Back To The Beginning…
We got problems with our feet
I started having back problems fairly young, making regular trips to the chiropractor when I was still in primary school. In my teens I started having serious issues with my knees. And by my early 20’s I was getting pain in my hips so bad that that sometimes I was nearly crippled. Throw in some regular neck pain and you’ve got an otherwise fit and healthy young man getting pretty anxious about his body falling apart way too early.
Turns out, it was all because of my feet.
Both of my feet are a bit flat, but the right one is worse, resulting in me standing lopsided and my joints and soft tissue holding more of my bodyweight instead of my skeleton. Issues with my feet created issues with my knees, which created issues with my hips, which created issues with my spine… which created issues with my shoulders, which created issues with my neck.
Now I wear orthotics, and life is much better!
Modern Christianity has a bit of a problem with it’s feet. There are several issues with the way we tell the Story at the start, and those issues compound to create greater issues further through the Story. So rather than trying to start with a back adjustment, let’s deal with the feet first. And by feet, you’ve probably worked out that I mean the foundations of the Story, the first few chapters of Genesis. So let’s go back to the beginning…
Interlude
Before you read this next bit, stop for 10 minutes or so and read through Genesis 1 & 2 for yourself. I’ll talk in a bit more detail in my next post about how to read (and how not to read) Genesis, but for now, just read it and see what you see.
What is our purpose?
Ok I’m going to assume you’ve read Genesis 1 & 2 like I’ve asked (even though, let’s be honest, you probably didn’t). So what did you see? What would you say, from these chapters, is the primary purpose of humanity? The Common Story says that God created us to be in relationship with Him. Do you see that in your reading of Genesis 1 & 2, if you read it unfiltered?
I’m not denying the presence of “relationship” in the Story. But it’s not, by itself, the main theme. The idea of humanity’s relationship with God is implicit, meaning that we can see it operating but it’s not highlighted as being the main point. On the other hand, there is plenty in these two chapters that is explicit about our place in the Story.
Let’s take a look:
The first mention of man (man meaning humanity, not males specifically) is in Genesis 1:26. The context is that God has just been creating “the heavens and the earth” and filling them with the sun, moon and stars, plants and animals. He’s creating. He’s working on a big project that has many parts to it. And into this project He brings an extra special piece – Man. This “man” holds a prominent place in the overall project. God says:
“Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
Genesis 1:26
So then God creates man, male and female, blesses them and says to them:
“Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
Genesis 1:28
Then the creation account given in Genesis chapter 1 ends like this:
God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening , and there was morning – the sixth day.
Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.
Genesis 1:31 – 2:1
God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. The heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. Do humans have a prominent place in this Story? For sure! But it’s not all about us! We have a special role in a bigger project that God has placed us into. Humanity was given a task by God within the context of the rest of creation – to fill the earth, subdue it, and rule over it.
Some of those words, subdue and rule in particular, can have negative connotations to our modern ears. We can hear them as loaded with oppressive overtones. That’s because our ideas of what it means to subdue and rule have become majorly corrupted. God had a different idea when he delegated those tasks to us. More on that another time.
From another angle
In chapter 2 we have another account of creation that gives a slightly different emphasis. Genesis 2:5 makes a really interesting statement:
…and no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth and no plant of the field had yet sprung up, for the LORD God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no man to work the ground…
Yep, you read that right. This verse makes a clear connection between the ability for plants to grow and the presence of humans “working the ground.” Now before you freak out that the Bible is clearly out of touch with reality, that science totally contradicts this claim and therefore the Bible can’t be trusted, let’s have a quick word on interpreting this story:
The first section of Genesis is a story not about literal facts, but about meaning. I know, that idea makes modern readers uncomfortable, but I’m dedicating my whole next post to outlining some really important keys to reading Genesis which should put you much more at ease. For now, let’s look at the picture that is being painted by these creation accounts and the purpose given for humanity in the Story.
Moving on, Genesis 2:8-9 and then verse 15 says:
Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground..
The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.
So in chapter 1 we’ve got a creation project that peaks with humans being formed and appointed to subdue and rule over the rest of it. Then in chapter 2 we’ve got a picture of an earth that’s bare because man hasn’t yet worked the ground, but God plants a garden and puts the man there to work it and take care of it. If you read more of chapter 2 we have the man naming all the animals. There’s a lot more to unpack here, but that’s for another post. The main point for now is that the biblical account of human origins is pretty heavy on task. And humans are given a place and a task within the wider context of a bigger project that God is conducting.
Why is this important?
Stories in general have a basic plot structure: Setting ➝ Problem/Conflict ➝ Solution ➝ Conclusion. The Common Story puts a generic and undefined “relationship” between humans and God as the central setting to begin the story. Then the problem/conflict is that the “relationship” is broken by sin. Solution? Sin dealt with so relationship can be restored. And in conclusion, humanity can ultimately have a perfect “relationship” with God again for eternity.
As we’re starting to see, a generic “relationship” between humanity and God is not the setting the Bible gives as the foundation for this Story. Instead we have a much more dynamic setting that will in turn affect the entire plot. As we go through the Story again with fresh eyes, the whole Bible will start to make a lot more sense.
Coming up – the next few posts
The next post will be dedicated to discussing how we should read the early chapters of Genesis. Sound boring and academic? It won’t be. Rather it’ll be like putting on 3D glasses. It’ll make the Story pop! Later I’ll unpack some of the significance of Genesis 1 & 2 a bit more and how they set us up for the rest of the Story. Then we’ll start looking at the Problem in the story, commonly referred to as “the Fall”. I’ll be taking the Common Story to task here as well, and this is where things start to get really interesting. Somewhere along the way we also need to start looking at how the Story got lost and the Common Story took over. That’s a pretty big topic in itself, and I’ll try weaving it in as we go.
Feel free to interact! Leave a comment, ask a question, push back if you want.
I’ll leave you with a video from The Bible Project about The Image of God. They also have an excellent podcast discussion about it that goes for 4 episodes, the first one is called Humans as Middle Management. They discuss all this stuff in more detail. Highly recommended.
Here’s the vid:
