Genesis 1; Matt28:16-21
May 18,2008
Patrick Preheim
Creation Myths
Just a few years ago (in 2005) a great debate erupted in Kansas, the home state of my alma mater Bethel College. In a seeming throwback to the struggle between creationists and Darwinian evolutionists in the early 20th century, legal documents were filed to modify state teaching standards on the origins of life. To summarize the controversy I quote Washington Post staff writer Peter Slevin.
WICHITA – Propelled by a polished strategy crafted by activists on America's political right, a battle is intensifying across the nation over how students are taught about the origins of life. Policymakers in 19 states are weighing proposals that question the science of evolution. The proposals typically stop short of overturning evolution or introducing biblical accounts. Instead, they are calculated pleas to teach what advocates consider gaps in long-accepted Darwinian theory, with many relying on the idea of intelligent design, which posits the central role of a creator. Battle on Teaching Evolution Sharpens, Washington Post, Monday, March 14, 2005; Page A01
This newly coined term, “intelligent design”, caused some
editorial pundits to title their columns: Creationism in Kansas-- is there
intelligent life in Kansas? (www.geocities.com/lclane2/creatks.html) I found the
whole debate amusing and rather tragic. I consider the Bible to be primarily
theological in orientation, not historical. Whether creation happened in six
days or six eons is not really the point of Genesis 1. The focus is on the God
of creation, not the days of the week. For these reasons I have never had
problems reconciling evolution with a Creator God. The amount of money and time
wasted on legal pursuits is more disturbing to me than the arguments on either
side of this debate. Creation myths are a part of every culture. In our story
God brings life out of a formless void, God crafts every aspect of our world,
God forges humans in the divine image-- and all of it is good, very good. This
is not how the story plays out in other creation myths. Take for example the
creation legend of Babylon.
In the beginning, according to this myth, Apsu and Tiamat (the sweet and salt
water oceans) are the married gods of the universe. Like most newlyweds, and
gods of the ancient world, they take great joy in mating. They are good at it,
and soon their home is full of many little gods. While Apsu and Tiamat are good
at steamy passionate love, their parenting skills leave something to be desired.
The younger gods make so much noise frolicking about that ma and pa can’t sleep.
They decide the best answer to the children’s noisy behaviour is to kill them.
One of the elder children overheard the conversation and decided that killing
dad was the best choice to preserve the lives of the children, which he does.
Tiamat (mom in our story) is grief stricken and promises to really let the kids
have in now. In terror the children turn to the youngest, Marduk, for salvation.
Marduk says I will try to stop mom, and if I succeed then you will make me chief
of the gods with undisputed power. It is a steep price, but it seems better than
slowly being spanked to death by mom. Marduk is a tough kid. He catches “Tiamat
in a net, drives an evil wind down her throat, shoots an arrow that bursts her
distended belly and pierces her heart; he then splits her skull with a club, and
scatters her blood in out-of–way places. He stretches out her corpse full
length, and from it creates the cosmos” (Walter Wink, Engaging the Powers,
p.14). End story.
Paul Ricoer makes some key observations about this story. “He points out that in the Babylonian myth, creation is an act of violence: Tiamat, “mother of them all,” is murdered and dismembered; from her cadaver the world is formed. Order is established by means of disorder. Creation is a violent victory over an enemy older than creation. The origin of evil precedes the origin of things. Chaos (symbolized by Tiamat) is prior to order (represented by Marduk, god of Babylon)...The biblical myth is diametrically opposed to all this. There, a good God creates a good creation. Chaos does not resist order. Good is..prior to evil. Neither evil nor violence is a part of the creation (Ibid., 14). Comparison between the Biblical and Babylonian stories is particularly meaningful when we consider the political world at the time Genesis was written down and came into paper circulation among the Hebrews. Biblical scholar Walter Brueggemann notes that Genesis likely dates to the 6th century B.C. and was addressed to Hebrew exiles in Babylon. “The Babylonian gods seemed to control the future. They had, it appeared, defeated the dreams of the God of Israel. Against such claims, it is here asserted that Yahweh is still God, who watches over his creation and will bring it to well being” (Walter Brueggemann, Gensis, in the Interpretation Biblical Commentary Series, 24-25). The book of Genesis begins in Babylon (the garden of Eden) and concludes in Egypt. Babylon and Egypt were the military powerhouses of the 4th, 5th, and 6th centuries B.C. All through the narrative of Genesis the story makes theological claims which challenge the politically dominant gods of the foreigners. These theological claims help shape the ethics and morality of an alternative community in the midst of militarily powerful cultures. Here are, I believe, just a few of the treasures we find in the Genesis when compared to the Babylonian story.
-
Good precedes evil. We and our world are born good. Yes, we do choose to sin, but that does not come until chapter 3. Underneath our mistakes is a solidly good core.
-
God creates good things out of the chaos. When we are in the midst of exile, chaos, or a formless void it is hard to remember that “all will be well” to use a line made famous by Julian of Norwich. And yet this is our story.
-
Worship is a line of defence against chaos. The liturgy and language of Genesis 1 is unmistakable (Brueggemann, 30). It is not unreasonable to imagine generation of God’s people reciting Genesis 1 even as we did this morning. Citing Eugene Roop of the Believers Bible Commentary on Genesis: When we encounter this...liturgy of creation, the regularity and symmetry of the text gives us a sense of order and stability. The language of praise has compelling power. Such a combination of hymnic praise and ordered structure speak deeply to the faith community when it experiences the world as dangerous and chaotic. Hence it is not surprising that during the Babylonian Exile this presentation of creation grounded Israel’s experience of God and provided the community a way into God’s future” (p.24). Worship brings calm amidst tribulation.
-
God creates without violence. We are made in the image of God. We are “a little lower than God” Psalm 8 notes, but nonetheless marked in a special way. With a great title comes great responsibility. Our “dominion” over the rest of creation must be modeled after the way God dominated creation. Genesis would suggest that our creating and dominating will eschew violence if it is to be considered faithful reflections of God.
There are several significant parallels between this reading of Genesis and the great commission found in Matthew 28.
-
Like God, his parent, Christ held that the core of every human was good, not evil. It is for this reason that we told to pray for our persecutors (5.44) and told to put our swords away (26.52). Programs like person to person and victim offender reconciliation affirm the goodness of all. It is faithful to give people second chances in the work place and at home. We are all created good, so let us be gentle with ourselves, others, and our creation. Christ affirms the good creation of his father in heaven.
-
Just like his father in heaven Christ commissions a creation out of chaos. Consider that ragged group gathered to meet Jesus on a Galilean mountain. They were exiles in the world, seemingly beaten by the powerful forces of the day. Out of this formless void and darkness Christ commands light to go out into the world. The apostle Paul’s counsels people in difficult circumstances to “see that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances” (1st Thessalonians 5:15-18). God of Genesis 1, Christ, and the apostle Paul all believe that good can come from chaos.
-
On top of the mountain the gathered disciples worship. The disciples, the exiles of Babylon, and we are encouraged to worship when we are troubled. I simply love the last part of verse 17, but some doubted. It seems a firm faith is not a prerequisite for worship. Of course some doubted! If we only allowed worship from those with a vibrant faith the size of our worshipping communities would be pretty small. Through worship we come to believe that creation can come out of chaos.
-
Christ has been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Throughout Matthew’s gospel Jesus followed God’s example in bringing about a new creation. We, in turn, imitate Jesus as we create. Authority, in a Christ like sense, is not a permission slip to do whatever we want. The authority of Christ is present when our ventures are consistent with Christ’s actions. No exploitation of workers. No farm practices that scorch the earth. No sexual violence. No violent coercion to make the kids learn in the classroom. Creation through violence is the way of the Babylonians, not us. Our dominion is to be exercised in a manner consistent with God’s creation story.
We don’t live under the domination of the Roman or Babylonian
empires. Science is, however, sometimes treated as a god. I would hope people of
the Christian faith can be a faithful minority in this North American scientific
culture. I don’t think being faithful consists of filing law suits. Rather, I
think it means telling and living a different reality. We are to live as if all
are good at the core. We are to live expecting good to come from chaos. We are
to create in the non-coercive tradition of God and Jesus Christ. We are to
worship are way into belief and right action. May God bless our worship and
creating.