Blog 115 Creator

Blog # 115 Creator The first liturgical reading being currently proclaimed during our morning Mass each day has placed us at the very beginning of the Bible in the Book of Genesis. It tells the story of the creation of the world. Some people who believe in the Bible as the written word of God, and therefore without error, would place that Biblical story some several thousands of years before the4 day of the birth of Jesus. Others, some of whom believe in the Bible as the written word of God, and therefore without error, and some of whom do not hve so total a faith in the authenticityand veracity of Genesis place the origin of the world many many light years away. If we label the first group A and the second group B with its two sections labeled 1 and 2 open for membership for either those who believe in God and the identitiyof the Bible as the word of God and others who do not have such a faith, I do not think I could reconcile group A and B. I would have to take one side or the other here. With regard to group B, I identify a place and a need for dialogue with sincere respect for one another and with hope and effort on the part of both working together to discover and follow the truth of the matter. If ever we wish to engage in a sincere and effective dialogue with anyone who holds an opinion that contradicts or is contrary to our own it is most important that we know and understand clearly what it is we believe or hold as true. In other words what is the content of our conviction and the claims we make in holding that conviction. In the case of the story of creation in the book of Genesis, our quest is to establish the overall purpose and theme of the story. That will be discovered as expressed in wording and details that are not accepted as true by modern science, as for example the time it took, the sequence of events and other details such as God 'walking' in the garden and 'resting' after a week of 'work' . We can easily imagine such details as these as being otherwise than they came to be written with the theme and purpose of Genesis yet remaining intact and secure. For God to walk in the literal sense of what it means for you and me to walk, feet and legs would be required and until the Incarnation of Jesus, for God to have legs and feet would be to establish a limitation of God that would defeat the whole purpose and contradict the essential theme of the Book .