In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and
empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over
the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light
was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the
darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.
Light + Dark, Day + Night
Earth was formless -
link to craftsmen
Day 2
And God said, “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.
God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.
Sky and Water
Day 3
And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was
so. God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was
good. Then God said, “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. The land produced vegetation:
plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds.
And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.
Seas and Land
Vegetation
Day 4
And God said, “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. God made two great lights—the greater light to govern
the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. God
set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day
and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was
good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.
Sun and the Moon
Stars
Day 5
And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth
across the vault of the sky.” So 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. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them
and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds
increase on the earth.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.
Animals
Be fruitful - multiply
Day 6
And God said, “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. God made the wild animals according to their
kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along
the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. Then God said,
“Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the
fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,
and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of
God he created them; male and female he created them.
God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase
in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in
the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature
that moves on the ground.” Then God said, “I give you every
seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every
tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.
And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky
and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything
that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for
food.” And it was so. God saw all that he had made, and it
was very good. And there was evening, and there was
morning—the sixth day.
Man and Woman
"Subdue the earth"
control it/own it
"Livestock" For human use
Humans in God's image
Humans rule over animals
- our possessions
Day 7
Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts. By the seventh
day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day
from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified
it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.
Creatio ex Nihilo
Omnipotent
Genesis 2-3.
The fall of man
Adam and Eve were given the garden of Eden in which
they can do anything. However God placed one rule upon
them, they must not eat from the tree of knowledge.
“You may eat the fruit of any tree in the garden, except the tree that
gives knowledge of good and bad. You must not eat the fruit of that
tree. If you do, you will die the same day.” (Genesis 2:16-17)
“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For
God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened,
and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:4-5)
When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing
to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She
also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of
both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig
leaves together and made coverings for themselves. (Genesis 3:6-7)
The Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” He answered, “I heard you in
the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” And he said, “Who
told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded
you not to eat from?” So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have
done this, “Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl
on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put
enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” To the woman he
said, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you
will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule
over you.” (Genesis 3:14-17)
To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree
about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ “Cursed is the ground
because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life.
It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. 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. (Genesis 3:17-20)
The Serpent is one of God's animals, while not demonic it is wise and
arrogant. The Serpent is what began the fall by distorting God's words
The Serpent tricked the woman into taking a piece of fruit from the tree of
knowledge of good and bad and eating it. Eve then gave some of the fruit to
Adam, who also ate the fruit. Upon eating the fruit they both learned good and
bad and felt shame that they were naked so they made clothes.
When Adam and Eve next heard God in the garden they hid, when God asked
them why they hid Adam responded by saying they were afraid because they
were naked. Then God knew that they had taken fruit from the tree of knowledge
and he punished them for betraying him. The Serpent would be forced to crawl
on its belly for the rest of eternity, Eve (women) would have to feel pain during
child birth, and Adam (man) would have to work for a living and food.
The Goodness of God
The God in the bible is seen as the standard of morality,
meaning goodness is defined by God. Thus he is morally
perfect. "The law of the Lord is perfect." (2 Samuel 22:31)
God is also seen as the law-giver. He gave Moses the 10
commandments (Exodus 20) which he said people must obey.
God is seen as a benevolent dictator. Although fond of
his children he swiftly turns to anger when disobeyed
God is also seen as someone who interacts with the world on a
personal level in the form of miracles. God is dynamic.
Key characteristics
Omnipotent (all powerful)
"I am God Almighty" Genesis 17:1-2
Omniscient (all knowing)
"for the LORD is a God of
knowledge" Samuel 2:3
Omnibenevolent (all loving)
“For God so loved the world, that he
gave his only Son, that whoever
believes in him should not perish but
have eternal life." John 3:16
Omnipresent (all present,
everywhere at all times)
"The eyes of the Lord are in every
place, keeping watch on the evil and
the good." Proverbs 15:3
Creator/craftsman
"In the beginning, God created the
heavens and the earth." Genesis 1:1