Creation (theology)
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Creation is a doctrinal position in many religions and philosophical belief systems which maintains that a single God, or a group of gods or deities is responsible for creating the universe. The theological implications of creation may take a variety of forms, the most innocuous being that of a religious identity or creed. There are religious believers who extend this to a strident advocacy of creationism, but the doctrinal belief is not necessarily synonymous with such advocacy.
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[edit] Judaism & Christianity
(see Creation according to Genesis)
[edit] Genesis 2:4-25
Mainstream Biblical scholarship maintains that the creation story found in Genesis 2 is the earlier of the two Genesis accounts. Filled with ancient and rich imagery, it is believed that the basic story once circulated among the early nomadic Hebrews, told perhaps around simple, intimate campfire settings, answering questions about life and the origins of humankind. The story also reflects Israel's belief in its covenant relationship with God. The concern in Genesis 2 is not in the creation of the cosmos but in the origins of humankind and their environment. There is a clear connection between humans and the land (Gen. 2:7) and the notion that people are a special creation of God.
[edit] Genesis 1:1-2:3
Most Biblical scholars believe that the Genesis 1 account can be attributed to the so-called "priestly" writer(s)/editor(s) (known in academic circles as "P") who was responsible for a fair portion of the Pentateuch. Dating to roughly the Exilic and early post-Exilic period of Hebrew history, the account sets forth creation on a cosmic scale. Revered for its majestic poetry concerning the beginnings of the universe, the Genesis 1 account is shaped as a litany, likely for use in the Temple in Jerusalem, though its basic form predates the building of the Second Temple.
Whereas the earlier account found in Genesis 2 emphasizes the closeness of humanity's relationship to the environment and the immanence of God, the later Genesis 1 account emphasizes the transcendent greatness of God and culminates in the establishment of the Sabbath. It is believed that the "P" source was concerned with maintaining a Jewish identity while removed from Jerusalem and Temple worship, and that the Sabbath was thus lifted up as a means to retain a distinctive identity in the midst of a pluralist Exilic culture. Hence, the account ends with the establishment of the Sabbath as an act of God, and an important part of the creative process.
This familiar account today is utilized for a variety of theological purposes.
- It is often used to stress the transcendence of God, his sovereignty, awesome power, and identity as wholly separate from creation.
- The account is typically used to establish or strengthen the notion of Sabbath as a key mark of God's "chosen people", particularly by Jewish scholars.
- This is a key passage for those who support the notion of creatio ex nihilo, or "creation out of nothing". This belief states that God created the cosmos without the aid of anything to begin. Genesis 1:1 reads in Hebrew, "Bereshit bara Elohim et hashamayim ve'et ha'arets...". In most traditional English translations, it reads, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth...". God's existence and creative power apart from any original "building blocks" is assumed. A notable exception to this translation appears in the NRSV translation, which reads, "In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth...", which, while still faithful to the Hebrew text, seems to make the assumption that God created the universe out of "chaos". While this idea is found elsewhere in Scripture (notably in the Psalter), the NRSV is the first major English translation to find this notion in Genesis 1.
- The first creation story found in Genesis is also the key passage for those who subscribe to some form of creationism, which purports that Genesis 1 is a literal account of how God created the universe.
The terms "hashamayim ve'et ha'arets" (translated as Heaven and Earth} is identical to the Sumerian term Anunaki (Anu=heaven, na=and, Ki=Earth {Sumerian)), the name given to the Gods in Southern Mesopotamia. By this means, author/redactors of the Babylonian exile were asserting the superiority of their god over the polytheistic gods of Babylonia.
[edit] Psalms
- YHWH as divine warrior
- Psalms 8, 33, 89, 98, 104, 145
[edit] Rabbinic Interpretation
A Jewish midrash or homiletical interpretation tells that six things preceded the creation of the world: the Torah and the Throne of Glory were created, the creation of the Patriarchs was contemplated, the creation of Israel was contemplated, the creation of the Temple in Jerusalem was contemplated, the name of the Messiah was contemplated, and repentance too. (Genesis Rabbah 1:4.)
The Mishnah teaches that God created the world with ten Divine utterances. Noting that surely God could have created the world with one utterance, the Mishnah asks: What are we meant to learn from this? The Mishnah answers: If God had created the world by a single utterance, men would think less of the world, and have less compunction about undoing God’s creation. (Mishnah Avot 5:1.)
[edit] New Testament
- John 1
- Colossians 1
[edit] Islam
[edit] Beginnings
God (Arabic:Allah), in the Quran, says:
"Do not the Unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were joined together (as one unit of creation), before we clove them asunder? We made from water every living thing." [21:30]
Islam, like the Judeo-Christian traditions, says that the universe was created in "days" or "steps":
"Verily your Lord is God, who created the heavens and the earth in six days, and is firmly established on the throne (of authority), regulating and governing all things." [10:3].
[edit] Heavens
The Quran declares:
"Then turned He to the heaven when it was smoke, and said unto it and unto the earth: Come both of you, willingly or loth. They said: We come, obedient. Then He ordained them seven heavens in two Days and inspired in each heaven its mandate; and We decked the nether heaven with lamps, and rendered it inviolable. That is the measuring of the Mighty, the Knower." [41: 11-12]
[edit] Earth
Regarding the creation of the Earth, the Quran says:
"He set on the (earth), mountains standing firm, high above it, and bestowed blessings on the earth, and measure therein all things to give them nourishment in due proportion, in four Days, in accordance with (the needs of) those who seek (Sustenance)." [41:10]
"And We have spread out the (spacious) earth: How excellently We do spread out!" [51:48]
[edit] Hinduism
The Hindu/Vedic texts such as the Srimad Bhagavatam describe that God in His form of the Primeval 'Maha-Vishnu' lies on the 'causal ocean' and as he exhales, countless numbers of universes are created from the pores in His skin. Then as He inhales, they are brought back into His body and become unmanifest again until the time of His next outward breath. Each breath is equivalent to many billions of years according to our calculation.
The first living being created in each universe is called 'Brahma' and is given the task of creating a diversity of life and environments within that particular universe. According to people's karma from the last universe they are put into appropriate bodies in the new one, anything from being Brahma themselves to being a small ant, and the cycle continues for infinity. More purified souls are given the task of stewardship over the existence in a similar fashion to Brahma, and are known as 'devas' but none have his specific powers.
Maha-Vishnu originates from The Supreme Personality of Godhead - Krishna, whose abode is beyond this material world. It is said that the material universes exist in a small space of an infinite and eternal 'spiritual sky', known as Vaikuntha. The spiritual sky, Vaikuntha, is beyond our material conceptions being filled with eternity, knowledge and bliss. In Vaikuntha it is said that "time is conspicuous by its absence" and thus there is no creation or dissolution. It is not destroyed when the material universes become unmanifest, but stays as it is.
[edit] Maya
Maya account for creation is described in details in Mayan sacred book Popol Vuh. According to this book, Universe, Earth and people were created by three water-dwelling serpents and three heaven-dwelling entities:
"...There was only immobility and silence in the darkness, in the night. Only the creator, the Maker, Tepeu, Gucumatz, the Forefathers, were in the water surrounded with light. They were hidden under green and blue feathers, and were therefore called Gucumatz. By nature they were great sages and great thinkers. In this manner the sky existed and also the Heart of Heaven, which is the name of God and thus He is called.
Then came the word. Tepeu and Gucumatz came together in the darkness, in the night, and Tepeu and Gucumatz talked together. They talked then, discussing and deliberating; they agreed, they united their words and their thoughts.
Then while they meditated, it became clear to them that when dawn would break, man must appear. Then they planned the creation, and the growth of the trees and the thickets and the birth of life and the creation of man. Thus it was arranged in the darkness and in the night by the Heart of Heaven who is called Huracán.
The first is called Caculhá Huracán. The second is Chipi-Caculhá. The third is Raxa-Caculhá. And these three are the Heart of Heaven.
Then Tepeu and Gucumatz came together; then they conferred about life and light, what they would do so that there would be light and dawn, who it would be who would provide food and sustenance.
Thus let it be done! Let the emptiness be filled! Let the water recede and make a void, let the earth appear and become solid; let it be done. Thus they spoke. Let there be light, let there be dawn in the sky and on the earth! There shall be neither glory nor grandeur in our creation and formation until the human being is made, man is formed. So they spoke..."
[edit] Resources
- Anderson, Bernhard, "A Stylistic Study of the Priestly Creation Story", Canon and Authority, G. Coats & B. Long, eds. (1977)
- Anderson, Bernhard, ed., Creation in the Old Testament (1984) ISBN 0-8006-1768-1
- Anderson, Bernhard, Creation versus Chaos (1967), ISBN 0-8006-1998-6
- Anderson, Bernhard, Understanding the Old Testament (4th Edition) (1957, 1997) ISBN 0-13-948399-3
- Brandon, S.G.F., Creation Legends of the Ancient Near East (1964)
- Brueggemann, Walter, Genesis ISBN 0-8042-3101-X
- Cross, Frank Moore, Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic (1973), ISBN 0-674-09176-0
- Ellis, Peter, The Yahwist: The Bible's First Theologian (1968) ISBN 0-225-48819-1
- Gunkel, Hermann, The Legends of Genesis: The Biblical Saga and History (1964) ISBN 1-59244-236-6
- Oden, Thomas, The Living God (1984) ISBN 0-06-066363-4
- Prabhupada, A.C.B.. Life Comes From Life, Bhaktivedanta Book Trust ISBN 0-89213-100-4 (Creation from the Vedic Perspective)
- Rouvière Jean-Marc, "Brèves méditations sur la création du monde" L'Harmattan 2006 Paris, ISBN 2-7475-9922-1
- Von Rad, Gerhard, Genesis (1972) ISBN 0-664-20957-2
- Wright, G.E., The Old Testament and Theology (1969)
[edit] See also
- Esoteric cosmology
- Documentary hypothesis
- Higher criticism
- Source criticism
- Origin belief
- Allegorical interpretations of Genesis
- Creation spirituality
[edit] External links
- Evidence of Scientific Creation with Answers in Genesis
- Genesis 2:4-25 (ESV)
- Genesis 1:1-2:3 (ESV)
- A rewriting of Genesis consistent with modern science (including evolutionary biology)
- Colossians 1:15-20 (ESV)
- John 1:1-18 (ESV)
- Muslim viewpoint
- Islam and Evolution
- Creation in the Vedic tradition
- Vedic creationism in America, Frontline, Volume 23 - Issue 01, Jan. 14 - 27, 2006
- Some Evidence for Creation
- The Creation & Evolution Theories
- Evidence for the Creation Theory (Video and Audio Online)
