Christian Doctrine of Creation

The Christian Doctrine of
Creation
Asandas D. Balchand, S.J. and Vitaliano R. Gorospe, S.J.
with exegesis and notes on Genesis 1-2 from:

A Guide to Genesis (by John Hargreaves)
The Story of Creation (Genesis 1).
1 In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the

earth
2 and the earth was without form or shape, with darkness over
the abyss and a mighty wind sweeping over the waters
3 Then God said: Let there be light, and there was light.
4 God saw that the light was good. God then separated the light
from the darkness.
5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.”
Evening came, and morning followed—the first day.
6 Then God said: Let there be a dome in the middle of the waters,
to separate one body of water from the other.
7 God made the dome, and it separated the water below the
dome from the water above the dome. And so it
happened.
8 God called the dome “sky.” Evening came, and morning
followed—the second day.
9 Then God said: Let the water under the sky be gathered into a
single basin, so that the dry land may appear. And so it
happened: the water under the sky was gathered into its basin,
and the dry land appeared.
10 God called the dry land “earth,” and the basin of water he called
“sea.” God saw that it was good.
11 Then God said: Let the earth bring forth vegetation: every kind of
plant that bears seed and every kind of fruit tree on earth that
bears fruit with its seed in it. And so it happened:
12 the earth brought forth vegetation: every kind of plant that bears
seed and every kind of fruit tree that bears fruit with its seed
in it. God saw that it was good.
13 Evening came, and morning followed—the third day.
14 Then God said: Let there be lights in the dome of the sky, to
separate day from night. Let them mark the seasons, the days
and the years,
15 and serve as lights in the dome of the sky, to illuminate the
earth. And so it happened:
16 God made the two great lights, the greater one to govern the
day, and the lesser one to govern the night, and the
stars.
17 God set them in the dome of the sky, to illuminate the earth,
18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from
the darkness. God saw that it was good.
19 Evening came, and morning followed—the fourth day.
20 Then God said: Let the water teem with an abundance of living
creatures, and on the earth let birds fly beneath the dome of
the sky.
21 God created the great sea monsters and all kinds of crawling
living creatures with which the water teems, and all kinds of
winged birds. God saw that it was good,
22 and God blessed them, saying: Be fertile, multiply, and fill the
water of the seas; and let the birds multiply on the
earth.
23 Evening came, and morning followed—the fifth day.
24 Then God said: Let the earth bring forth every kind of living
creature: tame animals, crawling things, and every kind of wild
animal. And so it happened:
25 God made every kind of wild animal, every kind of tame animal,
and every kind of thing that crawls on the ground. God saw
that it was good.
26 Then God said: Let us make man in our image, after our
likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, the
birds of the air, the tame animals, all the wild animals, and all
the creatures that crawl on the earth.
27 God created mankind in his image;

in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them and God said to them: Be fertile and multiply;
fill the earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the
sea, the birds of the air, and all the living things that crawl on
the earth.
29 God also said: See, I give you every seed-bearing plant on all the
earth and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit on it to be
your food;
30 and to all the wild animals, all the birds of the air, and all the
living creatures that crawl on the earth, I give all the green
plants for food. And so it happened.
31 God looked at everything he had made, and found it very good.
Evening came, and morning followed—the sixth day.o
1 Thus the heavens and the earth and all their array were
completed.
2 On the seventh day God completed the work he had been doing;
he rested on the seventh day from all the work he had
undertaken.
3 God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he
rested from all the work he had done in creation.
1 In the beginning, when God created . . .
Notes:
Created: from Hebrew bara, ‘to mean much more than make’.
1. To begin a long process (the text says ‘one day follows another’)
- ‘God creating’ means that He allows what has been created
to develop and to ‘make itself’
2. To sustain and support the created universe
- on-going creation story. Creator now?
3. To create with a purpose.
Challenge Now:
• Participation in the co-creation. How do we share in this?
• Journeying together towards the Kingdom. Where do we fix our
eyes?
2 and the earth was without form or shape
Notes:
It was in total disorder.
a. God gave to His universe freedom from disorder

b. ‘God holds all things together’ (Colossians 1: 17b, 20)
Challenge Now:
• Standing up for ‘chaos to turn into cosmos, disorder to order,
unjust to just’.
• Just as God responds, we are also called to respond in
love.
2 . . . mighty wind sweeping over the waters.
Notes:
Mighty wind:
- Hebrew word ruach, which means spirit or breath, usually
a sign of the life which God gives
Sweeping over:
- like a mother-bird hovering over her young as she feeds
them.
– God is ‘sweeping over’: since He created us, He has always
been with us and among us, sustaining & supporting
His creation
Waters:
- Hebrews were not seafaring people, waters represent
danger
2 . . . mighty wind sweeping over the waters.
Challenge Now:
• We should bring about the following to God’s creations:
* life (wind);
* journeying with and sustenance (sweeping over as a sign
of God’s presence);
* security and order (opposed to waters).
3 Then God said: Let there be light, and there was light.
Notes:
God’s saying or speaking: Hebrew word dabar which means:
1. God’s ‘speaking’ results in God’s doing something

(Isaiah 55:11 & John 1: 14: God’s word became flesh, the word
became Jesus Christ).
2. God wants His will to become clear to us. He takes action so that
we may know His will.
Challenge Now:
• Integrity of our word? Regard for TRUTH?
• Words that translate into action
5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.”
Notes:
In the Bible, ‘calling’ or giving something or someone a name is
important.
(a) People are ‘called’ or ‘named’ for a purpose (1 Corinthians 1:1)
(b) The people who call make a relationship with those who are
called (Genesis 2: 19-20; Jesus calling out names)
Challenge Now:
• Name as a basic way of giving importance/value esp. to fellow
human beings; a basic relationship is forged
• As Ateneans, what is our calling? Ignatian discernment?
26 Then God said: Let us make man . . .
Notes:
Man  Hebrew adam**  meaning ‘red earth’
(a) Man means ‘human beings’ not a male Hebrew individual

(b) Referring to ALL human beings. All races and nations belong
together. All belong to the one great ‘human family’, which God
created.**
(c) God made human beings to be a part of His natural creation.
- Hebrews had no special word for ‘nature’, they saw all
God’s living creatures as filled with God’s nephesh (‘life’)
- similarities of man to nature (elements, molecules, etc)
‘We, as part of nature, are also filled with God’s nephesh (‘life’) and
therefore, like nature, should live with and for each other.
‘all is of the RED earth’ (man and earth through Big Bang) 
Hebrew adam**  man (word used in the Genesis text)
26 Then God said: Let us make man . . .
Notes:
Man  Hebrew adam**  meaning ‘red earth’
Challenge Now:
• Male and female, in fact ALL of human beings, are equally
important.
• Salvation and liberation of ALL
• When we harm or misuse nature without restoring it, we are
harming ourselves.
26 Then God said:Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.
Notes:
a) Truth about God’s purpose in the world:
1. to give Himself to the world because it is His nature to
love and to give. (Diyos ay Pag-ibig)
2. to share His power with us; by doing this, He limited His
own powers (Kalayaan bilang kaloob ng Pag-ibig)
3. to make a relationship with us and to seek a response
(Ugnayan)
Challenge Now:
• To love as He loves.
• To use our freedom ‘righteously’
• To deepen a relationship with Him and His creations in love.
Notes:
b) Truth about ourselves:
1. God has made us representatives in the world, to value
what He most values and to fight against the evils
which He is fighting. (kinatawan ng pag-ibig)
2. God has made ALL human beings, both men and women,
in His image, therefore all human beings belong to
the same family. (lahat ay kasalo sa pag-ibig)
3. But we are not God.
4. Although we have spoiled and disfigured the image by our
sinfulness, God has not destroyed that image. He has
not abolished our relationship with Him (Hosea 11:8,9)
Notes:
b) Truth about ourselves:
Challenge Now:
• Sharing in the prophetic, priestly, kingly ministry (kinatawan ng
pag-ibig)
• Dignity of all (lahat ay kasalo sa pag-ibig)
• A look into our personhood and purpose (hindi tayo ang Diyos,
likha lamang tayo ng Diyos ng Pag-ibig)
• Conversion of the self and transformation of the society
(pagpapatuloy ng Pag-ibig)
Ano ang larawan at
wangis mo?
Ano ang mamalas mo sa

iyong totoong sarili?
Mababanaagan ba sa
iyo ang imahe ng Diyos?
26 Let them have dominion . . .
Notes:
Hebrew dominion: means ‘to be stewards, guardians, caretakers’
who are answerable to God for the way in which they use
His world.
1. God has limited His own power by letting human beings have
‘dominion’. There is no limit to God’s love, but His power is not
‘almighty’. The saying ‘God can do anything He pleases’ is not
true.
2. God supports and encourages us when He gives us ‘dominion’. He
intends us to have some control over our surroundings.
3. But God has given ‘dominion’ to those whom He made ‘in His
image’ so He intends them to use that dominion responsibly, as
He does.(Paano tayo gumagamit ng kaloob na kapangyarihan?)
27 Male and female He created them . . .
Notes:
(a) God has made men and women different physically, but He
made all of us (human beings), including LGBT, ‘in His image’.
(b) He entrusted all of us to care for the earth.
(c) Others are created by separation. BUT men, women, LGBT are
not separated in that way. They are all PARTNERS.
27 Male and female He created them . . .
Notes:
(a) God has made men and women different physically, but He
made all of us (human beings), including LGBT, ‘in His image’.
(b) He entrusted all of us to care for the earth.
(c) Others are created by separation. BUT men, women, LGBT are
not separated in that way. They are all PARTNERS.
Challenge Now:
• Equality
• Complementarity
• Non-discrimination
27 Be fruitful and multiply . . .
Notes:
Before, nations were behaving ‘responsibly’ if they ‘multiplied’ or
they increased their population in order to survive community
threats and struggles as a collective people (example: facing war,
building up community infrastructure, etc.).
Challenge Now:
Given the context of the population growth --
• Multiplying = sharing of resources so that all will survive and
have a dignified life (a person with value)
• Solidarity, Common Good
The world has enough
for everyone’s need,
but not for everyone’s
greed.
-Mahatma Gandhi
31 God looked at everything he had made, and found it very good.
Notes:
But ‘if God made the world good, and if God Himself is good, why is
there so much pain in the world?’
(a) Most suffering is probably the result of ignorance, or the misuse
of free will.
(b) Although God’s creation is good, He allowed it to develop and to
‘make itself’ (relative autonomy)
Challenge Now:
• Conscience/values formation  use of free will? Aim for
Authentic Human Freedom
• Going back to our personhood and purpose (“very good”)
2 On the seventh day God completed the work he had been doing;
he rested
Notes:
(a) Religious traditions of Hebrews which made them different:
- circumcision
- rest on the Sabbath
(b) Sabbath: day of rest, renewal, worship, fellowship
(c) Sabbath  Sunday, the Lord’s Day
Challenge Now:
• Sunday as regular ‘tradition’ to:
- re-create ourselves (for our bodies: physical rest; for our
spirits: looking into our purpose and calling)
- re-create our fellowship/relationship with God and
family/community
4 This is the story of the heavens and the earth at their creation.
When the LORD God made the earth and the heavens—
5 There was no field shrub on earth and no grass of the field had
sprouted, for the LORD God had sent no rain upon the earth and
there was no man to till the ground,
6 but a stream was welling up out of the earth and watering all the
surface of the ground—
7 Then the LORD God formed the man out of the dust of the
ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man
became a living being.
8 The LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and placed
there the man whom he had formed.
9 Out of the ground the LORD God made grow every tree that was
delightful to look at and good for food, with the tree of life in
the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good
and evil.
10 A river rises in Eden to water the garden; beyond there it divides

and becomes four branches.
11 The name of the first is the Pishon; it is the one that winds
through the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold.
12 The gold of that land is good; bdellium and lapis lazuli are also
there.
13 The name of the second river is the Gihon; it is the one that
winds all through the land of Cush.
14 The name of the third river is the Tigris; it is the one that flows
east of Asshur. The fourth river is the Euphrates.
15 The LORD God then took the man and settled him in the garden
of Eden, to cultivate and care for it.
16 The LORD God gave the man this order: You are free to eat from
any of the trees of the garden
17 except the tree of knowledge of good and evil. From that tree
you shall not eat; when you eat from it you shall die.
18 The LORD God said: It is not good for the man to be alone. I will
make a helper suited to him.
19 So the LORD God formed out of the ground all the wild animals
and all the birds of the air, and he brought them to the man to
see what he would call them; whatever the man called each
living creature was then its name.
20 The man gave names to all the tame animals, all the birds of the
air, and all the wild animals; but none proved to be a helper
suited to the man.
21 So the LORD God cast a deep sleep on the man, and while he
was asleep, he took out one of his ribs and closed up its place
with flesh.
22 The LORD God then built the rib that he had taken from the man
into a woman. When he brought her to the man,
23 the man said:

“This one, at last, is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
This one shall be called ‘woman,’
for out of man this one has been taken.”
24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his
wife, and the two of them become one body.
25 The man and his wife were both naked, yet they felt no shame.
Words and their meaning:

a) DUST: we are made out of earthly material, like dust, which
is temporary.
b) GROUND: Hebrew word adamah
- MAN (adam): showing the link between ground and
man
Challenge Now:
• (dust) We are creatures dependent on God.**
• (ground) We humans belong to the ground. We live well when
we cooperate with the natural world
Words and their meaning:
c) TREE OF KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL
- Symbol of the knowledge which only God possesses.

- Eating from this tree means thinking that we are ‘like’
God Himself and knows as much as He knows about
“good and evil”.
Challenge Now:
• Evangelical spirit of poverty. Why?
15 …settled him in the garden of Eden, to cultivate and care for it.
Notes:
(a) God has put human beings responsible for looking after the
earth.
- we get something (cultivate) from it for survival and
growth BUT we should not forget to care for it
(b) Caring for the earth IS PART OF OU FAITH.

(c) God intends us to have work to do so that we can develop
ourselves, serve the community and keep it healthy.
[Value of Human Work]
15 …settled him in the garden of Eden, to cultivate and care for it.
Challenge Now:
• Stewardship
• Integrity of Creation
• Value of Human Work
16 You are free to eat . . .
Note
Parental care of God, who provides for our
needs
18 The LORD God said: It is not good for the man to be alone.
Notes:
(a) God made human beings to live ‘in relationship’ with:
- God Himself
- the soil
- other creatures.
(b) Highlights relationships because it helps fulfill our true nature.
- Why do we say this?
- Is this only pertaining to marriage?
- God intends everyone, whether married or unmarried, to
live in a relationship with other people, to support and be
supported, to work with a local community.
18 The LORD God said: It is not good for the man to be alone. I will
make a helper suited to him.
19 So the LORD God formed out of the ground all the wild animals
and all the birds of the air, and he brought them to the man to
see what he would call them; whatever the man called each
living creature was then its name.
20 The man gave names to all the tame animals, all the birds of the
air, and all the wild animals; but none proved to be a helper
suited to the man.
18 I will make a helper suited to him.
Notes:
(a) Parental care of God AGAIN:
- food (You are free to eat)
- a helper
(b) Helper: Hebrew word ezer
- In the Bible, often means a stronger person who can help
a weaker person.
- God is called our ezer in Psalms 33:20
22 The LORD God then built the rib that he had taken from the
man into a woman.
Notes:
(a) Rib: picture language (symbolic)
- Women are of the same nature as men
(b) Hebrew man ish --- Hebrew woman ishsha
- Just as these words sound as if they belong together, so
man and woman belong together
Genesis 2:
God in His fatherly care has given human beings the opportunity to
live a good life in relationship with Him. He gave them gifts:
1) Life (verse 7: breath of life)
2) Food (verse 8, 9: made grow every tree that was delightful to
look at and good for food)
3) Work (verse 15: settled him in the garden of Eden, to cultivate
and care for it.)
4) Freedom to choose between right and wrong (verse 16,17:
“you are free to eat from any of the trees of the garden, except
the tree of knowledge of good and evil.”)
5) Fellowship with others (verse 18, 21-24: “not good for the
man to be alone. I will make a helper suited to him.”)
6) Sexuality (verse 25: “man and his wife were both naked, yet
they felt no shame”)
Creation
GENESIS 1 GENESIS 2
- About God as He makes a - Making of human beings
relationship with His - “The LORD God then took the
creation man and settled him in the
garden of Eden, to cultivate
and care for it.”
- “Let us make man in our - The LORD God said: It is not
good for the man to be alone. I
image, after our likeness. will make a helper suited to
Let them have dominion” him.
Creation
GENESIS 1 GENESIS 2
- About God as He makes a - Making of human beings
relationship with His
creation
- STEWARDSHIP
- VALUE OF HUMAN WORK
- HUMAN DIGNITY - COMPANIONSHIP
Creation
I. HUMAN DIGNITY
• “In our image, after our likeness”
• “Male and female”
• God found it very good
• Rib
Creation
II. HUMAN WORK
• Bara (participate in the co-creation of God)
• “Naming and calling”
• Dominion
• Cultivate and care for the earth
• “Sabbath”
Creation
III. HUMAN LIBERATION & DEVELOPMENT
• Dabar (speaking resulting to something/action)
• Adamah (the ground)
• Eser (helper)
• Ish and Ishsha (belong together)

• “Be fruitful and multiply”
• “Sabbath”
Doktrina ng Paglikha
Mga Huling Pagninilay:
• Kapangyarihan?? ___PAG-IBIG.___
• Pag-ibig:
* kayang lumikha ng bagong mundo.
* malaya; hindi nagpapabaya pero nagpapaubaya
(will not abandon but know when to let go)
• Batid ba natin ang kapangyarihang ito na kaloob sa atin?
• Saan nakahilig o sandig ang ating pag-ibig? Ano ang

mundong nililikha natin?

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Christian Doctrine of Creation

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The Christian Doctrine of

with exegesis and notes on Genesis 1-2 from:

1 In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the

27 God created mankind in his image;

a. God gave to His universe freedom from disorder

1. God’s ‘speaking’ results in God’s doing something

(a) Man means ‘human beings’ not a male Hebrew individual

Ano ang mamalas mo sa

(b) He entrusted all of us to care for the earth.

10 A river rises in Eden to water the garden; beyond there it divides

23 the man said:

Words and their meaning:

Words and their meaning:

c) TREE OF KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL

- Symbol of the knowledge which only God possesses.

(b) Caring for the earth IS PART OF OU FAITH.

• “Male and female”

• God found it very good

• Cultivate and care for the earth

• Ish and Ishsha (belong together)

• Saan nakahilig o sandig ang ating pag-ibig? Ano ang

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