This post reflects on the biblical story of creation and places it in the context of our contemporary society. Just like ancient people, we are often fascinated with questions of origins. Our answers and their implications can either enslave or free us. May we experience freedom as we find direction home.
Biblical Creation Accounts Highlights
The Bible is not the only account of the world and humanity’s origins. Various cultures, religious, and scientific theories account for our origins and place in the universe. We will not engage in a comparative analysis. Rather, I will account for highlight reel material in the biblical creation accounts found in Genesis 1 and 2.
The highlights include the following:
God created everything, and there are not two or more divine sources of the creation;
God created by his Word (the world does not emanate from God’s being);
Everything God created was good. In fact, God surveys the entire creation and states emphatically that his creation is very good.
God creates in an orderly way.
Humanity is the pinnacle of creation, specifically being created in God’s image.
God created humanity as a duality, namely man and woman so that the man would not be alone.
Humanity is not separate from the rest of creation.
Humanity is responsible to care and steward the creation as an expression of our worship.
Humans can eat from any tree in the garden except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
More could be said about Genesis 1 and 2. (I have written about it at greater length here.) But for the remainder of the post, we will talk more generally and existentially about the human fascination with origins.
Fascination with Human Origins
Why do many of us in society want to go back to find out where we come from? The search might lead us as far back as the origin of our species or planet. We might focus on our ancestral lineage, perhaps tracing it as far back as when our ancestor immigrated from another country. Perhaps we focus primarily or exclusively on trying to track down a parent(s) we have never met.
This search raises some fundamentally important questions: Can we ever really know who we are if we do not know where we come from? Will finding out where we come from inevitably provide us with a sense of belonging and security? Why or why not? Would you say the creation narratives in Genesis 1 and 2 provide you with a sense of belonging and security? Do you experience comfort in believing as I do that God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1), and that humans are created in God’s image? (Genesis 1:26-27)
Creation Accounts and the Sense of Comfort or Unease
Just this week, one of my students in a spiritual formation course said that he took comfort in knowing that God brought order out of the chaos, that is what was “formless and void” (Genesis 1:2). But how many of us are satisfied with being created beings and the call to imitate or image God? Maybe this knowledge makes us restless, full of unease. How many of us would prefer to replace the creator, or at least, ascend to the same status, as we find in certain forms of late modern philosophy where creation replaces imitation? (See Edward Craig’s The Mind of God and the Works of Man)
Prometheus Revisited
Along these same lines, consider the film Prometheus.Here is the official trailer, which highlights humans’ outer space quest to meet our maker. There is more, though. Many of the crew members seek self-interested greatness. For example, the person funding the mission ultimately seeks to attain immortality from humanity’s creator(s), as shown here.
The title “Prometheus” is fitting. Prometheus is the Greek deity who is often credited with taking clay and creating humanity in the image of the gods (as shown in the picture above). He also defied the supreme god Zeus and gave fire to humans. According to one tale penned by Hesiod, Zeus was not pleased and punished Prometheus horrifically for eternity. Zeus chained Prometheus to a rock and had an eagle return daily to eat his immortal liver.
What we find in the movie Prometheus is the horrific tale of how our gods, known as the “Engineers,” wish to destroy the human race. But why? One interpretation is that we gave ourselves over to hatred, taking what is good and turning it into evil. Regardless of the reason, one of the most horrific forms of murder is filicide. It is when a parent intentionally kills their own child. Something like that certainly seems to awaken fear in one or more of the crew members on the space ship named “Prometheus.”
Lost in Space with No Direction Home
It is not simply sci-fi thrillers that fill us with angst, even horror, when we are lost in space with no direction home. What might also appear tragic or at least deeply saddening is when a child no longer wishes to be associated with their parents. They may also wish to change their last name. No doubt, there are many reasons for such decisions. Even so, one wonders how difficult it must be to find direction in life if one feels like they do not really belong to their parents of origin. Consider, too, those who do not know their parents of origin, or those who feel they were born to the wrong parents. It must be so painfully difficult for any of them to find direction in life. Where we come from certainly has a bearing on where we are going, as illustrated in Robert Zimmerman’s—known to the world as Bob Dylan’s—opening lines in Martin Scorsese’s classic documentary on the legendary musician-songwriter, No Direction Home. Check out the intro here.
How might assurance of God’s goodness and affirmation of us as his good creation recorded in Genesis 1 and 2 bear relevance to our sense of belonging and security in the world today? How might biblical accounts of God determining to preserve the human race following Noah’s flood recorded in Genesis, preceding and following Jesus’ crucifixion and death in the Gospels, and in the closing chapters of Revelation inspire hope or, possibly in some cases, consternation?
Seemingly Small Answers with Big Implications
David, the mysterious, seemingly devious android in Prometheus makes a haunting statement: “Big things have small beginnings.” Our answers to life’s questions, no matter how small we think they are, often have very big implications for how we live, whether we will be freed from Prometheus’ chains, and if we will find direction home.
Paul Louis Metzger, PhD, is Professor of Theology & Culture, Multnomah Biblical Seminary, Jessup University, Director of The Institute for Cultural Engagement: New Wine, New Wineskins, and author and editor of numerous books and articles. You can read more about the author here.
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