- God bringing the universe into being is creation.
- Nothing existed before God created it.
- Only God creates, he is omnipotent (all powerful)
St Augustine said –
St Augustine Confessions XII, 7
… you, O Lord… made something in the Beginning, which is of yourself, in
your Wisdom, which is born of your own substance, and you created this
thing out of nothing. You created heaven and earth but you did not make
them of your own substance. If you had done so, they would have been
equal to your only-begotten Son, and therefore to yourself, and justice
could in no way admit that what was not of your own substance should be
equal to you
MEMORISE – “you created this thing out of nothing” St Augustine Confessions XII, 7
(You can use this quote to support your answer to questions in your GCSE)
Differing Christian attitudes to the creation story
- written thousands of years ago before modern Science
- Christians understand the story in different ways depending on whether they think the bible is literal or not
TASK – watch and make notes. What are the 5 most important things in this video?
CREATIONALISTS
- fundamentalist approach.
- The account of creation in Genesis is what actually happened word for word.
- It took place on six calendar days exactly as it says in Genesis
- The Bible is the inspire word of God
GENESIS CREATION MYTHS
- The creation story is not meant to be taken literally
- Scientific and Bible accounts can be harmonised and brought closer together.
- Each day of creations is billions of years.
TASK – Learn the days of creation from Genesis 1
TASK – based on these quotations from the Bible can you answer the questions in the Question and answer column?
| Quote | Question and answer |
| …the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep | Describe the status of things before creation.
What do we learn about God from this one line of how things were before creation?
|
| And God said, “Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” So God made the dome… | In this one command from God, what do we learn about His nature?
|
| Then God said, “Let the earth put forth vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it.” | In this one quote here what do we learn about God’s plan for creation?
|
| So God created…every living creature that moves…God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” | In this second quote here what do we learn about God’s plan for creation?
|
| Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness…” | What do we learn about God here?
What do we learn about humans here?
|
| let them (humans) have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth” | What responsibility has God given to humans here?
Do you think it is a fair responsibility and why?
|
| Male and female he created them… God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it…”
|
What does this passage reveal to us about relationships?
Are there any modern day issues that we can link this quote to? What? Explain your thinking
|
| God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good
|
God declared at creation that the world is ‘good’. Is it still ‘good’ in your opinion? Why so or why not?
|
RED ZONE QUESTIONS
What is meant by creation ex nihilo?
word for word definition
Describe the beliefs of a creationist.
What do they believe? Why do they believe it? How is it different to others?
Explain how creationists and Catholics differ in their ideas about the creation of the world.
“Creation took 7 days” – Discuss different arguments to this statement.
Mr Fox's Online RE Classroom 