In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. When I think of the heavens I think of the starry sky. This is because I have grown up watching space flights and moon walks. Science has shaped my understanding of the universe, my cosmology. I see the world as a planet in space in orbit around the sun, one of billions of stars. We don’t even realize we are looking at Genesis 1 through our cosmology, our knowledge of science, which is so different from the cosmology of the biblical authors. As a result the discussion around Genesis 1 has become contentious and controversial filled with anger, misunderstandings and miscommunication.
One of the reasons that I have resisted studying Genesis is too much contention This has kept me from really seeing its beauty and the message about God it is trying to tell. We tend to try to describe Genesis 1 as being about the time and material process of the universe’s origin and in so doing we miss what the biblical authors were trying to communicate, the nature and purpose of the world God created. So to really understand Genesis we will need to understand the cosmology of the biblical authors. There is a difference between knowledge and wisdom. Our knowledge of the physical universe is not the same thing as wisdom about the nature and purpose of the world God created. It can seem difficult and even a little scary to look at Genesis from the cosmology of the biblical authors and the cultures in which they lived. I have started on this journey but I am following others. I want to share two resources I am using. One I have mentioned before, the Bible Project. Another one is Robin Parry’s book, “The Biblical Cosmos: A Pilgrim’s Guide to the Weird and Wonderful World of the Bible.” I am sure there will be others along the way. Over the next few posts I hope to just give you a glimpse into what I am learning and how that has led me to a deeper understanding of who God is and what it means to serve him - and maybe to encourage you to take up your own study of even the hard parts of the Old Testament. Prayer Creator God Give us an understanding of Genesis that will help us see the beauty of the beginning chapters of the Bible and develop in us a deeper relationship with you. Amen
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Get In Touch
If you have something to share with everyone reading the blog, click on Comments to add your thoughts. Remember that your comments will be seen by anyone reading the post. If you want to just share your comments with me then click on the Contact link in the menu above. If you are looking for a particular scripture or post title then enter the word in the search box below. You can also find posts about specific topics in the Topics section.
Topics
All
Archives
March 2024
|
All the photographs in this site were taken by me. If you use or share anything from my website, please link back to this page. You are free to view and share this website by linking but I ask you not to download or redistribute anything from the site. Thanks.
Soli Deo Gloria,
1 Corinthians 10:31
© 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 Karen Milligan
1 Corinthians 10:31
© 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 Karen Milligan