Creation Flashcards
What were the very first words in the Bible?
‘In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth’ Genesis 1:1 This features in the early creeds of the Church describing God as ‘creator of heaven and earth’(Apostles Creed) ‘of all that is seen and unseen’(Nicene Creed)
What does God do that humans cannot?
God can create something from nothing ex nihilo (Hebrew) yet humans can only give form to something which already exists [making something].
What is described in Genesis 1?
It is an overview of how God created the various parts of the universe in six days and rested on the seventh day
What is described in Genesis 2?
It is a more detailed account of the sixth day when God created man
How does Genesis 1-2 show that God is a benevolent Creator?
Shows he is a benevolent creator as he places human beings in a garden full of wonderful trees and plants. Another goodness is that he creates human being as free as the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is the only tree that human beings cannot eat from yet God leaves them to be free
What is described in Genesis 3?
Describes the first/original sin of Adam and Eve eating the fruit and introduces the idea of sin leading to suffering as humans not obeying God’s teachings things cannot work out right or happily
How is the Trinity seen in the Creation?
‘God said ‘Let there be light and there was light’[Genesis 1:3] = The Father
‘the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters’ [Genesis 1:2] = The Holy Spirit
How does John 1 link to the Creation?
The Gospel of John refers to how Jesus was present from the very beginning as God as ‘the word’ which then goes on to how the Son became incarnate [John 1:14]
What verse in John links to the Creation?
'’In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God all things were made through him’’ John 1:1-3
What is John 1:14?
'’the Word became flesh and dwelt among us
What does incarnate mean?
Made flesh
Who are Creationists?
Christians who interpret the Creation literally as an exact retelling of what actually happened.
What do other Christians believe in?
They interpret the Creation as myths/sacred stories which are metaphorical/symbolic that are told to help humans to understand that God brought everything into existence including humans. They believe all reality has God as its First Cause or Creator
Where do the majority of Catholics belong in?
Belong in the metaphorical viewpoint and use scientific theories to help them understand the origins of the universe (The big bang theory) or human beings (evolution) as the big bang theory came from Catholic priest and Cosmologist Father Georges Lemaitre
What does the Catholic Church say about religion and science?
That science explain how the universe and humans came into being but religion explains why they came in to being (because God desired that the universe should exist)
