Category Archives: Creation

Creating Meaning from Creation

Posted on by
2

Many people believe in a literal interpretation of the Bible’s creation story. There are whole conferences and lectures dedicated to defending this point of view. My position right now is that I don’t care.

Regardless of whether you take the Adam and Eve story literally, the point of the narrative is to create meaning. How would Christianity–or better yet, how would our neighborhoods look different if they embraced some of the significant meaning communicated in this story? How would things be different if we understood that…

  • …we were intended to be at peace with the earth, with plants, animals, and each other. The Garden of Eden was a space where all the creatures lived in a mutually beneficial peaceful existence. Adam was even created from the dust of the earth! Essentially the story communicates that if it weren’t for the earth we could not/would not exist! How different would our world be if we tried to lean into this intended reality?
  • …man and woman cannot be separated. I’m not making an “Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve” play here. What I am saying is that according to the story woman cannot exist apart from man (it took one of his ribs to make her) and man cannot be complete apart from woman (missing that damn rib). In a world filled with broken relationships would it change anything to know that apart from others we are incomplete? We were not created for isolation or complete individualism! The whole man-woman thing is not at all tied to superiority or control, rather it is about connectedness. We are forever and completely connected to each other.
  • …we are partners with God. God invited the humans to name the animals, he invited them to be a part of the creation process by actually giving the animal kingdom some of its identity. How would things change if we viewed ourselves as partners with God in the continued identity-giving process of life?
  • …not only were we intended to be at peace with the world around us, but originally there was a peace and casual relationship between the creator and his creation. It was normal for Adam and Eve to walk together with God in the dew of the morning! How would life be different if we knew that we were intended to be at peace and in relationship with God?
  • …Adam and Eve were naked…and I’m pretty sure they were dead sexy (though probably a bit freakish looking without a belly button). I don’t think this necessarily invites us all to come to a place where we can all be naked together (though some could argue that). Rather I think this reminds us of our intended innocence. We were intended for purity, innocence, and simplicity (don’t clothes bring heaps of complexity to our lives?!). What would our world look like if we embraced our original calling to simple, pure, and innocent living? Jesus invited his followers to be like children…seems strangely similar.
  • …we are good. God looked at his creation over and over again and mused to himself “wow, this is pretty good!” and regarding you and I he even thought “Wow, this is really ridiculously good!” So often Christians start the story with brokenness and sinfulness but the reality is that the story starts with goodness. How would our world be different if when we looked at people around us we saw (and believed) their inherent goodness. It’s not that we’re all good or that given the opportunity we’ll all make good choices, rather its that our starting place, our origin, or beginning is in perfect goodness…what a better place to find our identity than in our brokenness!
  • …destructive things are only bastardizations of the good stuff. The devil came in the form of a snake and tempted the humans to eat the fruit. What I love is that early on in the story we’re reminded that the best that evil can do is bastardize good things. Snakes aren’t evil, they’re kind of awesome. But the devil used it to bring about broken relationship. If we look at most everything that is destructive in our world it turns out to be a bastardization of something that was originally good. Evil doesn’t create. How would like and Christianity be different if we had the courage to own everything good?
  • …work is a gift from God. Work isn’t something we HAVE to do, it’s something we GET to do. God didn’t place humanity in a box, in an empty field, on a cement pad, or in a spa resort. He placed them in a garden with plants and animals to take care of. Work was part of the beauty of their existence–how would life be different if we understood labor as a beautiful part of being human? How would we choose our jobs differently? Hmm…I wonder.
There are so many other bullet points that could be included here! Again, regardless of whether you take this story literally or not the reality is that it is the the defining start to the Jesus-narrative. And I think we have a great opportunity to be shaped by the meaning that this story seeks to bring into our world. Peace, communion, relationship, enjoyable labor, partnership, goodness…this is who we are and what we were intended for…what if we tried to live THAT out?

Naked Vegetarians and God's Original Plan

Posted on by
1

We do not usually start our story until Genesis 3. Genesis 1-2 is the story of creation. Whether you take the creation story as literal or not, what we understand about ourselves in that story is remarkable. According to the biblical tradition humanity is not an accident, we were created out of peace and stillness, we were created out of unified love (“let us make man in our image), the created world was not incidental rather it was crafted with intention and purpose, communion and relationship are a part of our story, and man and woman were intended for intimacy and mutual self-sacrifice. Whether or not you take this story as literal or not, we are invited to be shaped by the truth that this is our genesis, this is our original purpose and intended beauty, this is who we really are. We are intended to be defined by peace, stillness, tranquility, fruitful activity, communion, purpose, relationship, and self-sacrifice for the sake of others. Are those markers that define us? Besides the fact that we have raped creation to the point of destroying beautiful species of animals and plants, we live our lives finding our identity in a post Genesis 3 story. We find our identity in our brokenness. Don’t get me wrong, we try to put a good spin on it, but do we not all see the bumper stickers that say “I’m not perfect, just forgiven”? Don’t we all understand Jesus’ saving work on the cross only in juxtaposition to our brokenness? Don’t we think about the coming of God’s future kingdom with some sense of worry concerning his judgement of our brokenness?

While I understand that there is some truth to the reality that brokenness is where we are at, we live in a broken world, we are broken people, and we find hope for healing in the work and life of Jesus Christ…BUT…that is one of the beautiful things about following Jesus…it’s utter foolishness! It was foolish for Mother Teresa to spend so much energy and time with people who are dying. She would have been better off finding healing and eternal salvation for these people right? It was foolish for Jesus to do what he did, to make himself human, to hang out with a bunch of Jews, to tell people to be quiet about his message, and to eventually allow humanity to kill their maker. It’s foolishness to not find your security in retirement and trust funds. Its foolishness to believe that you experience love more fully by giving more of yourself away. Its foolishness.

The invitation, I believe, is to act out of the reality that we put our hope in. The Christian message says that our identity is more clearly understood in Genesis 1-2 than in Genesis 3. The Christian story says that we have a hope in future kingdom (that is breaking in even today) where one day all peoples will be reconciled together with each other and with God. The beginning and end of our story is one of peace, communion, and joy…what if we did the foolish thing and tried to live out of this reality today?

**I feel the need to add that I also really recognize that for many this world just plain ol’ sucks. As a follower of Christ I hope to work toward hope for these people in their lives today (starving people need food, etc.) while also realizing that sometimes our only hope is in God’ future realized kingdom.