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Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Faith in Genesis

The first thing we need to see to understand the connection between John and Genesis is the purpose behind the writing for both books. One of the features of the Bible is that it contains a series of ‘progressive revelation.’ That means that God slowly and gradually revealed both himself and his plan of salvation. He only gave the people what they were able to handle at that time. Receiving it all at once would have been beyond their ability to comprehend. (That’s very important to remember when we’re dealing with God in our own lives. How often do we fume when God won’t tell us ‘why’? If we realize that our understanding or ability to handle it is insufficient to process what God knows, we can gain a measure of trust and simply follow God. As we grow, we’ll be able to handle more. God will give us more in the right time.)
So, the story of creation in Genesis – it was not, as popular opinion holds, told as a scientific explanation for the creation of the world. It was told as a religious, a faith-based explanation. At the time of its original telling, the creation of the cosmos was generally accepted to have come about through the machinations, and sometimes war, of a pantheon of gods. Mankind had been created to serve the gods and their descendants. Mankind were intended to be slaves.

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