Just before Christmas an American judge ruled that the theory of intelligent design (such as a Creator God) of Creation is based on a supernatural explanation for natural phenomena, and cannot be taught as part of a high school science curriculum. The ruling is part of a perennial debate as to whether the biblical account of Creation in Genesis 1 is science, or something else.
Those who look to Genesis 1 for a scientific account on Creation point to the evolutionary nature of that account. From a formless void there emerges sequentially over six “days” light and darkness, the heavens, land and sea, vegetation, sun, moon and stars, living creatures and finally human beings. This is not strictly in line with the scientific order of evolution, but is evolutionary in concept. The parallel with science is striking, yet the biblical story-tellers of 3,500 years could not have a knowledge of science equal to our own. Nor was science their intention in crafting the Creation story.
Taking another approach, Archbishop James Ussher of Armagh, a theologian of note in the 17th century, calculated from an historical perspective that the world was created in 4004BC. Some old bibles have this and subsequent dates appended in the notes. It is unlikely that the Archbishop, armed with today’s knowledge, would make such a calculation.
Others argue that the Bible must be right in postulating God as Creator, for how else could one explain some of the many unanswered questions we have about the beginnings of the universe. The problem with this “God of the gaps” argument is that as science advances and more answers are found, the dependence on God as the stop-gap solution diminishes.
These and other such arguments that seek to prove that the writers of Genesis provide us with a scientific or historical account of Creation make a fundamental category mistake. They miss the real purpose of the Creation story which is not history or science, but theology. The story conveys the Hebrew understanding of God’s relationship with the created order, and with humankind. It provides us with a world-view as to how we should live in relationship to God, other people, and Earth itself.
All cultures have their stories about the origins of life. Maori have the story of Rangi-nui, the sky father, and Papatuanuku, the earth mother. The Maori story is no more science or history than is the biblical story of Genesis 1. But both have similar themes in the sacredness of nature, and the consequent reverence we should have for people, all life forms and Earth itself.
The Judaeo-Christian story of Creation from Genesis 1 tells us several key things :
- The whole of Creation is alive with the active and life-giving presence of God (Genesis 1.2 : “The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters”)
- The Earth is God’s gift to us, and it is good (Gen 1.31 : “God saw everything he had made, and it was very good”)
- We live in relationship with Creation, respecting each person and part as created by God. It is from this concept of relationship that all our efforts for justice, peace and environmental conservation stem : this is not merely a matter of ethics, but an expression of our deep relational connection with all life.
- At the heart of our being is our core relationship with God : it is because we see God as the source of all life that we regard all life as sacred and worthy of respect (“When we see God as our father and mother, we see every other person and part as our brother and sister”).
- Having God at the centre of life prevents us from acting selfishly and exploitatively towards others or to the Earth itself.
Science is science, and theology is theology : they are not competing truths, but complementary. Science tells us how the world was made. Theology gives us a world-view which tells us how we should understand the world, and how we should live within it.
On January 1 we celebrate the feast of the circumcision of Jesus, more often known today as the naming of Jesus. It is a day of dedication, the 8th day following a birth according to Jewish custom. The name “Jesus” means salvation – a Latin word meaning wholeness in every aspect of life, wholeness because as Jesus was dedicated to God, so we too dedicate our lives afresh to God for the year that lies ahead.
Our reflections about Creation are very relevant to a feast of dedication. The story of Creation provides us with this picture of a life-giving and divine spirit at the heart of all life. It instils within us a profound sense of the gift and the goodness of God in Creation and calls forth from us a song of praise and celebration. In affirming the integrity and God-given nature of all people, other species on Earth, and the Earth itself, it calls us to a life characterised by love and compassion for all living things, and leads us into ministries of justice, peace and caring for the environment.
And by having God at the centre of our life, we are not only sustained personally by the divine love and power, but we are prevented from the self-seeking that leads to power over others and abuse of the Earth’s resources.
