TWO CREATION ACCOUNTS (GEN 1-2)

Why does the Book of Genesis depict creation as “the work of six days”?

Youcat: [The symbol of the work week, which is crowned by a day of rest (Gen 1:1-2:3), is an expression of how good, beautiful, and wisely ordered creation is.]

Youcat: [From the symbolism of “the work of six days” we can derive important principles: 

(1) Nothing exists that was not called into being by the Creator. 
(2) Everything that exists is good in its own way. 
(3) Something that has become bad still has a good core. 
(4) created beings and things are interrelated and interdependent. 
(5) Creation in its order and harmony reflects the surpassing goodness and beauty of God. (
6) In creation there is an order of complexity: man is superior to an animal, an animal is superior to a plant, a plant is superior to inanimate matter. 
(7) Creation is heading for the great celebration when Christ will bring the world home and God will be everything to everyone.]

While the creation account in the Book of Genesis is not meant to be read as a typical “historical” record, nevertheless, it is full of truth about the origin and structure of the created world.

The Book of Genesis depicts God doing the work of creation over six days. The creation story gives us an insight into how we should view the world: as something “good”, “beautiful” and “ordered” in its original design.

The Youcat answer provides seven principles that are derived from the Genesis creation narrative.

1. Nothing exists that was not called into being by the creator. It seems that God created things with varying degrees of beauty. By becoming perceptive about beauty, where it is found “more” and where it is found “less”, we are prompted to discover the SURPASSING beauty of God. Liturgy should aim to reveal the beauty of God.
2. Everything that exists is good in its own way. God created each species with their own nature and purpose. A created thing is “good” when it lives according to its specific nature and fulfills its purpose.
3. Something that has become bad still has a good core. Everything that exists has some goodness. When we say that something is “evil” we don’t mean that it is entirely bad; rather, in calling something “evil” we mean that it is LACKING some (or much) of what it should have  in order to “be” and “act” in the way that it was designed.
4. Created beings and things are interrelated and interdependent.
   The interrelation and interdependence of created things serve to indicate that they come from a common source (The Creator God), and that all created things strive, together (in unison, like members of an orchestra making music) to give glory and honour to God.
5. Creation in its order and harmony reflects the surpassing goodness and beauty of God. In creating the world with a certain order God  reveals that there is indeed an order to reality and that He is supreme. Furthermore, the capacity for all created beings to exist in harmony with each other (as it was originally planned) reflects the beauty of God.
6. In creation there is an order of complexity: man is superior to an animal, an animal is superior to a plant, a plant is superior to inanimate matter. This principle is often challenged in the modern world by those who say that man is just an animal with greater skills. As Christians, we believe, instead, that even though man shares many things with animals (a similarity in bodily organs), nevertheless, man also has a FUNDAMENTAL difference with regard to animals in that man has a rational soul and a spiritual nature. Man also has “free will” in making moral decisions, something that animals do not have.
7. Creation is heading for the great celebration when Christ will bring the world home and God will be everything to everyone. We believe that God created the world through Christ (“through him all things were made”) and when Christ will come again the entire universe will be at peace and restored to its fullest dignity; it will celebrate the glory of Christ.