Genesis 1.1-2.3: Who Needs EVILution
The Genesis creation story is but one of many creation myths that existed at the time of its conception. Authors of such myths attempted to describe how the universe began while placing contemporary peoples within a historical context. While other creation myths have died out the Genesis creation myth oddly continues to be propagated. What is really odd is that some even believe it to be true.
In the opening passage of Genesis, God creates everything in six days and nights by order of decree – not unlike a heavenly king. A real king's words are addressed to his subjects who then follow his commands and make sure he gets what he wants. He says, "Let there be dinner" and his subjects scurry to make him supper. He does not say "Let there be dinner" only to go to the royal kitchen himself to warm up a pizza pocket. A command without someone to actually command is utterly pointless.
Nevertheless through this process God manages to get things done. Read temporally, the Earth existed before the creation of light, and consequently the sun. Even harder to believe, vegetation existed before God created the sun as well. Somehow plants and trees existed without requiring photosynthesis.
God saves his best creation for the last. On the sixth day he created "living creatures of every kind." One wonders if this includes bacteria and parasites. He then created humankind – in his own image of course – and gave us dominion over all the other living creatures. Here one wonders if he forgot to include dominion over bacteria and parasites, that may rightly be thought to have dominion over us.
Reading the passage, one cannot help but be struck by the creation myth's anthropocentrism. Humankind has been created in God's image; the sun, moon, and the heavenly stars have been created to be our cosmic clocks and calendars; Plants were created for our consumption; and animals created for our dominion. Living in a universe that is actually indifferent to our needs we created a god who is not.
