Some Thoughts on Genesis

By nature, humans are curious. We want to know things. We like to know things. We become agitated when we don't know things.

The creation stories in Genesis are, in part, a product of curiosity. The very early Israelites wondered where it call came from and why it is here. With a little imagination, one can envision the Israelites in exile in 6th century BCE Babylon singing or chanting the creation story to affirm that their God -- and not the Babylonian god, Marduk -- spoke the cosmos into existence, ordered it, and declared it very, very good.

Too often, we get stuck on the details of creation and lose sight of the big picture. Did creation come to be in six 24 hour days? Quite frankly, that's the wrong question. From whence came creation and what are we to make of it all? That's a better question. God made it. And, it is good.

Happy reading.