The Bible says God formed a
living man from dust and Breath. That is
not very detailed. Yet, for the last
several centuries, believers have insisted on a scientific understanding of our
origins that match it—it and a long list of additional stipulations. Without the unbiblical constraints of
perfectionism, science actually aligns with the Bible.
Genesis One is a wide-angle
overview of everything. God created all
the animals then did “something” to make humankind into His image. Chapter two gives a few more details as a
close-up scene. However, both chapters
imply that God started with the same process to make animals (dirt) that He
used for people (dust). Humans are not separated
from nature. We are not lofty entities. We are part of this world. Only God’s choice makes us different from any
other animal. Even Adam had to realize
that he was different.
Dust and dirt are not clay. Genesis does not say God sculpted a
human-form from clay then magically turn it into flesh and blood. Scientifically, humans come from a long
lineage of almost-humans, not-humans, and not-even-mammals. That lineage reaches back to the first living
thing. It formed from the same molecules
that make up Earth and the rest of the universe. Dust and dirt works very well to describe
that event. The Bible leaves out all the
interesting details described by science, but the two begin at the same place.
The molecules that make up RNA
and DNA are easy to come by, even
in space. God constructed everything
from the same building blocks. Yet no
one knows why or how such common components became cellular with the capability
to eat and multiply. Biblically it is
simple. God made creation so that it
would. Scientifically, we have a lot to learn,
yet even among atheists the consensus is, life is very likely to form anywhere
the right conditions occur. If God
exists, then His will designed life to arise and evolve from dust.
Genesis One says a new creation
would be God’s “image.” Genesis two and
three do not use that term. However,
verse 3:22 says that the
people became like God after they received the knowledge of good and evil. Being like God in this chapter is the “image
of God” from Chapter one. God made us to
become His image, yet we were not the “image,” until we were able to think like
God.
To be continued:
[Lessons from Creation’s Parables: Genesis and Standard
Science, Sung as One, by Jo Helen Cox.]
Eden Revisited #1:
Powerful Love vs. Limited Perfection
Eden Revisited #2:
A Safe Place to Grow
Eden Revisited #5:
Creation of Death
Eden Revisited #6:
Curse? What Curse?
Eden Revisited #7:
Original Sin Theology
Eden Revisited #8:
The Lesson of Blessing
Genesis Revisited
Also in this series:
Eden Revisited #1:
Powerful Love vs. Limited Perfection
Eden Revisited #2:
A Safe Place to Grow
Eden Revisited #3: The Garden River
Eden Revisited #5:
Creation of Death
Eden Revisited #6:
Curse? What Curse?
Eden Revisited #7:
Original Sin Theology
Eden Revisited #8:
The Lesson of Blessing
Also see series: