothing). Creation ex nihilo portrays God as very onipotent, for example God says it and it just happens. Genesis one puts creation across as perfect, as if God cannot make mistakes. At the beginning of genesis one it says ‘In the beginning God created the sky and the earth’ also when it repeats ‘Then God said’ and ‘God saw that it was good’ it gives the feeling of God being all powerful and benevolent. God created the world in a very structured way and the world has a cycle which suggests order and purpose.
This is very different to Gensis two. In Genesis two God creates man from dust and puts him in . He saw that man was lonely so he created animals and let man name them. However non of these compainians were right for man so God created woman from one of mans ribs. God told man and women that they could eat from any tree in the garden apart from the tree of knowledge and that if they ate from the tree of knowledge they would die. This shows us that God can make mistakes because he has to try again to find the perfect companion for man.
Also in Genesis two there is a chance for sin which shows Gods creation couln’t of been perfect. In genesis two God uses things that already exsist to create what he needs to- This puts God across in a much less onipotent way because he can’t preform creation ex nihilo. In genesis two God seems a lot more immanent than genesis one. In genesis three women is tempted by the snake to eat a peice of fruit from the tree of knowledge. She does this and both man and woman become aware that they are naked and are embarrassed.
They hide, then God comes looking for them and find that they have disobeyed him. The thought of God walking through the garden of Eden gives an anprothmorphic feel to genesis three. God finds out that man and women have eaten from the forbidden tree and decides to punish them. Women is punished by pain when bearing children, man is thrown out of the garden and has to now work for a living, the garden will begin to sprout weeds so man has to work and the snake was compelled to slither on its stomach.
Gensesis three reperesents loss of innococence and makes us wonder why God would have put the tree of knowledge in the garden if it wasn’t to be eaten from- it almost seems as if God wants them to disobey him. Genesis three also shows God has imperfections. The story of Emuna Elish was around at the same time as when Genesis was written. In Emuma Elish nothing existed but ‘the dark waters of primevil choas’ in the beginning. These waters were personified by the Gods Aspu and Tiamat. These Gods reproduced a series of younger Gods who represented the elements of the universe.
These young Gods revolted. Aspu was killed and Tiamat was cut in two forming the earth and sky. The Gods were divided, some lived in heaven and some on earth and people were created to slave them. This is an example of polyethism where there is many Gods and not just the one. It is different to Genesis because in genesis God is very much in control of what happens and what is created. The only simularity is that both genesis and emuna elish begin with darkness. Another take on creation is Job 38 which portrays God as a master craftsman.
In Job 38 God seems to be belittling Job and bragging about his creation. This puts God across in an almost arragent way, he seems ominpotent and very proud of what he has created. God seems more important and powerful than Job by how he is speaking yet still in an anprothamorphic way. Job 38 gives us the impression of the world being a ‘controlled chaos’ and God is proud of this. An example of this is when God mentions the ‘boundies of the sea’. God cannot control the sea but he has put boundries on it. Job 38 links with genesis one because in both of these stories God is proud of what he has created.
We can he is proud in Genesis one because of the repitition of ‘God saw that it was good. ‘ In conclusion, the bible puts God across as a good creater. As if God can do no wrong, God is omnsient and omnipotent. This is very different to some creation stories such as Emuna Elsih where the Gods seems quite dark and imperfect- getting into fights causing chaos. Whereas the Christian God cares about the people hes created and with care. Also in the bible God seems a lot more modest and benevolent than he does in Job 38. The bible puts God across perfect and unchanging.
