Creations

In the first creation story it seems that everything was good. I wonder if God had seen good things before he created the earth, or if the creation of earth was his first understanding of "good?" The first creation story continues to list the good things God did to the earth. In the first creation a wind swept over the land and just through God's words the objects of the earth were created. In the second account of creation God came down to earth and physically breathed life into humans and planted the gardens of Eden. The second account also brings in little bit of vanity when the story explains the lay of the land and where gold and other precious metals can be found. This account of creation is much more fun, because it sets up mankind for their follies. God begins creation with a "look but don't touch spiel" about how to run about in his garden. Not after too long, Adam and Eve are tricked into eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Of course, Adam blames the incident on his newly created life, knowing now that what he did was evil (wrong). It doesn't really say that God ever even told Eve that she couldn't eat from the tree, considering he told Adam before Eve was even created.

Within a few paragraphs, along with all the physical creations of the earth, God has created sexism, classism, vanity, deception, fear, and most of the things that give humans their distinct characteristics. The first creation story only gives the basic physical characteristics of creation. It doesn't give any of the emotion of what it means to be alive on the earth. I think this is where J's writing becomes so crucial in the bible, without it we wouldn't have an emotional connection with the writing. The cartoon I posted above gives a fun account of creation with children watching it. I think J would have really liked it, because it shows the inevitability of creation and destruction and the emotions that it brings about.