ReEd 1

Salvation History
 Creation/Creation Myth

• is a symbolic narrative of how the world began and how

people first came to inhabit it.
• members of cultures often ascribe varying degrees of
truth to their creation myths.
• In the society in which it is told, a creation myth is
usually regarded as conveying profound truths,
metaphorically, symbolically and sometimes in a
historical or literal sense.
 Creationism
• Young Earth Creationism
• Humanity: Directly created by God
• Biological Species: Directly created by God. No
Macroevolution occurs.
• Earth and universe (age): Less than 10,000 years, destroyed
and reshaped by the Great Flood.
• Gap Creationism
• Old Earth Creationism
• Humanity: Varies from different beliefs (eg. Based on
primate evolution, etc.)
• Biological Species: Evolution through Divine
intervention/common ancestors/none.
• Earth and Universe (age): scientifically accepted age
 Creation based on different
Religions
• Baha’I Faith
– The universe has “either a beginning nor end” and that the world always
existed and will always exist.
– Human species has evolved from primitive to modern man but the capacity to
form human intelligence was always in existence.
• Hinduism
– Does not have a canonical account of creation
– The universe may be older than billions of year
– all species on earth have “devolved” from the high state of pure
consciousness
– Plants and animals are material forms adopted by pure consciousness and live
an endless cycle of births and rebirths (reincarnation)
• Islam
– The universe was directly created by God as explained in the Qur’an.
– Views the book Genesis as a corrupted version of God’s message.
– Creation in Qur’an is vague and allows a wider range of interpretation.
 Creation based on different
Religions

• Christianity
– Most Christians accepted evolution as the most likely
explanation for the origins of species.
– Did not take the literal view of the Genesis creation myth.
(except Evangelical Protestants, Mormon and Jehovah’s
Witnesses)
– Anglican and Roman Catholic Churches have made statements
in favor in evolutionary theory.
– Many Christians considered the idea of creation history as an
allegory (instead of historical) long before the development
of Darwin’s theory of evolution.
Genesis 1:3-5

“Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and

there was light. And God saw the light,
that it was good; and God divided the light
from the darkness. God called the light
Day, and the darkness He called Night. So
the evening and the morning were the first
day”

1. Separation of Light and Darkness

Light = Day
Darkness = Night
Genesis 1:6-8

“Then God said, ‘Let there be a firmament in the

midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters
from the waters.’ Thus God made the firmament,
and divided the waters which were under the
firmament from the waters which were above
the firmament; and it was so. And God called the
firmament Heaven. So the evening and the
morning were the second day”

2. Sky and Sea

Genesis 1:9-10

“Then God said, ‘Let the waters under the heavens be gathered
together into one place, and let the dry land appear’; and it was so.
And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of
the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good”

Genesis 1:11-13
“Then God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that
yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind,
whose seed is in itself, on the earth’; and it was so. And the earth
brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind,
and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its
kind. And God saw that it was good. So the evening and the morning
were the third day”

3. Land, Sea and Vegetation

Dry Land = Earth
Water around = Sea
 Genesis 1:14-19

“Then God said, ‘Let there be lights in the firmament of

the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let
them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years;
and let them be for lights in the firmament of the
heavens to give light on the earth’; and it was so. Then
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. God set them in the firmament of the
heavens to give light on the earth, and to rule over the
day and over the night, and to divide the light from the
darkness. And God saw that it was good. So the evening
and the morning were the fourth day”

4. Sun, Moon and Stars

Greater Light = Sun
Lesser Light = Moon & Star
Genesis 1:20-23

“‘Then God said, ‘Let the waters abound with an

abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above
the earth across the face of the firmament of the
heavens.’ So God created great sea creatures and
every living thing that moves, with which the waters
abounded, according to their kind, and every winged
bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was
good. And God blessed them, saying, ‘Be fruitful and
multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds
multiply on the earth.’ So the evening and the morning
were the fifth day”

5. Sea Creatures and Birds

Genesis 1:24-31
6. Animals and Mankind
Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth each kind of living
creature, each kind of livestock and crawling thing, and each
kind of earth’s animals!” And that is what happened: God
made each kind of the earth’s animals, along with every kind
of livestock and crawling thing. And God saw how good it was.
Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, to be like
us. Let them be masters over the fish in the ocean, the birds
that fly, the livestock, everything that crawls on the earth,
and over the earth itself!” So God created mankind in his own
image; in his own image God created them; he created them
male and female. God blessed the humans by saying to them,
“Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it! Be masters
over the fish in the ocean, the birds that fly, and every living
thing that crawls on the earth!” God also told them, “Look! I
have given you every seed-bearing plant that grows
throughout the earth, along with every tree that grows seed-
bearing fruit. They will produce your food. I have given all
green plants as food for every wild animal of the earth, every
bird that flies, and to every living thing that crawls on the
earth.” And that is what happened. Now God saw all that he
Genesis 2:1-3

With this the heavens and the earth were completed,

including all of their vast array. By the seventh day God
had completed the work he had been doing, so on the
seventh day he stopped working on everything that he
had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it
holy, because on it God stopped working on everything
that he had been creating.

7. The Sabbath Day

MANKIND …….
Why ???

1. To dominion all God’s creation

- to take care and respect all
creations

“He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his
God and he shall be My son” (Revelation 21:7)
MANKIND …….
• Created in His image and likeness.
• Has BODY, SPIRIT and SOUL
• God gave Man, knowledge/intellect
and freedom/freewill.
• Has conscience, freedom and
dignity.
RESPONSIBILITY …….
1. To live harmoniously with everyone
2. To be a faithful steward
3. To follow God’s Commandment (10
Commandments)
4. To strive for physical, mental & emotional well-
being
5. To show sympathy & understanding for
underprivileged and those who have physical &
mental defects
 REASONS WHY:

1. To love Him
2. To worship Him
3. To enjoy His company

• God is not lonely when He created us,

instead it reveals the goodness and
His greatness.
• God has created us beautiful, holy and
perfect.
 Laudato si’ – On Care for Our
Common Home
• Laudato si’ is a passionate call to all people of the world to take
“swift and unified global action”, particularly in relation to the
destruction of the environment.
• Pope Francis writes that while humanity has made incredible
progress in science and technology, this has not been matched
with moral, ethical and spiritual growth.
• This imbalance is causing our relationships with creation and with
God to break down and our hearts to become hardened to the cry
of the earth and the cry of the poor.
• We become arrogant and neglect creation and everyone that is
part of it; forgetting what God has entrusted to our care.