God and Nature
God and Nature
Andrea Lara History of Religions Prof. Willis
There is a sense in which every Christian is a "creationist," for every Christian believes that he or she lives in a universe that is a creation, and that the Source of creation is the God who is revealed in the Bible as "maker of heaven and earth." This is true, whether the Christian is a young-earth creationist, or an old earth creationist. While these various creationists may strongly disagree among themselves about the "how" of creation, and subscribe to different portraits or models of creation, they do agree on certain essential beliefs or doctrines about creation, beliefs that they find in the revelations of Holy Scripture. So, to look at creation from the perspective of Christian faith we begin with the Bible.
First, we need to understand what the word means. "Creation," refers both to the process and product of creation: we apply it both to the creation of the universe and to the universe as a creation. Many people, it appears, think of creation as something that happened in the past. To them "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Gen. 1:1) means "God did this way back then." Christians have been arguing in recent years over how far back "then" is, as many believers accept the scientific evidence for a universe some 13.7 billion years old, and others claim that the Bible teaches that the universe is only about 6,000 to 10,000 years old. There is a relationship among biblical scholars that the revelation about creation in the Bible refers primarily to the relationship between the Creator and the creation.
Furthermore, in the Bible "creation" is revealed not only as the calling forth of the universe into being but also its sustaining in existence and its eventual transformation: original creation, continuous creation, new creation. While some Christians emphasize the verse in Genesis that states, "God finished his creation," the Bible witnesses in other
Andrea Lara History of Religions Prof. Willis
There is a sense in which every Christian is a "creationist," for every Christian believes that he or she lives in a universe that is a creation, and that the Source of creation is the God who is revealed in the Bible as "maker of heaven and earth." This is true, whether the Christian is a young-earth creationist, or an old earth creationist. While these various creationists may strongly disagree among themselves about the "how" of creation, and subscribe to different portraits or models of creation, they do agree on certain essential beliefs or doctrines about creation, beliefs that they find in the revelations of Holy Scripture. So, to look at creation from the perspective of Christian faith we begin with the Bible.
First, we need to understand what the word means. "Creation," refers both to the process and product of creation: we apply it both to the creation of the universe and to the universe as a creation. Many people, it appears, think of creation as something that happened in the past. To them "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Gen. 1:1) means "God did this way back then." Christians have been arguing in recent years over how far back "then" is, as many believers accept the scientific evidence for a universe some 13.7 billion years old, and others claim that the Bible teaches that the universe is only about 6,000 to 10,000 years old. There is a relationship among biblical scholars that the revelation about creation in the Bible refers primarily to the relationship between the Creator and the creation.
Furthermore, in the Bible "creation" is revealed not only as the calling forth of the universe into being but also its sustaining in existence and its eventual transformation: original creation, continuous creation, new creation. While some Christians emphasize the verse in Genesis that states, "God finished his creation," the Bible witnesses in other
References: Old Testament and Apocrypha: Cosmology and Theology (Psalms 104; 102:25-27; 148; Genesis 1-2:4; 2:4-2:24; Sirach 42:15-43:33). God, Creator and Redeemer (Isaiah 40-43; Psalms 33; 74:12-23; 77; 136). Wisdom (Proverbs 8; Sirach 24:1-7; Wisdom 7:7-8:1). New Testament: Christ the Creator (I Corinthians 8:6; Colossians 1:9-23; Hebrews 1:1-13 [=Psalms 102:25-27; 110:1]; John 1:1-14). Christ and the New Creation (Romans 8:18-25; 2 Peter 1:1-8; Revelation 21-22:5). Bouma-Prediger, Steven, for the beauty of the earth: A christian vision for creation care. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2001, Chapter 4 Seely, Paul, "The Geographical Meaning of 'Earth ' and 'Seas ' in Gen. 1:10," Westminster Theological Journal 59 (1997) 231-55.