Creation Flashcards
(50 cards)
Genesis 1:3
“Let there be light”
Genesis 1:27
“So God created humankind in his image ; in the image of God he created them.”
Genesis 2:18
“Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone”
Laudato Si 67-68
“The responsibility for God’s earth means that human beings.. Must respect the laws of nature”
Youcat 15
”The Bible is not meant to convey precise historical information or scientific findings to us”
Dei Verbum 11
“The books of Scripture must be acknowledged as teaching solidly, faithfully and without error”
Dei Verbum 12
“The interpreter of Sacred Scripture… should carefully investigate what meaning the sacred writers really intended.”
Pope Francis 2014
“The Big Bang does not contradict the divine act of creating, but rather requires it”
CAFOD
“Give a man a fish and he eats for a day, teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime.”
Youcat 333
“If people are to do good and avoid evil, certainty about what is good and evil must be inscribed within them”
Laudato Si 159
“The world is a gift which we have freely received and must share with others”
Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam
•Adam is depicted as the perfect man. This reflects when God looks at his creation and says everything is ‘good’.
•God looks much older than Adam - which reflects the belief that humans are made in the image of God. They lie in similar positions- highlighting this teaching.
•God is the creator of everything- nothing comes into creation without God.
•God is being carried by angels – reflecting his transcendent nature, while Adam is on the ground.
Controversial aspects of Michelangelo’s creation of Adam
•Genesis 2 states that God made Adam out of dust- and brought him to life by breathing into his nostrils- not touching him like in this picture.
•God and Adam are depicted as nearly the same size-suggesting perhaps that they are equal. Which is not Catholic belief.
•Some people do not like the idea of the eternal God being shown as an old man.
Hildreth Meiere- “Hand of God”
•The hand of God shows the idea of him creating the universe without
showing him – it suggests God is much bigger than this image.
•The lines going out from the hand to touch the universe, depicted by the circle round the edge – reflects the idea that God has influence and power over all things.
•Gods hand is relatively large compared to the size of the cloud- illustrating Gods greatness and power.
Controversial aspects of the “Hand of God”
•Some Christians are uneasy about Meiere even showing the hand of God as it suggests he is human, just in a bigger form
Transcendent
God is BEYOND and outside life and our knowledge and understanding.
Genesis 1 is a poem that describes creation. Gods power is shown through his word - he commands something to happen and it does. He does not require anything beyond his own word in order to create.
Omnipotent
All-powerful. He has the power to do whatever he wants.
Omnibenevolent
All loving. God loves all beings.
Omniscient
All knowing. God knows everything that has happened or is happening.
Beliefs about the creation story
•Catholics do not believe that this passage is to be taken literally – the main message behind it is that God created the world – not necessarily in this exact way.
•There is symbolic point to the order of the creation story – for example humans are the last thing to be created which shows they are extremely important.
Genesis 2 beliefs
• In Genesis 2 God creates Adam from dust – emphasises how precious humanity is.
•God gives the gift of free will – this means he allows humans to decide how they live their life.
•The animals are created by God – but given to Adam to name. This highlights the Catholic idea that humans have authority and responsibility for them.
•This creation story shows that God is a powerful creator but he is also intimate and loving to what he has created. The qualities that reflect God in humans allow them to have a close relationship with him.
Stewardship
God commands humans to have dominion over creation – so this means we have a duty of care for the earth. We should look after the environment and everything in it because it was a special gift from God.
The dignity of human beings
the creation passages teach us that we are made in the image
of God and therefore we hold a special dignity. We are all equal and deserve to be treated equally and with dignity.
The sanctity of life
All of creation is holy because it is blessed by God this applies particularly to human life which is sacred.
