What have you learned about the creation story and what message is God trying to teach us in this account?

Answer 1

We can learn so much from creation stories, especially from ancient civilizations. such as their mind set and how it changed over time, but we can also learn the many lessons and morals that are hidden in these creation stories.

Another Answer

We can also learn about the nature and attributes of God. For example He is all powerful, all knowing, God is everywhere all the time..

Answer 2

We can learn about the mindset and culture of the ancient Hebrew people, as well as how it changed over time. The second creation account (Genesis 2:4b-25) is actually older and more primitive than the first Genesis account (1:1-2:4a). Although they came from different origins, we can see how the sixth-century BCE version is more 'modern' than the older one.

We can also learn how, over a period of many centuries, countless people have accepted both accounts without question, in spite of their irreconcilable differences. This is an interesting case study in how the human mind works. In fact, many say that the second account is merely a summary of the first, even though it is clearly not, as if that explains the presence of two accounts.

For more information, please visit: http://christianity.answers.com/theology/the-story-of-creation

Answer 3

That would depend upon the individual who reads the Creation story in The Bible - do they come to it with an open mind or do they come to it with a bias or prejudice thinking it a fable before they read it.
A summary statement is given here: "The Genesis prologue presents those historical truths which are the necessary presuppositions for the valid pursuit of human knowledge" ( The New Bible Commentary: Revised, p. 81).

Answer 4

An important thing I have learnt about the creation account in the Book of Genesis is that it is really two separate accounts. The first account (Genesis 1:1-2:4a) is attributed by scholarly consensus to the Priestly Source, writing during the Babylonian Exile. The second account (Genesis 2:4b-3:24) is much older in Judaism and is attributed to the Yahwist ('J Source'), writing around the ninth century BCE. The first creation account says that God's creation took just six days, although some do argue that the word day should not be taken literally and could mean a longer period of time, and says that man (both male and female) was created after all other acts of creation. The second creation account does not specify how long creation would have taken, and has man (Adam) created first of all, with Eve the last of God's creation.

The first creation story says that man was created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26: "And God said, let us make man in our image, after our likeness ..."), while the second only says that man became god-like after his transgression (Genesis 3:22: "And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us..."). An important message in the second account is that no matter how god-like we become, we can not hope to achieve immortality.
For more information, please visit: http://christianity.answers.com/theology/the-story-of-creation

Answer 5

1) That the Genesis narrative is all one account, not two. 2) That God is omnipotent.

3) That life is meaningful.

4) That the beauty and complexity visible in "nature" is the work of God.

5) That the Torah is extremely brief but uses precise wording to allude to further information.

Jewish tradition is that God created a complete universe, out of nothing (Exodus 20:11, Isaiah 40:28; Maimonides' "Guide," 2:30; Nachmanides on Gen. 1:1). This is one of the meanings of Genesis 1:1 (Targum, Gen.1:1; and Rashi commentary, Gen.1:14), though the verse has further meaning as well (Rashi, Gen.1:1).Note:

According to tradition, there is only one Genesis creation-narrative, with ch.2 serving as an expansion of the brevity of ch.1, not a separate set of events (Rashi commentary, Gen.2:8).The same literary devices which the Torah employs to enrich its text, have been used by Bible-critics in an attempt to reassign its authorship.

The Jewish sages, based on ancient tradition, identified many of these devices, which include:

recapping earlier brief passages to elucidate,

employing different names of God to signify His various attributes,

using apparent changes or redundancies to allude to additional unstated details,

speaking in the vernacular that was current during each era,

and many more. While Judaism has always seen the Torah as an intricate tapestry that nonetheless had one Divine source, some modern authors such as Wellhausen (the father of modern Biblical-criticism, 1844-1918) have suggested artificially chopping up the narrative and attributing it to various authors, despite the Torah's explicit statement as to its provenance (Exodus 24:12, Deuteronomy 31:24). This need not concern believers, since his claims have been debunked one by one, as Archaeology and other disciplines have demonstrated the integrity of the Torah. No fragments have ever been found that would support his Documentary Hypothesis, which remains nothing more than an arbitrary claim:

http://www.apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx?category=6&article=1131(a Christian author)

http://www.whoreallywrotethebible.com/excerpts/chapter4-1.php

http://www.pearlmancta.com/BiblicalcriticswrongRShlomoCohen.htm

And see also the wider picture:

http://judaism.answers.com/hebrew/does-archaeology-support-the-hebrew-bible

Answer 6

There is more to Genesis than meets the eyes of readers. It has been said that you could study Genesis for an entire lifetime and not make much of a dent into its complete meaning. That is where faith plays its part. There appears more than one Creation account (original physical creation alluded to in Genesis 1:1), however short the verse in Genesis 1:2 is speaking of the renewal of the face of the Earth for mankind - see Psalm 104:30, etals).

The book of Genesis is an historical account, not an allegory. Its accuracy is assured by the inspirational guidance of the Holy Spirit. God is reveiling His plan for mankind by creating us in His image and likeness - after the God kind. This plan is further revealed in the subsequent writings coming to its physical end in Revelation. It shows us our great honor to be created in such a way. But in order for us to share in this awesome future, man must demonstrate our willingness to follow God's commands like He gave to Adam in Genesis 2:16.

Complicating reader understanding of the Creation account, one must realize that there are differences in language translations and there were no grammatical breaks in the Hebrew or chapter breaks until much later on in the history of man. This causes some problems in getting the full message of the text. Also, the oldest surviving text have unique items at the ending of certain verses that seem to indicate the original writer. Lastly, some terms like the Hebrew word for the phrase, 'these are the generations of the heavens and the earth' in now Chapter 2 are overlooked in there truer meaning of a family genealogy type of intro. These last two points were not fully considered when previous 'theories' were presented.

Perhaps its details are best explained by this modified tablet theory, which offers a more satisfactory explanation of all the details, and doesn't violate any known fact. It's in good accord with Scripture, and adds the authenticity that Genesis was composed of eye-witness accounts - ie... The Word God, Adam, Shem, Abraham, etc until it was ready for compilation by Moses around circa 1440 BC in vellum. As for the first 5 books of the Bible, t is tradition to ascribe Moses to them as he was the probable 1st compiler. This makes sense to me, however, we would do well to simply believe the exact teaching of the Bible, just as God inspired it. To do otherwise is an insult to its true Author, our Creator God.

Answer 7

We learn that God exists, that we are responsible to Him, that we possess free-will and a God-given soul, and that this world is a purposeful creation, not a random result of unthinking processes. See also:

Did God create us?

Does God exist?