Genesis

I want to read the Bible and post questions about it. To that end, I read Genesis 1, which says that the Earth brought forth grass and the next day God created the greater light. That seems odd because the grass would need the light.

One of my Bible thumping friends says that the greater light represents Jesus, not the sun. I'd like to know if that is a standard interpretation
 
No, it's not. If God wants to create the grass before the the sun and stars, I believe he has the power to do so!

I actually enjoy the thought that God deliberately made the lights in the sky before the bodies that "make" them. It's almost like he was thinking "This is for all those atheists who think light comes from matter, when really, it's from me" :)
 
I always wondered about something else, closely related to this.. During creation we see clearly God separated light and darkness.. It was before sun and stars were created.. We today understand stars are the source of light.. But God separated light from darkness even before that.. So clearly there is something else which we cannot explain in simple human understanding of universe.. And I don't have answers for this :)
 
The "Let there be light" wasn't just visible light, but energy. Think of it like a bucket of legos and they were thrown out there, scattered, without shape. Then the Holy Spirit comes and puts energy (broods) into them and they begin to make shapes and build off of them. Light is only a portion of the entire spectrum of energy. The colors below are just the energy we can see, which we call light, but notice all the other frequencies we cannot see, but have learned to detect and use:

Fg14_17.gif


I hope this gives a little better understanding of what God started in Genesis. :)
 
The "Let there be light" wasn't just visible light, but energy. Think of it like a bucket of legos and they were thrown out there, scattered, without shape. Then the Holy Spirit comes and puts energy (broods) into them and they begin to make shapes and build off of them. Light is only a portion of the entire spectrum of energy. The colors below are just the energy we can see, which we call light, but notice all the other frequencies we cannot see, but have learned to detect and use:

Fg14_17.gif


I hope this gives a little better understanding of what God started in Genesis. :)
interesting perspective.
 
I always wondered about something else, closely related to this.. During creation we see clearly God separated light and darkness.. It was before sun and stars were created.. We today understand stars are the source of light.. But God separated light from darkness even before that.. So clearly there is something else which we cannot explain in simple human understanding of universe.. And I don't have answers for this :)
Astrophysicists have discovered that the universe is composed mostly of what they are calling 'dark' matter. Maybe this is what God separated?
 
I think the Genesis Creation account was intended to show that everything that exists is because of the One True God and no one, or nothing, else. I don't think it's intended to be an account of precisely how Yahweh Created. That being said I also think there's a plausible explation for those who like to see things done in an orderly fashion ( sunlight exists befor plants etc ) in that the the Creation account is about the preparation of the Earth for us ( humans ) and the Sun, Moon, Stars etc already existed and Gen 1: 14-16 is about them being "appointed" or designated for their purpose.

Gen 1:14-16 KJV And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: (15) And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. (16) And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.

" And God made " and " He made the stars also ( "He made" here is an addition in referencing the stars )" fits well with the idea that this passage is about the assignment of the "luminaries for signs and for seasons". The early humans could relate these signs/seasons to Yahweh. Also I've seen made ( asah H6213) used elsewhere to descibe the preparation of something that already exists.


Gen 18:7 KJV And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetcht a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man; and he hasted to dress ( asah) it.
 
Astrophysicists have discovered that the universe is composed mostly of what they are calling 'dark' matter. Maybe this is what God separated?
But didn't Got literally separate light and darkness? There was day and night even before stars were created.. And scientists call it as dark matter because they have no clue about it!!
 
I think the Genesis Creation account was intended to show that everything that exists is because of the One True God and no one, or nothing, else. I don't think it's intended to be an account of precisely how Yahweh Created.

the problem I have with this understanding is this - how do we then say rest of the Bible really intended something else rather than meaning precisely? For example, Jesus said I am the way.. What is Jesus did not intend the precise meaning and there are other ways for eternal life? Just saying..
 
I want to read the Bible and post questions about it. To that end, I read Genesis 1, which says that the Earth brought forth grass and the next day God created the greater light. That seems odd because the grass would need the light.

One of my Bible thumping friends says that the greater light represents Jesus, not the sun. I'd like to know if that is a standard interpretation
Grass needs light, why?
Photosynthesis is needed, why?
If we accept the Genesis account of a literal six day creation, then plants (grasses) created with their (batteries fully charged) nutrients and water (sap) in place could reasonably survive a day or so without sun (light) no?
It might also be possible, but not entirely probable, that the grasses etc were created in seed form and would germinate in the presence of sunlight.
Personally I don't buy this, but it is an idea.
 
Jesus, as the greater light, sounded plausible to me because Jesus is the reason. Without Jesus would we have a Bible?

Genesis 1 must be a description of Christian cosmology. There is heaven, and there is earth, To know about heaven the reader must continue reading,

Also, Genesis 1 contains the first commandment: Be fruitful and multiply. This is the biblical basis, maybe not the only basis, for the sacrament of marriage.


The most interesting line in Genesis 2: They were naked.

When artists paint pictures, that sometimes means that Adam and Eve are nude. I live in an artsy community where naked does not mean nude. Naked means emotionally naked like when Hamlet confronts his mother about his father’s death.

Does light come from matter? The standard view in physics is that a mass of matter is an amount energy. When methane burns in oxygen, some of the matter becomes light. That has the appearance of light coming from matter.

Maybe in theology, light came from grammar because in the beginning was the Word.
 
the problem I have with this understanding is this - how do we then say rest of the Bible really intended something else rather than meaning precisely? For example, Jesus said I am the way.. What is Jesus did not intend the precise meaning and there are other ways for eternal life? Just saying..

I don't know how to divide light from darkness, but I do think that words need to have consistent definitions. But I also know that words have different meanings in different situations
 
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I don't know how to divide light from darkness, but I do think that words need to have consistent definitions. But I also know that words have different meanings in different situations

Here is an example of how words in different contexts appear to have different meanings.

I have come a light into the world that whoever believes in Me may not remain in darkness. (John 12:46)
 
I want to read the Bible and post questions about it. To that end, I read Genesis 1, which says that the Earth brought forth grass and the next day God created the greater light. That seems odd because the grass would need the light.

One of my Bible thumping friends says that the greater light represents Jesus, not the sun. I'd like to know if that is a standard interpretation
To answer the question, no, Jesus was not created as your friend's comment suggests.
In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. (‭John‬ ‭1‬:‭1, 3-4‬ NLT)
 
Genesis 1:4 (KJV)
And God saw the light, that [it was] good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

So the light is energy and the word for darkness is literally secret place. As HMS stated, dark matter is a mystery. Fits nicely. It could be matter and anti-matter since both are energy exactly like what we call "light" but of different frequencies. Tesla said, "If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration." He's right. If you study what scientists believe, the matter/anti-matter even occurred.
 
the problem I have with this understanding is this - how do we then say rest of the Bible really intended something else rather than meaning precisely? For example, Jesus said I am the way.. What is Jesus did not intend the precise meaning and there are other ways for eternal life? Just saying..

Sure. What part of the Genesis Creation account tells us specifically how Yahweh Created ? I'm not sure which part is precise.
 
But didn't Got literally separate light and darkness? There was day and night even before stars were created.. And scientists call it as dark matter because they have no clue about it!!

I'm not sure we need to insist the separation of light and darkness is a creative event ie. that it implies some kind of light existed aside from the Sun/stars and that Yahweh performed some action that caused separation. The separation could be poetic language that designates day from night eg.

Gen 1:4-5 KJV And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. (5) And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

How's this ? Yahweh distinguished the difference between light and dark by naming them day and night.
 
To answer the question, no, Jesus was not created as your friend's comment suggests.
In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. (‭John‬ ‭1‬:‭1, 3-4‬ NLT)

Well, that makes sense. Jesus was in the beginning. The greater light did not arrive until the fourth day.

Also, if Genesis 1 uses the word, light, in a denotative manner then light means a thing necessary for sight, photons, or electromagnetic waves. John 1 uses the word, light, in a connotative manner. Light means knowledge, understanding, wisdom, or salvation. With that in mind, maybe the greater light of Genesis 1 represents knowledge or wisdom.
 
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