Christianity D Flashcards
BIBLICAL ACOUNT OF CREATION IS A METAPHOR
Liberal Christians would think this statement is correct because they believe the Bible is a book of words about God, but not God’s words, and so what the Bible says about creation is a metaphor rather than a factual account. They believe this because scientific study shows that chapters 1-2 and chapter 3 of Genesis have different authors and contradict each other (Genesis 3 says man was made before vegetation and animals), a strong argument because it is based on scientific analysis. They also believe it must be a metaphor because the Bible account contradicts science which provides evidence for creation taking billions of years not six days and coming through evolution, another strong argument based on science.
Conservative and Literalist Christians would disagree as they believe the biblical account of creation must be factually correct because they believe the Bible is the word of God, as St Paul said in 2 Timothy, ‘All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching.’ This is a strong Christian argument as it is based on the Bible, the ultimate source of authority. Also, many Catholic Christians would think the statement is incorrect because the Catechism also teaches that the Bible is the word of God. The Catechism says that the books of the Bible teach the truth and so the creation account cannot be a metaphor. A strong argument because the Catechism is the official teaching of the Church, the Magisterium, which all Catholics should believe.
The truth of this statement is evenly balanced depending on whether science is given more weight than the Bible. Those who think the Bible is the exact words of God are always going to think the statement is incorrect. However, Pope Francis has recently declared his support for the scientific view of creation being fact and therefore for Genesis being a metaphor, and the Pope is a major source of authority for Catholics. It can also be argued that Genesis can be both a metaphor and the word of God as there is no reason why God shouldn’t use metaphors, and so it would seem the statement is correct.
