WANTING TO BE LIKE GODSCreation, Providence and the Problem of Good and Evil

ANCESTORS

Those who have died have never left The dead are not under the earth They are in the rustling trees They are in the crying grass They are in the moaning rocks The dead are not under the earth “Breaths,” Lyrics adapted from a poem by Birago Dop for

“Sweet Honey in the Rock.

RACE AND ANCESTRY: “INTERLOCKING SYSTEMS OF OPPRESSION”, COMBAHEE RIVER COLLECTIVE

We are the African and the trader. We are the Indian and the settler. We are the slaver and the enslaved. We are oppressor and oppressed. We are the women and we are the men. We are the children.

Alice, Walker, “In the Closet of the Soul,” Living by the Word

FROM “A TIME TO HEAL,” KAREN BAKER-FLETCHER. SISTERS OF DUST AND SISTERS OF SPIRIT. MINNEAPOLIS, MN, U.S., FORTRESS PRESS, 1988

ManiaCity heat. Blaring speed.Jealousy, hate and love.Grass mirages waver in the street.Oasis.

FROM “SISTERIST VOICES, SISTERIST MEMORIES” IN KAREN BAKER-FLETCHER,SISTERS OF DUST, SISTERS OF SPIRIT

Black MigrationTo Cheri, who died at 15, and Lady, whereabouts unknown.She used to run through Wide fields; Thorns scratched lightly in sweet smelling grass.

Here wild child cutsHer feet running Through pop glassGlinting greenIn the brown packed dirtThat dusts her legsTalc-grey.

Silver black bulletsLie smooth amongThe alley’s cruchedBlack coalsWhere wild child plays,Where dead ratsSmell like rotting fleshAnd dogs fight.

GENESIS 2:1-8

In the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, when no plant of the field was yet in the earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not cause it to rain upon the earth, and there was no one to till the ground; but a stream would rise from the earth[adamah] and the water the whole face of the ground--then the Lord God formed man [adam] from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being.

HUMAN BEINGS ARE INSPIRED EARTH

The word “adamah” means “from the earth” or “of the earth.”

The word “adam” means “earth creature.

Similarly, the word “human” is related to “humous”, again “of the earth” or “earthy.”

The word ruach means “breath” or “wind”—spiritus in Latin. It may also mean vibration and is related to sound or singing (Leonard Sweet).

IN BOTH SCIENCE AND IN CHRISTIAN SACRED SCRIPTURES HUMAN BEINGS CONSIST OF WATER, MATTER AND VIBRATION OR ENERGY

Science Scripture

SCRIPTURE AND SCIENCE: DIFFERENT YET COMPATIBLE REGARDING CREATION

As Sally McFague puts it, we are made from “the dust of stars.”

There is a direct relationship between God and creation, the Spirit of God and the matter through which God gives all creatures shape, structure and form.

Heaven and Earth are God’s creation. In scripture , as in Postmodern science, the

elements that constitute heaven, earth, land, waters, vegetation, water-creatures and creeping creatures precede human beings. God creates human beings last.

GOD FREELY CREATED US IN GOD’S IMAGE, MALE AND FEMALE, TO CARE FOR CREATION

In Genesis 1 God creates us humans last in God’s own image, male and female.

In Genesis 2 adam and eve, which means “mother of all” are of the same nature—bone of bone and flesh of flesh. They are both earth creatures. same substance.

In Genesis 1 and 2 human creatures care for creation together.

Wilson Bigaud, 1931-2010

CREATION AND PROVIDENCE

The word providence is related to the words “provision” and “provide.” The understanding of providence is based on the presupposition that God is good and that God provides for the ongoing good or well-being of creation.

SOME CHRISTIAN WRITERS LIKE JOHN WESLEY BELIEVE WE HUMAN CREATURES WERE CREATED IN “ORIGINAL RIGHTEOUSNESS”

From “Creative Commons”

IF GOD IS GOOD WHY IS THERE SO MUCH EVIL IN THE WORLD?

What happened to the good creation? If what God provides is good and ensures the well-being of all creation, then why is there evil in the world? If the earth and all that is in it, including humankind were originally created good, then why is there so much sin, the violation or transgression of others that leaves us in a world of broken relationship?

JOB AND THE POWER OF GOD TO CREATE

Why do the righteous and the unrighteous alike experience evil and suffering if God is good? Job, who represents every human being who has suffered or who ever will suffer great loss, learns that God created all that existed in the past, the present, and that will come to be (Job 1-3, 27-30, 38-42). Where was Job, God asked, when God created all that has been, is, and will come to be? Job receives no answer as to why there is evil, destruction, suffering, pain, and death in the world. He learns instead that God creates, has created, and will continue to create. The story of Job affirms the power of divine creativity in the midst of evil and suffering. The good news of the story is simply that divine creativity is greater than any other power in its capacity to create.

“ORIGINAL SIN”

It can be helpful to focus on human evil—sin.

Like St. Augustine of Hippo, Martin Luther and John Calvin, JohnWesley believed in “original sin.”

For Augustine and later Christians like Luther, Calvin and Wesley “original sin” is the sin of the first human beings who misused their freedom to defy God’s aim for the good of all creation

“ORIGINAL RIGHTEOUSNESS”

Early Christian writers like Augustine believed the first human beings originally delighted in dwelling and acting in the goodness of God.

John Wesley Calls this “original righteousness.” In original righteousness human beings desired

to think, speak and act within God’s initial aim for the good of all creation.

Human beings freely chose the goodness of God in their live

Human beings also had the potential to freely defy God. They could be tempted to do evil.

For John Wesley, as for Augustine, Luther and Calvin, the sin of the first human beings creates a vicious cycle of human evil—”original sin.”

IRENAEUS OF LYONS, 2ND CENTURY A.D.—GOD CREATED HUMAN BEINGS TO MATURE

In contrast to later Western Christian Tradition, Ireaeus of Lyons believed God created human beings immature.

This meant human beings were created to grow, to mature, like other creatures in creation.

THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL AND THE TREE OF LIFE!

Augustine and others derive the understanding of the “original sin” of “Adam” from Genesis 3.

Both men and women, according to Genesis 3:1-7, seek to be as wise and knowledgeable as gods.

Perhaps, however, Ireaneus and Augustine alike offer some insights into human vulnerability to temptation and sin.

Knowledge of good and evil is power.

Human beings’ desire for god-like power of knowledge results in a cycle of human evil—sin.

Such thinking may indicate not only the beginning of greed, but immaturity.

There is another tree in the garden, however: The Tree of Life! (Yvette Flunder)

Knowledge is power. The desire to be like gods is a desire to be more powerful.

The desire to possess knowledge “like the gods” is to desire for more power to determine the nature of things.

What would human beings, however, do with such power?

From experience and history one can see that human beings have often used the power of the knowledge of good and evil to conquer and destroy the earth and one another.

THE POWER OF KNOWLEDGE AND THE POWER OF LIFE

For human beings to possess divine power and knowledge of good and evil, means human beings have the ability to manipulate the delicate balance of the cosmos. Our current ecological crisis is a witness to the use of power to upset the delicate balance of the created order.

Our capacity to correct wrongs through God’s grace is a witness

to our capacity walk in the power of the tree of life.

GRACE AND FREEDOM

In Christian traditions there is no freedom without divine grace.

In the gift of freedom we have loved God and creation.

Through misuse of freedom sometimes we humans have sought to control and manipulate creation to satisfy selfish desires.

When we violate the well-being of creation entire communities and eco-systems experience negative consequences.

God’s intention for us is to use freedom to build strong families and communities that respect life all around us.

There is a kiss of the heartto the heartfrom God within,drinking tears as they falllike rainenriching thirsty soilwith new green things, springing up wholeand ripe,and new again.Karen Baker-Fletcher. Sisters of Dust, Sisters of Spirit. Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.,: Fortress Press, 1998.

GRACE AND RESPONSIBILITY

God is a God of grace who offers guidance, calling us into God’s initial aim for creation. God is also responsive, responding to the cries for justice from all creation. God who is responsive to the cries of the earth calls us to respond to God’s love for creation, calling us forth to act in the power of divine love for justice by grace and through faith.

Genesis 1-3, along with the story of Job, invite us to understand who we are in relation to God and Creation.

How do these texts speak to you today about God’s grace and our responsibility?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

What insights do biblical texts like Genesis and the book of Job provide on human vulnerability.

What do we learn about the Creator and Creation? Why is there evil in the world? What does the fruit of the tree of life taste like, look like and in

what ways do its seeds promote new growth? Where do we witness the Tree of Life at work?