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What is the Bible?
- The Word of God - To communicate we use words
- A record of human experience of God's revelation
Without the light of God, we see things differently.
When Adam was with God, he spoke of Eve in beautiful language. Later, when he had lost the light of God, he called her, "that woman you gave me."
We respond the way we perceive, so God's light is critical. Without it, we stumble around and make a mess of things.
In his time, Jesus was the light. Today, the Church is the light. "Lumen Gentium" = "Light of the nations". "Our light must shine before others."
Covenant = Unconditional surrender. "The opposite of covenant is prostitution."
In the Bible, God makes 6 covenants (these describe his relationship with humanity):
- Adam - besides himself, Adam represents humanity
- Noah - Noah had children who had families, so Noah represents a household
- Abraham - represents tribes
- Moses - represents nation (10 commandments = constitution)
- David - Kingdom with military power
- Jesus - International with spiritual, not military, power
The bible is made up of 73 books: 27 in the New Testament and 46 in the Old Testament. There was a breakdown described of each of these categories which cannot be duplicated here.
Genesis = "The Beginning" - 50 chapters: 1-11 "Pre-history"; 12-50 "Patriarchal history". 4 authors at 4 different times. For example, in Chapter 1 God is referred to as "God", "God", "God". Yet in Chapter 2 he is always referred to as "Lord God".
In 480 B.C., the Babylonians defeated Israel. This meant that the God of Babylon, Marduch, had beaten the God of Israel. At this time, a priest arrived whose job it was to restore the identity of Israel and to convert the Babylonians to save them. This was a big job, since the perception was that if a nation was defeated, the victor nation's god had in effect beaten the losing nation's god. So to communicate Israeli beliefs effectively, the priest/author needed to use imagery, language, and stories familiar to the Babylonians.
----- End of session 1
The Creation Stories (2)
"Creation" means "Bringing order out of chaos". The "first creation story," Genesis Ch 1, was written by the above-mentioned priest/author in the 2nd century B.C.
Fr Sebastian described a pyramid that mirrors Genesis and our understanding of God's creation. There are 5 levels in the pyramid:
- The bottom level is labeled "Chaos" with the note In The Beginning off to the side. This is where it all begins.
- Level 4 is labeled "Vegetative" with the note Senses, as we first learn to use our senses.
- Level 3 is labeled "Animal" with the note Instincts, as we learn to use our instincts next
- Level 2 is labeled "Human" with the note Logic & Reason, as we learn to use these next, and this is what separates us from animals.
- The peak of the pyramid is labeled "Christ" and the note is Faith, as this is the final step in our development.
We are expected to use all of the traits in those notes as images of God. The extent to which we do so constitutes our Growth and the lack of use of these God-given abilities constitutes Moral Degradation. Also notice that the order of the pyramid matches the order in which Genesis recounts God's creation of the world.
Chapter 1, the "first Creation story", tells a story of separations: Day from Night; Earth from Sky; Darkness from Light; etc.
In the first creation story, God is Transcendant and Omnipotent; One Supreme God; Creation was an effortless task; Creation was from nothingness; Everything else (stars, sun) was "creatures". These ideas all were in sharp contrast to the understanding of how the Babylonian God, Marduch, created the universe, but described such that Babylonians could understand.
Similarly, "Man" was made in God's image. This is likened to kings of that period creating statues of themselves and placing them throughout their kingdom so that subjects could view them and feel connected to the king. In the same way, we are images, or representatives, of God. We are not God, just images. God placed limits on Man.
"The purpose of creation was to serve God"
Man and Woman were equal parties - neither was superior nor inferior.
God said "very good" about all his creations. This means: God did not create evil. Everything God creates is good.
The 2nd Creation story (Genesis 2) was written about the 10th century B.C., the time of Solomon, to communicate Israeli beliefs to worshipers of "Baal". The culture there had an agricultural background and worshipped Baal (as "father God") and Earth (as "mother God"). They believed that for them to receive bountiful harvests and healthy land, Baal must have sexual relations with Earth. High Baal priests had the same with virgins, which they believed encouraged Baal. This was the understanding of women's purpose then: procreation. Notice that Solomon had 600 wives.
The author of Genesis 2, then, needed to enlighten them in these areas. Woman is equal to Man. The author used imagery that communicated to an agricultural culture: Notice the description of the earth is different between Genesis 1 and 2 (due to the cultures they were communicating in). In Genesis 1, the world is covered in oceans, full of life, and God creates Man last of all. In Genesis 2, Man is discussed first, and the world is largely barren, save for the 4 rivers God creates to nourish the land.
"Adam" comes from "Adamah," which means Earth: Man is basically from Earth. His beginning and end is Adamah. He is like any other animal. His role is to see God's face on earth and transform it to a paradise. The message? "It is not Baal doing this. It is us."
Purpose of Man: Transform the earth. Man has the breath of God and is here to live, not die. His existence depends on god, and he names other creatures (which symbolizes his stature above them). He is in charge of the garden.
----- End of session 2 (notes by M Kellogg)
Please feel encouraged to add your comments and discussion to this weblog, to continue and enhance our study. And by all means, attend future sessions. The next lecture is November 15th, 7:30 pm at Potthoff Hall. Refreshments and study sheets are provided. All are welcome.
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