Bringing Order To The Chaos: How God Created

When God created the world, he did so using various modes of creation. God’s creative activity and the methods he used to bring about the earth and humanity reveals something about the nature of God’s character.

Ex Nihilo

Ex Nihilo is a Latin phrase which put simply, means “out of nothing”. This phrase is often used to describe God’s creation of the earth and to depict the creation as out of nothing.

Though it has been much debated among scholars, prominent theologians such as Augustine, Calvin and John Wesley all support the idea of a divine creation, ex nihilo.

The opening statement in Genesis implies, if not demands, that nothing existed before God created:

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”(1)

This indicates that before God created the universe, there was nothing. There were no building blocks in place for God to work with. This can be difficult for us to understand, since we cannot create without first having some materials. We are conditioned to know that ‘nothing comes from nothing’, and to understand the scientific law that ‘matter cannot be created or destroyed’. We cannot understand the idea of creation ex nihilo because it’s not natural to us. The point being, that it’s supernatural: only God can create, ex nihilo.

By Speech

Genesis 1 is very clear on one particular method of God’s creative activity: he spoke.

On each of the six days of creation, God spoke, and what he said, came into being:

“Let there be light,” and there was light (3)

“Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. (6)

“Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. (9)

“Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. (11)

“Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. (14-15)

“Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” ²¹So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. (20-21)

“Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. (24)

Psalms 33:6 even states that:

“By the word of the LORD the heavens were made.”

God creates through his speech. He simply vocalises his creative desire, and it comes forth.

From Dust

Though God originally created the earth from nothing, when it came to creating humanity, God formed the first man and woman from something that already existed. Genesis 2 tells us that:

“…the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground…”

Adam was fashioned from the dust of the ground, which was formed from nothing. Scholars agree that humanity was formed from the dust in order to connect humankind to the earth in a fundamental way. This idea is reinforced by the declaration that God gives in Genesis 3, after the fall:

“By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground,
since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.” (19)

“So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken.” (23)

Because of the inherent fallenness of humanity after Adam and Eve eat the fruit, humankind will reduce down to dust in death, because it was from dust that Adam was created – death will bring the physical body back to its original composition.

We also know from Genesis 2:19 that the animals were also formed from the dust:

“Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky.”

And, that the trees were formed supernaturally from the ground, much like Adam:

“The LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground” (9)

By His Breath

God also created using his breath. After Adam was fashioned from dust, God gave him the breath of life in order to bring him to life. Genesis 2 tells us that:

“God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (7)

Though God created Adam from the dust, it was not until He breathed into him, that he truly came to life. By filling Adam’s body with His breath, God gave Adam a divine origin, rather than just an earthly one.

Job 33:4 declares that:

“The Spirit of God has made me, And the breath of the Almighty gives me life”

And, Psalms 33:6 tells us that God breathed his breath into the universe also:

“By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth”

God’s creative activity is unique. Firstly, we must understand that in the beginning, he created from nothing – ex nihilo. Once he created matter from nothing, he then used this matter to shape the first man, and from the first man, he shaped the first woman. He also brought forth elements of the universe by simply speaking, and by penetrating the entire cosmos with his breath, thus giving life to the earth and to humanity.

If you want to celebrate God’s amazing creative activity, then please sign our petition to establish Creation Day as an official holiday!

Were Adam and Eve Created Twice?

“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”

Genesis 1

“And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul…but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him.And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.”

Genesis 2

The Problem

The accounts of Genesis 1 and 2 appear to offer two separate and somewhat contradictory accounts for the creation of Adam and Eve. Were Adam and Eve created twice?

The Solution

You might be surprised to see that Adam and Eve do not appear in the first creation account at all. We are simply told that God created people in his own image – male and female. In the second account we see that God fashions Adam from dust and places him in the garden he has previously prepared. Eve is created shortly after from one of Adam’s rib bones.

The two accounts are not intended to describe two different creation events. The two accounts are merely describing the same event, in a different way.

Source criticism seeks to establish the sources used by the authors of the bible and looks at editing work that was undertaken on biblical texts before the bible was composed into its current form. According to source critics, the two creation narratives found in Genesis derive from different sources – the account in Genesis 1 being composed in the sixth century by the ‘Priestly’ source and the account in Genesis 2 being composed in the tenth century by the ‘Yawhist’.

A Cosmocentric Account

Genesis 1, composed much later, describes the creation of humanity within the bigger picture – as part of creation week. It is cosmocentric. In this account, the male and female are both created on day six and given dominion over the earth. We are not told if the male and female creation is limited to one person, or what their names were. In this passage the word ‘adam’ is present, but Is used as a plural to describe humankind in the broader sense. The creation of the man and woman finalises the creative week before God steps back and declares that everything he has created is ‘good’. This account appears to place the creation of humanity, as a whole, at the culmination of the cosmic creation that has taken place, evident by the fact that the male and female are not named.

If this piece was indeed penned by the Priestly source, then it was written after the Hebrews had returned from captivity by the Babylonians. Regardless, its function is clear: creation is complete.

An Anthropocentric Account

Genesis 2, the earlier account, describes the creation of Adam and Eve in more detail, with a focus on the birth of humanity rather than the creation of the entire cosmos. It is anthropocentric. In this account the man is also referred to as Adam. In this setting the word is capitalized to indicate a proper noun – it is the name for the man. Adam is fashioned from the ground before God blows the breath of life into his nostrils. The woman, Eve, is then fashioned from Adam. This account ends with the establishment of primeval innocence, depicting the man and woman as both ‘naked’ and ‘not ashamed.’ This account differs from the cosmocentric account in several ways including using different names to describe God, using different methods of bringing about creation and ordering the creative activity differently.

Having been written by the Yahwist could place the composition of this story as early as 950 BCE. The function of this second account serves as a departure point for the subsequent narrative.

In Conclusion

What is being presented here is two different accounts of the same event, fashioned in different ways. The first account places the creation of humanity as the climax for the grandiose story where God creates on a cosmic level. The second uses the event as a ‘scene-setter’ for the narrative which is to follow, in which the man and woman will ‘fall’ through disobedience to God.

Each account uses its own choice of language, structure and detail in order to achieve the theological agenda of its composer. The first account was most likely written as a Jewish, monotheistic response to polytheistic beliefs being spread at the time. The second account holds many similarities to the Babylonian creation myth the ‘Enuma Elish’, suggesting that perhaps this account is a direct response to this, and a way of offering rebuttal to its polytheistic ideas.

What is clear is that regardless of the difference in time, author and agendas, Genesis 1 and 2 were meant to be read together. Each account provides a unique perspective on God’s creative nature and the origins of humankind, as well as God’s relationship with humanity.

To honour God’s creation, be sure to sign the petition to establish Creation Day as an official holiday!

5 Reasons Why You Should Celebrate Creation Day

The Bible, as we have seen, is full of beautiful things to say about God’s creation, and is clear that humanity is called to love and nurture it as part of our earthly responsibilities.

The focus of Creation Day is to take the time to find ways to praise God and his created order. This includes animals, plants, the solar system, humanity and the environment – all the parts of the created universe. The earth is an incredible and complex place and is really quite magnificent. It contains millions of vibrant and complex ecosystems which support the ideal conditions for many forms of life. It is a wholly remarkable, intricate created work of art that is certainly worthy of our attention.

There are many ways to praise God’s creation but the most popular ones include taking the time to reflect on God’s creation, and taking actions to help his creation. As Christians, we are called by God to speak out, act and advocate for things which affect God’s creation. One of the ways that we can act is by celebrating Creation Day as a national holiday.

I think if you really think about it, you will see that reasons to celebrate Creation Day are a no brainer. But…just in case you need further convincing, here is a list of five reasons why you should celebrate Creation Day;

REASON 1 – Because Creation Deserves It

For many churches, biblical holidays and themes are the perfect cause for a special celebration.

It is quite common for churches to dedicate services to these specific themes. Annually, most churches commemorate Christ’s Crucifixion in a Good Friday service; celebrate His resurrection in an Easter Sunday service or celebrate Jesus’ incarnation at Christmas. Some churches even dedicate monthly services to certain themes such as ‘Communion Sunday’ or ‘Baptism Sunday’.

Despite all of these fantastic reasons to celebrate, we fail to dedicate a service to the doctrine of creation, and set aside a ‘Creation Day’ to worship the creative work of our God. Creation is one of the main themes in the bible and yet we don’t seem give it the same special treatment that these events receive.

The bottom line? If a special service is good enough for Ash Wednesday and Christmas Eve Candlelight then it’s good enough for creation.

REASON 2 – Because The Ten Commandments Honors Creation

Creation is mentioned several times in the Decalogue.

In Exodus 20, we are told;

“…the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns…

…for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it.”

The fact that the Ten Commandments mentions creation, and places such an emphasis on the Sabbath indicates a need for us to honor it also by dedicating one of these the Sabbath days to reflect on, and act upon, God’s creation.

REASON 3 – Because It Forces Us to Set Aside Time To Act

Creation Day not only offers an opportunity to reflect on God’s creation. With some planning and passion you can also take advantage of the special day to do something which serves creation.

Some ideas might include:

Holding a Creation Day themed service at your church
Handing out flyers addressing a specific issue
Changing the light bulbs in your home to eco-bulbs
Starting a compost heap in your backyard
Hosting a coffee afternoon and serve organic food and fair trade coffee using re-usable plates, cups and napkins
Inviting a guest speaker to your church to talk about relevant issues
Planning or take part in a community service project such as a local clean up
Cleaning up the church grounds and establish some eco-friendly aids such as setting up barrels to catch rain water
Going on a hike at a local trail
Holding a Creation Day festival at your church and ask local environment groups to set up informative booths or local produce growers to sell their products
Holding a church service outdoors

REASON 4 – Because It’s The Least We Can Do!

It goes without saying, but celebrating Creation Day is really the very least that we can do. I think we can all agree that without God’s gift of creation, we would not be here. I can’t think of a better to reason to celebrate Creation Day than because of our sheer existence!

As well as being able to participate in creation, God also gave us the ability to truly engage in it. God could have simply put us here with the need to eat to sustain ourselves but without giving us the opportunity to really savor our food. But he didn’t! He bestowed on us the gift of taste which allows us to enjoy eating. We have eyes which see colour and nature, the ability to smell food and flowers, the ability to hear the sounds of animals, and touch so we can feel the world around us. Creation is the gift that keeps on giving.

Creation gives us cause to celebrate each and every day and at the very least, and it deserves one special day where we pay tribute to this amazing privilege we have been given.

REASON 5 – Because Through Creation God Will Redeem The World

In Christ’s life, death and resurrection, humanity and the entire cosmos was brought back into right relationship with God.

In Genesis we saw that God looked at his creation and declared it to be good. Created with inherent goodness, humanity’s fall into sin meant that creation’s order was disrupted. Since the fall people have continued to misuse the earth, participating in a process that has caused deterioration in many areas of the world, and of life.

God’s overarching redemptive plan for the world is to restore his creation to its original goodness. We must dedicate ourselves to participating in the redemption that God has planned for his creation. Pledging ourselves to a thorough and committed participation in Creation Day is a great step towards caring for God’s redemptive purposes.

So what are you waiting for? Start celebrating creation!

Celebrate the trees, the animals, the birds, the fish, the flowers, the mountains and the people. Praise God by enhancing your appreciation for his creative work and celebrate Creation Day.

You might start by signing the petition to establish Creation Day as a national holiday. To sign, go here.

Last week we looked at the theme of creation throughout scripture, from the creation of the earth in Genesis to the establishment of God’s new, eschatological creation which is yet to come.

If you missed the article, you can read it here

The Bible: From Creation to New Creation

Though the Bible is filled with many different books and authors, it tells a cohesive story about the history of the world, functioning within God’s holistic and redemptive purpose – from creation, to new creation. God’s creative activity unfolds throughout scripture, providing a meta narrative that reveals our God and his plan for the entire created order.

The Bible begins and ends with creation, and ultimately uses creation as a way of reflecting on the nature of God, of humanity and of His plan for the cosmos. Scripture affirms that God has been intimately bonded to creation from before the creation of the world, in the now, and through to the ‘not yet’.

Original Creation

One of the most well-known stories in the Bible is the seven day creation of the world seen in Genesis 1. This chapter reveals the creative process and creative nature of God, and sets the foundation for creation as a theme throughout the Old and New Testaments.

Through God’s creative activity, we learn that our God is a God who is actively present within his creation, and who continues to care for and sustain this creation throughout history.

Genesis 2 outlines the creation of the first man and woman, and once again reveals a God who is deeply connected to the earth, so much so that he breathes his own breath into Adam as part of his creative process.

When we come to Genesis 3 we see that all is not well within creation. Though God is seen to be walking with Adam and Eve in the garden, they have forgotten God’s creative generosity and have taken it for granted. In eating from the tree, Adam and Eve set off a chain of events which not only affects their own existence, but unravels the very fabric of the created order. This unravelling will continue to deteriorate until God takes action in Genesis 6.

The Flood

By Genesis 6, the created order has declined into a state of irreparable disrepair, and God feels compelled to take matters into his own hands. Scripture describes God’s grief and regret at having created, and his plans to flood all of creation and remake it through Noah.

In carrying out His plans, God is returning the earth to its pre-creation state of watery chaos that preceded his six day creation process – he is carrying out a systematic reversal of his own creation. This ‘de-creation’ is done by destroying everything in the order that it was created;

The windows of heaven are opened, and the fountains of the deep are released. This parallels Genesis 1 where God separated the water from the land
Noah’s ark is seen as floating on the face of the waters, an echo to God’s spirit which hovers over the face of the waters
Land animals, birds and sea creatures are destroyed
Humans are destroyed
God manifests a wind to blow over the waters, alluding to the breath of life God gives in Genesis 2

Finally, the flood episode ends with a reinstatement of the original creation – God gives Noah and his family directions akin to what he gave Adam in the garden, and even instructs him to “be fruitful and multiply”, an exact replica of the command given to Adam and Eve.

After establishing a convenant with Noah, God offers him a sign in the form of a piece of creation – a rainbow.

The Torah and Deuteronomistic History

God’s desire to renew his created order is bound up with the renewal and recreation of Israel as a nation. The writer of the Torah describes this and acknowledges God as the creator of the earth;

^“Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it.”

These first books of the Bible also point to the responsibility that we have as humans to become diligent stewards of creation. Leviticus states that creation is the property of God, and is not to be defiled. Moses, the likely author of Leviticus, even commands that creation itself, including the land, will observe the Sabbath.

In Numbers, the Israelites are told;

“You shall not pollute the land in which you live…. You shall not defile the land in which you live, in which I also dwell; for I the LORD dwell among the Israelites.”

…and this mandate is repeated in Deuteronomy.

The Old Testament closes with the Prophets, who urge Israel to come back to their creator and their God. The Prophets also urged God’s people to care for creation, and respect the earth in a way that adequately pays homage to the creator of all things (Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Joel, Hosea).

The Gospels

John opens with a retelling of Genesis 1.

“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 came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being.”

This mirrors the words of Genesis, and gives us insight into Jesus’ role in the cosmic order – he himself was a fundamental part of the original creation from the beginning.

Later in John, Jesus is described as having breathed on the disciples, in order for them to receive the Holy Spirit. This has echoes to Genesis 2 where God breathes into Adam.

The Gospels portray Jesus as asserting authority over all of creation – defying natural laws by walking on water, stilling a chaotic storm, multiplying a small amount of fish in order to feed a multitude, raising the dead and defying death himself.

Jesus

John’s passage reflects on Jesus as being integral to the creation of the world. As the New Testament goes on, it become more and more clear that Jesus was not only involved in creation, but is central to it. In this way, we must regard all of creation as thoroughly Christocentric in nature. Paul tells us in Colossians that “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created…”

In 2 Corinthians, Paul writes that:

“…if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation…”

The same God who created all things in six days has now established a new creation through Christ. All those who embrace Jesus are now living out of this new creation.

Through Jesus, God reconciles himself to his created order once more, bridging the gaps that were made broken through sin. Christ’s life, death and resurrection do not only affect the human condition, but affect the fundamental order of the entire cosmos.

Groaning Creation

We know from Romans 8 that the entire created order longs for redemption – and that the brokenness established at Eden reverberates throughout the entire natural world.

“For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God… in hopethat the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.”

We can see this groaning as early as Genesis 4 when Abel is slain and God tells Cain that:

“The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground.”

The entire created order all looks forward to the restoration of the world through God’s redemptive plan. This includes the stars, the spiders and everything in between!

New Creation

As early as Isaiah, we are told that God will

“…create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind.”

Revelations confirms this, when John has a vision;

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the former heaven and the former earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.”

Paul also validates this when he writes in Peter that:

“…according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.”

The promise of a new creation is a promise which will be fulfilled throughout the entire cosmos.

Tracing the history of the world from creation to new creation helps us to see that creation was never merely a background theme in scriptures – creation is in itself the story of salvation. The entire created order was made, fell from glory, groans in anticipation, became a new creation in Christ and looks forward to the complete and final restoration of the entire cosmos. There is no biblical narrative without creation, and without an understanding of this fundamental theme, we cannot fully grasp the biblical story.

To honor the redemptive purposes of God from creation to new creation, please sign our petition, to establish Creation Day as an officially recognised holiday!

To sign, click here

Scientific Evidence for the Great Flood

“The waters swelled so mightily on the earth that all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered; the waters swelled above the mountains, covering them fifteen cubits deep…

…He blotted out every living thing that was on the face of the ground, human beings and animals and creeping things and birds of the air; they were blotted out from the earth.

Only Noah was left, and those that were with him in the ark. And the waters swelled on the earth for one hundred fifty days.”

A Great Flood

The account of Genesis tell of a monumental flood that describes the earth being plundered by the ‘fountains of the great deep’ when God let loose on his creation. We can only imagine the catastrophic destruction that took place. Modern floods – though devastating to both life and land – pale in comparison to the cosmic demolition that this flood brought about.

Flood Geology is a branch of ‘pseudoscience’ that deals with analysing features of the Earth which have been shaped by the Genesis flood. The scientific community considers flood geology to be ‘myth’ and ‘falsifiable’ because it is seen to contradict mainstream science.

However, mainstream science has provided evidence which reinforces the idea of a global flood, such as is described in the Old Testament.

Evidence For The Flood

-Flood Stories-

The story of Noah’s Ark and the great flood is so famous that even young school aged children are familiar with Noah and his ‘Arky Arky’.

What children and some adults aren’t aware of, is that ancient flood legends exist in every corner of the earth. Many of these stories contain elements that are common to all of them:

the construction of a boat in advance
one family that is spared
some amount of animals that are kept out of danger
a rainbow
the release of birdlife to determine if the water has subsided and the destruction of humanity

These are all examples of common themes that appear. When a famous Babylonian text – The Epic of Gilgamesh – is compared to the story in Genesis 6-9, the similarities in the two flood stories are remarkable.

The overwhelming consistency amongst these traditions indicates that they have derived from the same origin. In other words, after one global flood, an oral tradition developed which was passed down through a kind of ‘Chinese whispers’. These stories were eventually written down in different parts of the world, by people living within different cultures. What is left is a mosaic of stories which have different features and nuances, but which ultimately reflect the one event.

Since we know that shortly after the flood was the scattering of languages at Babel, it seems likely that this played a part in the way the story was orally developed and altered as it was passed down through generations.

-The Black Sea-

The Black Sea, located in South-eastern Europe is famous for its concentrated salt level, but scientists are now claiming that it was once a freshwater lake before an enormous flood deluged it.

The most recent proponent of this theory is Robert Ballard – an underwater archaeologist who rose to fame after discovering the underwater wreckage of the Titanic in 1985. Ballard acted from a hunch that The Black Sea must have preserved items from antiquity because of its concentrated salt intensities and lower oxygen levels. When Ballard and his team unearthed an ancient shore line, this was an indication that a catastrophic event took place in the Black Sea.

The volume of water that caused the flood into The Black Sea is said to have been 200 times more than that of Niagara Falls. This caused the original shoreline to plunge underneath hundreds of feet of salt water. This theory is reinforced by the fact that there are layers of freshwater molluscs below the surface of the Black Sea. By carbon dating these shells, Ballard believes the timeline for the flood to have taken place around 5,000 BCE. Further to his findings, is the discovery of a vessel, and one of its crew members in The Black Sea. The ancient shipwreck is said to be perfectly preserved, along with the bones and teeth of the seaman.

-Fossils-

Rock layers all over the world are filled with fossilised marine animals, insects, spiders, amphibians and plants that are buried in places miles above sea level – including the walls of the Grand Canyon and high in the world’s tallest mountain range – the Himalayas.

The presence of these fossils are silent testimonies to the waters that flooded over every continent before being buried in massive flows of sediment as a result of powerful flooding.

Rock layers across every continent also show features that indicate they were deposited very quickly. Some strata within the Grand Canyon show clear signs that sand was deposited by huge water currents in a matter of days. In order for these layers to be deposited so extensively implies a global flooding of the continents.

Of these layers, there are large amounts which show evidence indicating that the rock layers were still wet when deposited. Rocks do not bend; they shatter and break because they are hard. Yet, in whole sequences of rock strata, we find bends without any fractures indicating that the rocks folded and rippled as if they were wet and pliable before setting as hard rock. This is best demonstrated by the Tapeats Sandstone in Grand Canyon which is folded at a right angle without any evidence of breaking.

The only explanation for this is that the layers were laid in rapid succession and buckled while still soft.

What Does This All Mean?

The Bible speaks of the events of Genesis 6-9 as real, authentic events that took place under the divine providence of God, describing a global flood that destroyed all human and animal life, except for that aboard the ark.

If the Bible is the infallible word of God, then it’s not surprising that geological evidence all over the world confirms exactly what we are told happened in the days of Noah. The physical features of the earth and its geological structure clearly indicate an event that was catastrophic, and global in nature. The evidence is undeniable.

If you want to find out more about Creation Day, or help establish Creation Day as a recognized holiday, then head here to sign the petition!

Last week we looked at how dinosaurs fit in with the biblical account, and offered one possible reason for their extinction: the global flood described in Genesis 6-9.

To check out the last article go here.