1.3 : Creation

Question 1

What does Genesis 1 say about creation?

Answer 1

• God created the whole universe in 6 days
• He started with the heavens and earth, and ending with the creation of man
• Each creation part came about because of God’s words, and He created humans to have dominion over the earth and its contents.

Question 2

What does Genesis 2-3 say about creation?

Answer 2

• God created the heavens and earth
• Then formed Adam, then vegetation, birds and animals, before creating Eve from Adam’s rib.
• Adam and Eve lived in the Garden of Eden, until a serpent tempted them to eat the forbidden fruit. As a consequence of this, they were banished from the garden.
• This is the origin of original sin.

Question 3

What is the Catholic understanding of Genesis?

Answer 3

• Catholics believe that the Bible is inspired by God, and so comes directly from him, but the writers expressed things in their own ways.
• Genesis has two versions of creation the communciate the eternal truth aboiut God’s purpose and human sinfulness.
• They accept the scientific vire, but believe Genesis revals the story of how God created the world.

Question 4

How do fundamentalists interpret Genesis?

Answer 4

• Believe the Bible is the literal word of God, and so is true, and therefore Genesis is factually correct.
• They believe Genesis 1 focuses on the overall creation story.
• They believe Genesis 2-3 focuses on day 6 of creation and original sin.
• They do not accept the Big Bang or evolution.

Question 5

How do mainstream protestants interpret Genesis?

Answer 5

• They belive the Bible is the Word of God, but not his actual words.
• Believe that Genesis 2-3 is a commentary on Genesis 1, ratehr than two different stories.
• Regard Genesis 1 as fairly factual, with the days being billions of years.
• They accept Big Bang and evolution.

Question 6

How do liberal protestants interpret Genesis?

Answer 6

• They believe the Bible is Words about God, rather than his actual word.
• They regard Genesis 1 as a story about creation, and where what is important is the truth that God created the universe.
• They believe Genesis 2-3 is written by a different person.
• They accept Big Bang and evolution

Question 7

What does the creation story show about the nature of God?

Answer 7

It shows that:
* God is omnipotent (all-powerful) because he created the earth from ex-nihilo (from nothing).
* God is the creator because he created the world.
* God is benevolent because he created a good place for humans to live with all the sustenance they needed, out of love for his peoples.
* God is eternal because he had no beginning.
* God is omniscient because he is all-knowledgeable.