When reading the Bible it seems we are faced with choices. We can believe it as truth or choose not to. We can read the passages and ask ourselves did God intend this to be taken literally or is the meaning symbolic? What we choose to believe depends on what we as individuals bring to the readings. In The Book of Genesis the first half presents the Creation of Heaven and Earth, the second half presents the Creation and fall of man. This six-day account of creation raises its own set of questions for us to think about. We may wonder if the idea of a day is equal to our twenty-four hour day or was it a longer? We may also question how to accept the Bible's account with the scientific knowledge we have been exposed to. For me it doesn't matter whether the days are literal days equaling twenty-four hours. What matters most is that I acknowledge God as the Creator who recognized his creations as good.
Carolyn Spero
I understand the creation stories to be true insofar as they portray God as the master and creator of the universe and show the order he put into his work. Literally, I think it’s really impossible to take them as true. Given current cosmological, paleontological, and evolutionary data it seems impossible to adhere to the creation stories down to the very letter. Rather, it seems the creation stories are true by what they really tell God’s people not by what they particularly say. For instance, they show God as the source of all reality. They also set a standard for a day of rest, the Sabbath. Further, they establish the idea of human dignity; humans are God’s last and greatest creation. They give humans authority over creation as stewards of God’s wonderful work. They establish the concept of male and female in God’s eyes. Finally, they show humans who they are and what they come from. We are imbued with the Breath, of Spirit, of God and we are crafted in His image. All of these things I just listed are undeniably true and revealed to us by the creation stories. In that sense, the creation stories are fundamentally and entirely true. However, this truth does not dictate that birds must have existed before cattle or some minute tidbit from the story. Rather it speaks of deeper chords of truth that transcend time and context.
Nathaniel
The creation stories are something that are so unreal. After reading the creation stories I understand that God created the earth and everything that is on the earth. I do not believe that he created Eve from Adam's rib. The only thing that I believe from these stories is that God created everything. When I think of how people are created I think of science. I think the Bible really exaggerates and does not incorporate science into it at all. This is upsetting because the one thing we focus on is school is our sciences. In order to understand the world around us we must understand science. I think Genesis is right in saying that God created this world we live in. The creation stories are myths that we are taught at an early age through CCD or Religion courses in school. I think that the Bible allows us to imagine and come up with our own understanding of how we got to this world.
ReplyDelete-Lindsey Ritter
I personally do not believe in the creation stories in the Bible. This is because of the information we have learned through sciences about evolution and other ideas that Nathaniel mentioned, and some of the randomness that is recorded in the stories (water and wind existing before other things, the sun and moon being made just for Earth, woman being created from a man’s rib). However, the creation stories are still very interesting to me because it shows the history of people in terms of how they answered questions thousands of years ago. I think that these stories with man naming animals and God creating the earth in 6 days, allowing for one day of rest, reflect the time periods in which the oral tradition of the Bible was passed along in. People were wondering how language came about, and why the sun and the moon are seen at certain times of the day- these creation stories were able to provide specific answers. In general, I can see that the basic idea of God creating the world is present throughout history- but each era is able to mold the understanding of God to its specific needs and traditions. Therefore, although I do not agree with the stories of creation presented in the Bible, they still speak to me as pieces of historical thought passed on by generations of people.
ReplyDelete-Tori McAllister
I understand the creation stories as attempts to explain the origin of the existence of life. Though they are categorized as “Primeval History,” there hardly anything historical about them. They are hardly unique, differing only slightly from the creation stories of Native Americans and of Africans. There obviously exist more logical creation theories (the Big Bang Theory, for example).
ReplyDeleteI do not derive any literal truth from the creation stories (except maybe that there was a garden near the fertile crescent, or other insignificant details concerning lapis lazuli, etc.). The phrasing suggests that it may be a poem or even a song, so there may yet be truth hidden in some other literary form. One thing that I find insightful and true about the creation stories is that most humans grow up to be ‘bent’ (borrowing the term from Lewis’ Space Trilogy) creatures. However, I don’t believe that this results from the acts of Adam or Eve. Past that, I posit that it is merely one culture’s attempt to describe the origin of mankind and the world, one whose literal truth has become obsolete in the modern day.
-Caleb Capozella
The creation stories are very controversial between the religious and scientific communities of the modern world. In my opinion these stories are not meant to be taken literally. These stories are very similar to the parables in the New Testament, in that they are fictional stories told to teach a lesson.
ReplyDeleteThe first creation story details the six days of creation and final day of rest. These are interesting because the story gives God a very human characteristic in that He tires. Why would an all-powerful being need to rest. Rather than demonstrating the power of God this personification seems to diminish Him.
The second creation story and the fall of man provide a much more reasonable explanation for the creation of the world. It cannot be taken literally but the idea that creation develops from creation is much more believable. While it is improbable that one man and one woman were the first humans to exist and that they committed the first sin dooming all of mankind, the idea of man being able to make mistakes is very important. This ability to make choices means that there must be a part of the creation process that gives us the ability to reason. So even though God did not create the world and all that it encompasses in six days, He must have had some part in the creation process.
~Nicholas Shields
I see the creation stories in Genesis as completely symbolic. How he created man using clay and woman using a man's rib seems hard to grasp, so I don't think it should be taken literally. I believe that God created earth and everything on earth, but how God did that I feel is beyond our comprehension, so symbolism is our best tool. When trying to explain creation, science appears to only go so far and then comes God. But if God is "nothing," and can't do things like physically explain how it happened, what other way do we have but to interpret ourselves? The texts in the Bible is said to be inspired by the Holy Spirit, which means that the apostles that wrote it weren't necessarily sitting across from a spirit and writing down word for word, but maybe had visions? However the texts were formed and as crazy as they sound, I don't pay attention to the literal wording but the meaning behind it.
ReplyDelete-Katie Lamb
i understand the creation stories to be told specifically as stories and that they should not be taken literally. i feel that they are stories to offer some help in the explanation of how the world came to be through metaphors and narrative. I do not believe the Genesis stories because I don't believe that all the stories in the bible are supposed to be telling truth. The creation of the world is something that takes longer than seven days, and I don't believe women came from a mans side. I do believe that the stories could be a metaphor for the evolution of man and women and that the creation of the world was shortened for story purposes.
ReplyDeleteNicole Dillon
i see the creation stories as stories that are told to be real, but only in some aspects. I believe that God did create the world, but there are some parts that i do not believe, like the way Eve was born. I don't think that these stories should be taken seriously because it seems to be unreal. When reading it, there are just some things that do not match each other and do not make sense. Overall i believe that the stories are unreal and should not be taken literally.
ReplyDeletemary vogt
To regard the creation stories in Genesis as wholly figurative seems improper; in fact, one can find “literal” truths if these chapters are examined closely. As chapter one expresses, there literally exists a God. Further, this God created all things. Both creation stories discuss the beginning of humanity; a kind of humanity which some scholars understand to be different from the kind we find ourselves in now. Knowing this, Adam and Eve may be viewed by some as literal individuals.
ReplyDeleteConversely, the creation stories also contain figurative language. Though most Catholics do not literally believe Eve was temped by a snake, there remains truth to the author’s words. Original sin as a concept cannot be disregarded, even though the way it is described seems fantastical. As a whole, the creation stories offer eternal truths which metaphors or allusions cannot muddle. While I take much of the words of these three chapters with a grain of salt, I’m left still strong in my idea of a supreme goodness.
The Creation story itself could have very well happened. Seven days could really represent seven million years and thus the Creation story is much more of a myth. The creation of Adam and Eve is meant to represent to us that we are all made in the likeness of God and may also explain why men have one less rib then women. People can argue that the Bible shouldn't be taken literally because it doesn't represent science. The reason for this is that when the Bible was written, there was NO understanding of Evolution. Darwin did not create his theory of natural selection until the 19th century. The Creation story is meant to represent the unknown about the world by explain that God created it and the human race. These three chapters of the Bible are meant to help people understand why they are the way they are and why Original Sin exists.
ReplyDeleteTara Costello
Thinking back to our discussion on logos and mythos, it seems to me that both are present in these two creation accounts. It contains elements literal facts in that we know that these creatures and the world itself as we know it came to exist. It does, however, contain elements of mythos in that the world was not literally created in seven days. This story is not to be taken literally, but rather to communicate a meaning that resonates with readers and helps them to transcend their own understanding of creation.
ReplyDelete-Sophia Pileggi
I believe that the creation story is real in that God created us and the universe. However, not all of the story should be taken literally, because we know that the world was not created in 7 days. The part of the story that we should take literally is that God truly is the Creator, and he is the reason for all existence.
ReplyDeleteTom May
In class we spoke about the difference between transcendent truth and empirical truth. I understand the creation stories to be transcendent truth, especially because these stories are revealed through Sacred Scripture. I believe these stories are meant to introduce important aspects of the Faith. One story is not more true than the other, and it does not really matter that Scripture says that it took God six days to create the universe, although we know that God exists outside of time. One thing that is important is that God set aside one day for rest, teaching the Israelites the sacredness of Sabbath rest and teaching us that Sunday is to be set aside for rest and worship. Explaining creation as taking place in days and saying that God literally said "Let there be light" help us to understand in a basic way.
ReplyDeleteAlthough the first story shows God creating the universe and then placing man in it, and the second story shows God creating man first and the universe second, both make clear the same important truth: humans have been given reign over the rest of creation.
Sara K. Smith
When reading the creation stories I had a difficult time believeing them. I understand they are simply "stories" that were created to explain the world around us and humanity before their was any explanation. They should be regarded as the basic principles behind God's creations, but I believe they should not be taken literally. It is difficult to believe these stories knowing what we know today, but having lived then it is understanding that they were known to be true.
ReplyDeleteSamantha Smedley
I believe that the fundamental truths found in the creation story are true, but I do not think that this is necessarily the exact way that it happened. It is probable that this story was written to communicate to God’s people the truths of creation. These are that God is the one creator, man is made in his image, man and woman were made for each other and have the responsibility to be stewards of creation, there is a day of rest that we are meant to adhere to, and that creation is intrinsically good. In addition to this, the creation story gives God’s people an explanation for original sin and suffering in the world as a result of man’s and woman’s choice to disobey God in an attempt to make themselves equal to him. The creation story also sets the stage for the rest of salvation history to play out as we talked about in class.
ReplyDeleteI understand the creation stories to be a mixture of myths and truth. I don't know exactly how much to take literally - it seems like once you make the line fuzzy by doubting whether parts of something should be taken literally, you throw the rest into question as well. There are things that are definitely true (God created the earth and everything in it, He put man as its caretaker, etc) and other things that seem likely to be there for a parable-like purpose (He created the earth in exactly seven days, for example). In light of this, I definitely believe the creation stories, but I'm not sure where exactly the line lies between symbolism and the absolutely literal.
ReplyDelete-- Chelsey Sterling
I believe that the creation stories should not be taken literally. I think they were written for a theological purpose, and people should interpret them the way they want to. I also think they guide people in learning how the creation of the earth began. I do not think they should be taken literally because many of the stories do not make logical sense, and they do not really follow each other.
ReplyDelete-Elise Ariens
My view on the creation stories that were told to a privitive culture in order to answer their questions about their existence. If God had revealed the scientific reasons of how humans came to be, noone would have been able to fathom it. For this reason, God had to create simplified stories for his people. As society matured, more accurate truths could be revealed through science. Because of this, these stories of creation are only symbolic of God's goodness.
ReplyDeleteThe creation story in Genesis is definitely based upon fact. I believe that it can't all be taken literally, but the main points of the stories are true. For example, God did create the sky, seas, earth, night, day, creatures for land, creatures for sea, man, and then I'm sure He rested. However, some people have difficulty believing this just because some points aren't explicity clear. An example of this is God creating the World in 7 days. Well, how were 'days' customarily defined in the time in which the author was writting Genesis? Who gets to define 'days'? Should one small, fallible, and carping finite mortal be able to critique a work which was inspired by God??? The answer I have come to understand is the world was created in God's time, not in ours. Seven days in God's time could equal several lifetimes for us humans, but we will never know the truth until we reach Heaven. Until then, we must accept with faith those things revealed to us by God.
ReplyDelete~Caitlin Gorecki
I remember someone once told me that I would have to, one day, chose which I believed in: the big bang, or the creation. Since I was little, I have learned about the creation story and thought of it the same way I thought of any of the other stories in the Bible - fantastical, inspiring, and with certain elements of fiction and truth mixed together. I don't think that God created the world in seven days, the same way I don't think people in the Old Testament lived until they were hundreds of years old. I do think that there was some element of God in creation; whether He was the one who moves science along, or He let science do the whole thing while keeping an eye on the final result. Either way, I would like to believe that God had been involved in the beginning of the world.
ReplyDeleteThe story of creation is one that is surreal, while wanting to believe what was written there are so many factors from these stories that make it very hard to believe. I see them as ways for humans to originally explain how they came to be, but now with modern day sciences it is completely dis proven, making it fall in to a state of "Mythos" one could say. I believe that they are just stories and aren't to be taken literally, but that is my opinion im not trying to offend anyone. Everyone interprets these stories in different ways, and to me these stories i feel are "Mythos".
ReplyDeleteI personally believe both creation stories to be considered as mythos instead of logos. Besides a few real geographical regions, such as the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, neither of them contain realistic or historical references that one would consider to be logical; however, I don't feel that either of these stories for created for the purpose of a logical creation of man and the Universe. It states that God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh day. To me this seems impossible since God lives outside of human's understanding of time and space. Instead, I feel as though both stories were created to resemble a fable for story telling to give humans an understanding of how and why God created the Universe as well as the human race.
ReplyDeleteJay Garrick
After reading the passages from Genesis that contain the creation stories, I'm still convinced that they're fictional. The metaphorical significance of these stories seems to be the real point behind them, rather than trying to get us to believe that women are literally just a man's spare rib and so on. The author of this segment of the Bible was more likely just trying to express how God made the world and human life possible, not detailing the exact, actual process that God took in order to do so.
ReplyDelete--Kat Hermanson
I understand Genesis 1-3 as merely a story to illustrate that God had created the world. Like Nathaniel had stated, there is not a substantial amount of scientific proof to the accuracy of the story, and therefore is difficult to take literally.
ReplyDeleteI do believe that God created the world, but I do not adhere completely to the Creation Stories. I think that many of the details were simply created to explain the Creation and should not be taken literally.
The creation stories are obviously fictional stories. They would not be able to happen if you took a scientific stand point. They are stories that were not created to make sense literally. They were simply told to give the people of that time something to believe as science and technology were ancient back then. There was really no other theories or stories back then that could easily debunk these beliefs like we can today. The main point of the stories was to just make it clear to everyone that God created the world. I do believe that God created the world however I do not believe it was done the way it is stated in Genesis.
ReplyDelete--Nicholas Darin
I believe that the creation stories are just made to explain and show that God created everything in the world. It also shows that he created all people in the image of himself to be good people and gave them free will. These stories were made to help people believe in God and know that he is all powerfully. It doesn't really matter that the world wasn't created in 7 days what matters is the fact God is what was behind it being creative. Also it Eve probably wasn't made from the rib of Adam but what matters is God created them in his image.
ReplyDelete-Courtney Geary
The creation stories were written in the beginning of Christianity to help the early followers understand God. Even today, they are still used to help young Christians understand the power of God. These stories are simply used to express the early truths about God. God created the world, but not in the ways that Genesis explains. These stories should not be taken too literally. The stories cannot be scientifically proven, and rather they are more likely to be disproven. I personally think that the stories served (and still serve) their purpose as simply “stories” that help illustrate God and his power.
ReplyDeleteI understand the creation stories as the description of what really happened when the universe was created. It may not have happened exactly this way but I believe the general idea of it. I believe in the key elements that are stated in the creation story because I am of the belief that God can do anything so why not create the world and everything in it in this matter? Some things however, should be taken not literally because I believe some of these tidbits of information were created in order to simplify the understanding of the bible and the creation story and not to be understood as actual occurrences. For example, God did create everything and everyone but in what order may be a mystery and in how much time is hard to pinpoint without being there.
ReplyDeleteEmma Leary
I believe that God created the world. The book of Genesis was made by man to describe how he created the world. God is so much bigger than the human race to understand. Time is a concept created by man, so for the Bible to state that God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh is more of an explanation of how powerful he is and how quick he created everything. It does not mean that he literally created the world in six days. The point of Genesis is to explain how powerful God is and how he wanted to create such a beautiful world and people in his image.
ReplyDelete-Katelyn Bockin
I believe in the idea of Intelligent Design, in which God set all things into motion. In Hebrew, mention of the number seven merely indicates "several", so saying "seven days" is similar to saying "several days". Scientists say that humans began as sea-dwelling organisms, nothing but amoebas, and then eventually developed into animals, as Neanderthal. I believe that God set all of these things into motion. Just as He formed Adam from the clay, a sculpter goes through several stages before finishing his work and stepping back and saying "It is good". When God saw that the Neanderthal had developed into a being of His image and likeness, capable of containing a human soul, he breathed life into it, and called it good. Of course, this is all very specific belief and it could go any way, it is just formed based on the path I've taken in life. But in the end, it doesn't really matter. We all have our ways of relating science to the Creation story to make sense of it. What matters is the beauty of a sculpter and the fact that His work is "good".
ReplyDeleteI personally do not the 1st creation story to be true at all. However, if a couple million years are placed in between each "day" then it follows the same pattern that evolution and science teaches us. So there is some truth to it. I understand the creation stories to be more about the fall of man. I agree with some other posts that these stories are made to illustrate God's power.
ReplyDeleteCharlie
Before this class I had believed both creation stories to be true. I thought that the story of Adam and Eve was a part of the 7 day creation story. As a child, I took these stories very literally, and believed that they happened word for word. However, now that I am understanding more that the Bible was not meant to be taken literally throughout the whole book, I am reconsidering my beliefs. As discussed in class, I would say these stories are more mythos: stories not to be taken as history, but rather as explanations to explain the unexplainable (by logos). I am still not sure in my faith if these stories actually happened as it is written. However, I do believe God's message in both of these stories. That man was created in the image and likeness of God, and that due to temptation and sin, we are imperfect in the eyes of God.
ReplyDelete-Elisabeth O'Toole
When I was younger, I believed that the creation stories were all very real, factual accounts of what happened in the beginning of time. As I grew older and developed a more mature understanding of my faith, however, doubts arose in my mind that such people as Adam and Eve ate a certain fruit, and that God really created the entire universe in just six days. Still, I believe it is important to study the creation stories in order to understand creation from the author's point of view, and trace the themes and symbology of the Old Testament into the New Testament. I see the creation stories as partially true; it is indeed possible that there was a first man and woman, but they probably only figuratively ate the forbidden fruit. In addition, I see the days of creation as a kind of evolution theory. Six days could mean six milleniums in the Bible, as God exists outside of time.
ReplyDelete~Risa Eskew
In class we spoke about mythos and logos. Both are present in these readings. The creation stories are not be taken literally, but seen as a metaphor, or a story used to help us understand (or those at the time, maybe the early human) how the world was created and how we came to be.
ReplyDelete-Kate Shannon