December meeting

From Christina Rose:

Good Morning All,

Our last Metaphysical Bible Study group for the year is scheduled tomorrow. We moved the time to 9am to see if that would be easier for folks. For tomorrows study group we will be looking at the metaphysical meaning regarding the birth of Jesus in Matthew 1:18 - 2:23; Luke 2:1 - 40.

Allen and I will be re-evaluating the study group as it does not seem to be working in it's current rendition.

I would love to have any feedback on what worked or didn't work for you about this group, for example time, day, format, etc.

In January, Allen will be leading a course called the Mystical Christianity: A Study of the Gospel of John on Tuesday evenings beginning Jan 25 to Feb 22, 2011; 7:00–9:00 pm.

Blessings to all,

Christina

Gideon, section from Metaphysical Bible Dictionary

Gideon (mbd)

Gideon (A.V., Hebrews 11:32, Gedeon), g;d'-e-on (Heb.)–cutter-o; mutilator, destroyer; tree feller; impetuous warrior.

An Israelitish man, son of Joash, of the tribe of Manasseh. He was a judge of Israel and was called Jerubbaal, meaning contender with Baal (Judg. 6:11–8:35)

Meta. Denial.

Info for November 14 meeting

Our next meeting will be this coming Sunday, November 14, at 9:00 AM. Note the change from our previous starting time of 8:45! Although we are starting 15 minutes later, the meeting will still end at 10:15, to free the space for the teens.

Last month, we studied the first six chapters of Joshua. In the original schedule, Joshua 6 was to be the text for November 14, but since we studied that last month, we are going on to the next portion, which is Judges 6 to 8, the story of Gideon.

Outline of Joshua

Outline

The book of Joshua divides logically in the middle, with the first half focusing on Israel’s conquest of the land of Canaan and the second half on the distribution of the conquered territories among the Israelite tribes. Better, however, is an analysis of the book as four sections, each characterized by a key Hebrew word. The sound similarities between the Hebrew words yield the following pattern:

{abar Cross the Jordan into the land (chs. 1–5)
laqakh Take the land (chs. 6–12)
khalaq Divide the land (chs. 13–21)
{abad Serve the Lord in the land (chs. 22–24)

I. Crossing into the Land (1:1–5:15)

A. Joshua’s charge (1:1–18)

Setting the stage for Joshua

The book of Joshua begins as the people of Israel complete their forty years of wandering in the wilderness. Moses has just passed away, and Joshua, who was his right-hand man, has become the new leader. He is poised to lead the people in an assault against the pagan inhabitants of Canaan, the land that God has promised to the people of Israel.

The Promised Land symbolizes spiritual consciousness, the realization of spiritual riches and supply promised to us by God, which we are to enter into and possess. In Hebrew the name Joshua is identical to Jesus, and both are derived from the word Jehovah, meaning I AM THAT I AM. Jesus, our Way-shower, is our Joshua leading us into the promised land of spiritual consciousness.

As you read, try to see this metaphysical meaning embedded in the story of conquest.

Reading for October

by Allen Watson

REVISION: I goofed! The capture of Jericho takes place in Chapter 6 of Joshua! To include that, we need to read the first six chapters. I don't think we have any chance of covering six chapters in 1.5 hours next Sunday, but we can pick one or two of the chapters to concentrate on, with the rest as background.

POSTED EARLIER

The reason I have posted a version of five chapters of Joshua (see the entry below), instead of just the two chapters originally assigned for our October meeting, is that on reading over those two chapters, I feel they don't cover some of the most interesting parts of the story, like the actual crossing of the Jordan River into the Promised Land, and the conquest of Jericho, whose "walls came tumbling down," as the song goes. So, I am recommending that everyone read over all five of the first chapters.

Contemporary language version of Joshua 1 to 5

Here is the text of Joshua, Chapters 1 to 5, from THE MESSAGE, a modern-language translation of the Bible.

After the death of Moses the servant of GOD, GOD spoke to Joshua, Moses' assistant: (Joshua 1:1)

Outline of Balaam's story

• V. Israel in the Plains of Moab (22:1–36:13)
• A. Balak, Balaam, and Israel (22:1–24:25)
• 1. Balak summons Balaam (22:1–6)
  
2. Balaam turns down Balak’s first invitation (22:7–14)
• 3. Balaam accepts Balak’s second invitation (22:15–21)
  
4. The donkey and the angel (22:22–35)
• 5. Balak greets Balaam (22:36–40)
  
• 6. Balaam blesses Israel three times (22:41–24:14)
• a. The first blessing (22:41–23:12)
  
• b. The second blessing (23:13–30)
  
• c. The third blessing (24:1–14)
• 7. Balaam’s final oracle (24:15–19)
  
• 8. Three cryptic predictions (24:20–25)
• B. Apostasy at Peor (25:1–18)
  

Balaam's donkey

Since all the Bible is the story of the evolution of our consciousness, and everything and everyone in the Bible can be interpreted as some aspect of our consciousness or state of mind—what might the donkey in Balaam's story represent?

Here is a summary of the story concerning the donkey from a couple of Bible dictionaries:

Fillmore's comments on Balaam

This gives the basic metaphysical interpretation of the person, Balaam. There is a lot of detail in his story we can interpret, and plenty in the way of application.

Subscribing to this blog

by Allen Watson

If you would like to receive an email copy of every post to this blog (sent within 24 hours of posting), just enter your email address in the space provided in the right-hand column on the main blog page, metabible.blogspot.com, below the words "Subscribe to receive new posts via email". This way, you will never miss an announcement!

The Story of Absalom and David

The Story of Absalom and David (II Samuel 13-19)

This particular study has nothing to do with the passages we plan to study in the group, but since I had it, I thought I’d share it with you all. It’s something I did during my recent trip to Unity Village. It’s a story that reads like a soap opera. It has everything: lust, rape, vengeance, family feuds, murder, revolution, war, and great tragedy.

Revised schedule for passages to study

by Allen Watson

Due to the Portland week-long SEE classes August 9-13, and the involvement in that event by several of our group members and leaders, we skipped the August 8 gathering of the Metaphysical Bible Study Group. We will be studying the passage that was assigned for Aug 8 in our next meeting, on September 12, at 8:45 AM as usual. The revised schedule for future meetings follows:

Date of Meeting	Bible Reference	Topic
September 12, 2010 Numbers 22 – 24 Balaam, the donkey and the angel October 10, 2010 Joshua 1 – 2 Crossing into the Promised Land November 14, 2010 Joshua 6 The Battle of Jericho December 12, 2010 Matthew 1:18 - 2:23; Luke 2:1 - 40  The birth of Jesus January 9, 2011 Judges 6-8  Gideon Re-posting of upcoming passages.

Reminder of July 11 meeting.

Remember that the Metaphysical Bible Study Group will meet Sunday, July 11, at 8:45 AM to 10:15 AM, in the Teen Room. We'll be studying Exodus 19 and 20, the giving of the Ten Commandments. A Love Offering is taken for the church.

Ten Commandments Metaphysically Interpreted

Metaphysical interpretation of the Ten Commandments, based on Emmet Fox's book of that title.

The commandments have obvious literal meanings, and these are all valid. But beyond that there is a metaphysical meaning. Within these commandments, Moses concealed the laws of psychology for those who were ready for them. And within that again, he concealed the deepest and highest spiritual teaching for those who were ready for that.

(NRSV) Then God spoke all these words:

1) Exodus 20:2 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; Exodus 20:3 you shall have no other gods before me.

God is the I AM THAT I AM, and you are I Am, and you make your own destiny and your own fate by the things which you attach to that I Am.

Emmet Fox on the importance of the Ten Commandments

Emmet Fox was a prominent New Thought minister in New York, drawing crowds in the thousands back in the 1930s and 1940s. He is famous for his sermons (which became a book) on the Sermon on the Mount, but he also wrote a wonderful little book on the Ten Commandments. Here are a few quotes from the first chapter:

The book of Exodus, part of Chapters 19 and 20, is not only one of the most important sections of the Bible, but also one of the most dramatic...

Modern translation of Exodus 19 and 20, "The Message"; ALSO Deuteronomy 5

Mount Sinai
1Three months after leaving Egypt the Israelites entered the Wilderness of Sinai. 2They followed the route from Rephidim, arrived at the Wilderness of Sinai, and set up camp. Israel camped there facing the mountain.

Note from the Jerusalem Bible on the Exodus

The Jerusalem Bible (Doubleday, 1966) is an out-of-print Catholic translation with outstanding, informative footnotes. The following is an illuminating note about the Exodus concerning chapters 13 and 14:

This is the true beginning of the Exodus, that is to say the journey of God's people through the desert to the Promised Land; the prophets will look back on this time as the first days of God's marriage with his people, Jer. 2:2; Hosea 2:16+; 11:1f; Ezek 16:8. Throughout the Bible, Yahweh will be the one 'who brought his people out of Egypt', Jos 24:17; Amos 2:10; 3:1; Mal 6:4; Ps 81:10. The second part of Isaiah sees the return from Babylon as a second Exodus, Is. 40:3+. In Christian tradition, the crossing of the Reed (or Red) Sea and the forty years in the desert have been seen as types of Christ's baptism and forty days in the desert, and consequently as figures of Christian baptism and progress towards heaven.

Metaphysical symbolism of Exodus

Here are a few selected metaphysical meanings of the elements of the Exodus story. Remember: Every person and place represents some aspect of your consciousness. The interaction of the people and elements in the story symbolize the interactions of various levels or parts of our being.

Brief Historical Summary: From Joseph to Moses

The story of the Exodus is pivotal to Old Testament history. It tells how Israel was delivered from slavery in Egypt in about in the 13th century B.C.E., and traveled to Canaan to found a new nation there. But it isn't too clear how they got into slavery in the first place. Genesis ends

Map of the Exodus

The Journey to Mount Sinai

1446/1260 b.c.
Among the many theories regarding the route of the exodus, the traditional route to Jebel Musa is considered by many scholars to be the most plausible. Beginning at Rameses, the Israelites journeyed to Succoth, but these two sites are the only ones on the route identified with certainty. From there they traveled to

Burning Bush, Fillmore's interpretation

By Allen Watson

From Charles Fillmore's Revealing Word:


burning bush--When we arrive at a four-sided or balanced state of mind, the light of intuition or flame of fire burns in our heart, yet it is not consumed; there is no loss of substance. In thinking there is a vibratory process in the brain that uses up nerve tissue, but in the wisdom that comes from the heart the "bush" or tissue is not consumed. This thinking in wisdom is "holy ground," or substance in its spiritual wholeness; that is, the idea of substance in Divine Mind.

Schedule of Upcoming Passages to be Studied

Date of Meeting	Bible Reference	Topic
May 9, 2010	Exodus 3:1-4:17	Moses at the Burning Bush
June 13, 2010	Exodus 14	Moses crossing the Red Sea
July 11, 2010	Exodus 19 – 20	The Ten Commandments
August 8, 2010	Numbers 22 – 24	Balaam, the donkey and the angel
September 12, 2010	Joshua 1 – 2	Crossing into the Promised Land
October 10, 2010	Joshua 6	The Battle of Jericho
November 14, 2010	Judges 6 - 8	Gideon
December 12, 2010	Matthew 1:18 - 2:23; Luke 2:1 - 40	The birth of Jesus

Essential background for Abraham's story

This is the promise God made to Abram in Gen. 12:1-3 (NRSV):

1 Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. 2I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

Note the 3 key parts:

1. Go to the land that I will show you.
2. I will make of you a great nation.
3. I will bless you. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

Land; posterity; and blessing, a blessing not limited to his descendents but intended for the whole world.

Fillmore on Abraham

Here are the entries about Abraham and Abram (same guy, two names) from the Metaphysical Bible Dictionary by Charles Fillmore:

Abraham, a'-brå-ham (Heb.)--father (source, founder) of a multitude. Abram, son of Terah, of Ur of the Chaldees, and the father of the Hebrew nation (Gen. 11:27-31; 17:5).

Background on Abraham

This post contains information on both the overall history of Abraham, and some hints about his metaphysical meanings from Charles Fillmore.

Some thoughts from today's meeting; next meeting date and reading assignment

by Allen Watson

Today's discussion of Luke 24
We had a light turnout this morning, due in part, I'm sure, to the combination of our early meeting hour and the "spring ahead" time change. But the discussion was rich and rewarding among the six of us who attended.

The main thoughts I came away with were from the discussion based on the question, "Why do you seek the Living One among the dead?" that the angels asked the women who came to anoint the body of Jesus, only to find the empty tomb.  Several people each shared ways they saw themselves making a similar mistake: trying to hold on to "dead" ways of being living by them instead of letting them go and moving on; looking for nourishment from old rituals or behaviors that used to nourish but have lost their vitality; seeking spiritual life in dead churches; and so on. It was a very interesting discussion, and everyone seemed to have something to share.

Next Meeting
Our next meeting date will be April 11. The reading for next time will be on Genesis 15, the story of Abraham's calling. Check this blog before the meeting because I'll post some background information about Abraham; and remember you can also check out Charles Fillmore's thoughts on the chapter in  Mysteries of Genesis

Luke 24 from "Contemporary English Version"

1Very early on Sunday morning the women went to the tomb, carrying the spices they had prepared.2When they found the stone rolled away from the entrance,3they went in. But they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus,4and they did not know what to think.

Luke 24 from "The Message" modern language translation

Looking for the Living One in a Cemetery

1-3At the crack of dawn on Sunday, the women came to the tomb carrying the burial spices they had prepared. They found the entrance stone rolled back from the tomb, so they walked in. But once inside, they couldn't find the body of the Master Jesus.

Parallel accounts of the resurrection

by Allen Watson

Although we are studying just the resurrection story in Luke 24, some of you may be interested to know how the accounts of the resurrection given in the other three Gospels overlap (or not) with Luke's account. The stories are not all the same. The parallel accounts in the file I have located online are from yet another translation of the Bible, one I really know nothing about, but it isn't important. Use your own translation; this just shows the parallels. This kind of listing is called a "harmony" of the Gospels because it attempts to harmonize the varying accounts.

Here is a link to the Resurrection harmony, a PDF file I have posted on the web.

http://files.me.com/allen_a_watson/5560vm

"Mysteries of Genesis" for online reading

byAllen Watson

You can find the full text of Fillmore's Mysteries of Genesis in Google books, at this link:

Read Mysteries of Genesis

Resurrection Lesson from "Keep a True Lent", by Charles Fillmore

The Resurrection

Easter Sunday. Read John 20:1-18.

Easter is the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus. Its inner meaning and spiritual significance is the awakening and raising to spiritual consciousness of the I AM in man, which has been dead in trespass and sin and buried in the tomb of materiality.

"I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly."

Reading for March 14

Because Easter will fall between our March and April meetings, the group is reading and discussing the resurrection story in Luke 24 this month. We also recommend that, for background, you start with reading Luke 23, which tells the story of the crucifixion that leads up to the resurrection. The discussion will focus, though, on Chapter 24.

The Garden of Eden in our Experience

After our meeting this morning in which we discussed Genesis 2 and 3, I had a couple of thoughts about the Garden of Eden. As we said, it represents a state of consciousness, a state of your mind and my mind. Specifically, it represents bliss; complete supply; a state in which nothing is lacking.

The "fall," then, represents the loss of that consciousness.

Meanings of names in Genesis 2 and 3

Posted by Allen Watson
Definitions from the Metaphysical Bible Dictionary

As I posted back on January 5:

Names represents states of consciousness. Places represent places in consciousness. Every character in the Bible is some aspect of you.

Below, I have copied a number of definitions of names and places from Genesis Chapter 2, showing their relation to states of consciousness, from the Metaphysical Bible Dictionary by Charles Fillmore, co-founder of Unity. You might want to print these out to save yourself time in looking them up during your study.

Continuing Fall Ch 3...

This story opens us up to the possibility of our capacity for acting in both good and evil ways and this duality exists in all people. Welcome to the exploration of the shadow. We can choose whether to act out of our better selves or our darker impulses.

This story declares truth about me Gen 3

Judaism does not have the concept of original sin. Instead, it has the concept of "inclination to evil" (yetzer hara).

As consciousness opened to the possibility of an alternative to the way of unity consciousness everything became “fractured & distorted.”

This story is a reminder that the fellowship we were meant to have with God and each other, somehow, in one moment, was over come by ego, selfishness and ungratitude.

Passing through the Cherubim

V 24 God places the cherubim with a flaming sword at the entrance of Eden not to keep Adam and Eve out but to guard the way, lest they eat of the Tree of Immortality in the state of duality. The implies that Adam and Eve had not been immortal.

So, the cherubim with the flaming sword. What do they represent?

You Are Not Enough the Way You Are Gen 3

V 5 ...you're not enough the way you are; created in the image and likeness of God you've got to make something of yourselves

The story we tell ourselves goes like this: Our beginnings are in our achievements. There are no gifts to be given because there's no giver. We end up only with whatever we manage to scrape together for ourselves. Whoever has the most stuff when he dies wins. 'This story ends in despair.

All I see between the devil and me is… Gen 3

In "The Creation of the World and Other Matters" by Arthur Miller, God and Lucifer have a conversation about the problem of Adam and Eve enjoying life and the garden, but not reproducing.

The Garden of Eden was where?

Someone once asked a respected theologian where the Garden of Eden was. He replied, "1413 East Elm Street, Knoxville, Tennessee." "You're kidding!" the questioner exclaimed. "I thought it was in Mesopotamia." "Well," the theologian drawled, "you couldn't prove it by me. For it was right there on East Elm when I was but a boy that I one day took some money from my mother's purse, went to the store, bought some candy, and I ate it. Then I came home and was so ashamed, I hid in a closet. That's where I was when my mother came looking for me, calling out, 'Where are you? What have you done?'"

Some excerpts from Charles Fillmore's writings on Genesis 1

Charles Fillmore’s teaching about the six days of creation:

The six-day creation of the universe (including man) as described in Genesis is a symbolic story of the work of the higher realms of the mind under divine law. (Atom-smashing Power of the Mind, p. 12)

Read in the light of Spirit, the first chapter of Genesis is a description, in symbol, of the creative action of universal Mind in the realm of ideas.

Creation Story Reloaded Genesis 2

V 20 'no suitable helper was found.'

I can recall the ride home from Sunday school in my familys' green Rambler station wagon when I asked my parents about Eve being made from Adams rib. 'What about it,' they asked, 'Well it seemed to me that making a man and all the animals out of the ground was pretty cool,' I said in my most off hand manner. 'Darn right,' my parents agreed together.

Metaphysical Bible Dictionary Preface

The four-page Preface to the Metaphysical Bible Dictionary is a gem, describing what metaphysical interpretation is, and the principles employed by Charles Fillmore and the other Unity teachers who helped compile the dictionary. In particular, on the third page, is a concise summary of many of the principle metaphysical meanings of the book of Genesis that will be of particular interest to everyone who engaged in today's discussion about Chapter 1. For those who do not yet own the dictionary, I have posted a scan of those four pages as a PDF file. See the link at the bottom of the "Key Bible Study Links" section of the righthand sidebar, "MBD Preface".

Three levels of Bible interpretation

In class today I mentioned the idea of three levels of interpretation. I found the idea, actually in a writer from the Second Century, Origen of Alexandria. The following is an extract from an article in New Thought Magazine, "The Biblical Foundation of the New Thought Movement," by Mary A. Tumplin, in the Autumn 2009 issue:

Reading for our February meeting

We had 19 people at the 8:45 AM meeting today of the Metaphysical Bible Study group! We're off to a great start. I spoke to at least one other person who said they had been unable to be there today but planned to come in the future, so we may be growing. Rev. Billie gave a very interesting talk this morning based on the metaphysical interpretation of Numbers 22-24 in the Old Testament, and promoted our group as well.

We agreed, in the meeting, to meet next month (Feb. 14) to discuss Genesis 2 and 3. Please read through these passages between now and then, and post any thoughts or questions on the blog (http://metabible.blogspot.com). Remember, you must be registered as an "author" to post on the blog. To be an author, simply email me, Allen Watson, to send you an invitation. When you receive the invitation, follow the instructions it contains.

Daniel will post a list of suggested (but optional) weekly readings which you can do in addition to the one passage selected each month for group discussion. These additional readings will give a representative sampling, or a kind of synopsis, of the entire Bible over the course of the next two years. Daniel promised to keep the readings to a length that can be read in 30 minutes each week.

Other Metaphysical Interpretation principles

In the class some of us took during SEE week last summer, we learned that the key to metaphysical interpretation is learning the meaning of names (people and places), of certain key words, and of certain symbolic numbers.

Names represents states of consciousness.
Places represent places in consciousness.

Every character in the Bible is some aspect of you.

Guidelines for Metaphysical Bible Interpretation

Last year, in "New Thought Magazine", I ran across an article that contained these guidelines for metaphysical Bible study.

1. Elements in Scripture represent ideas in mind.

2. Allegorical interpretation explains the idealistic process of "ideation and formation" in such a way that an increase in spiritual understanding and actual spiritual development results.

3. All allegorical interpretations must be in harmony with the principles of Being and primarily the assertion that: "There is only one Presence and one Power everywhere: God the good, omnipotent."

4. All allegorical interpretations must be relevant to the interpreter.

5. The Bible as a whole is an "idealistic illustration of the spiritual unfoldment of humanity."

6. All allegorical interpretations must be open to revision so that no interpretation can ever achieve dogmatic status.

7. Normative allegorical interpretations (as offered in "the metaphysical Bible dictionary" and Fillmore texts) presuppose the possibility that individuals may offer different interpretation on the basis of their personal inspiration.

Creation Celebration Psalms Style !

#104
O my soul, bless God! God, my God, how great you are!
beautifully, gloriously robed,
Dressed up in sunshine,
and all heaven stretched out for your tent.
You built your palace on the ocean deeps,

The Divine Indelible Image

V 26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."
V 27 So God created man in his own image,

in the image of God he created him;

male and female he created them.

v 28 God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."

v 29 Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.

v 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food." And it was so.

God grants His living image to all humanity, to every human being, investing in everyone equally. All persons have access to God by virtue of being human. Since you are created and endowed with the breath of God, you are important.

God is One who chooses to share power in this relationship. There is no mandate for humans to rule each other, only the earth and animals. So the call is a non-coercive, shared dominion. It is a generous loving power, it is the power to nurture, enhance and empower; it is not dominion for self aggrandizement. Given the image of God as Creator, this commission to stewardship and dominion means to be creative in word and deed.

The word "God" in this chapter primarily refers to God as one who creates. This indicates those created in the image of God are fundamentally creative beings. From the beginning, God chooses not to be the only one with creative power and the ability to exercise it.

Human beings are created to "subdue the earth." The word "subdue" makes clear that the creation is not "perfect." The creation is not presented as "a finished product," to be preserved as it was originally created. [Indeed there is no Divine vision of returning to the Garden; we are headed for a city! Revelation 22] Human beings are not to assume that God will take care of everything, but instead we are called to creative engagement. God creates world in which the future is open to dynamic possibilities in which creative activity is essential to bring order out of disorder and draw out the fullest possible potential of the earth experience.

The image of God is a gift, along with food and fertility. God does not ask for anything in return, [humans are not regulated to the status of servants, to meet some need of God] but are, in gratitude, to share as they had been shared with, and have the opportunity to be in a transformative relationship with God as a friend and lover. This is presented as the way God normally operates, rather than some special exception to the rules. Do we act like someone who bears the image of God? God has invested the image in each one of us. What does this mean to you?
　
Humans are given the administration of God’s own work, as His representatives on earth. They will become the shapers and creators of history. Also, they will brinfg forth murder, polygamy, violence, metallurgy, music & animal husbandry, vineyards etc.

YHWH is the king until the 10th century when Saul is anointed and the kingship is established against Gods' wise counsel. After Israels' failed experiment with kings, Israel is held in captivity.

It's worth noting that God is in relationship with the human and the non-human worlds alike - this understanding underlies Genesis 9, which includes not only God's relationship with Noah and his family but also, God's relationship with the earth itself (9: 13) and with every "living thing" (9:11, 12, 15, 16, 17).

It is also worth noting that the divine indelible image continues through Noah and does not need to be re-established.

In our beginnings and endings, let us remember Gods' spirit is here. When life is chaotic, even when we are surrounded by darkness, something else is here with us even in the middle of the darkness - God Spirit which moves and speaks, and the Word of light arises in spite of the darkness. All praise to the Holy One!

In The Begining, God...

V 1 The verb "create" is used only to talk about what God does. No one else ever "creates" something out of nothing. People can't, we only make something out of pre-existing things.　

"Nothing is here by chance; everything must be considered carefully, deliberately, and precisely." Gerhar von Rad

I have read the Hebrew text is arranged in multiples of 7’s - 7 days, 7 execution reports, ‘and it was so,’ 7 evaluation reports, ‘and God saw that it was good,’ the words "God" and "earth" are used 35 and 21 times each, the 7th day is described in 35 words. The preamble v 1 is 7 words, and v 2 contains14 words, and the entire text ch 1- ch 2-3 is 469 [7x 67] words. This way of thinking suggests to me a very long time, but short of 70 x 7, Jesus' reference to infinity plus 1.

God's first actions, are sovereign creating acts, depicted as the initial edicts of the Great King by which he founds and orders the kingdom.
God as artisan and author carefully crafts the world for the benefit of its future inhabitants - scholars have noted there are 2 panel of 3 days. Broadly days 1-3 are of separation and division followed by days 4-6 filling these created spaces with mobile living things.
God creates order out of chaos. The popular Middle Eastern notion was that water was uncontrollable chaos. In light of flash floods, floods, droughts and changing river beds it probably was every ones worst nightmare, In Genesis, water is simply separated by divine direction, there is no resistance or evil to overcome in the entire story.

God creates by his word. The reccurring image begins in 1 :3-4: "And God said, 'Let there be light!' And there was light. And God saw that the light was good." Each of God's other creative acts in Genesis 1 is also framed by a similar pattern, typically of three basic elements: God's word ("and God said, 'Let there be X, or "and God said, 'Let x do y), followed by an execution report ("and it was so") and an evaluation report ("and God saw that it was good" - not that it was perfect, more on this idea later).

God creating by speech evokes the image of God as an "author" with absolute power over his creative "work." Like a powerful king whose word is law, God brings new creatures into being simply by decreeing their existence. The creatures are willingly subject to the word of their creator-king; God. God calls upon already existing creatures to bring about new creations. For example, God invites, "Let the earth bring forth," and, we are told, "the earth brought forth." The earth has a role in bringing forth the creation. This story of the world creating itself has been repeated over the millennia as ever new creatures come into being, mediated by existing creatures, from volcanoes to coal to islands.

This is the proof for "all things are your servants" Ps 119:91 The underlying picture is of God as cosmic ruler of a harmonious, well-functioning realm.

News Flash: Creation Story Proves Once and For All: God is an ENFJ

The point then of the creation story, as I see it, is to illustrate the following:

1 All people, and natural phenomena, like the sun, the moon, etc, were created by God, and therefore cannot be gods themselves.

2 All of creation is good and God has entrusted it to humanity.

3 Humanity is created in the image and likeness of God.

4 We, as human beings, are made differently from the rest of creation: let us make vs. let there be, or let the___ do such and such. [BTW the only possible Us in the story text at this point is God and the Spirit of God]

Introduction to Bible reading

Origen, is considered by some to be the first and greatest of all Christian theologians. He lived circa 200 - 250 CE; taught that readers of the bible must learn to distinguish between stories that are true and factual (like the crucifixion of Jesus and the cleansing of the temple) and those that are true and but not factual (like the story of the good Samaritan and the prodigal son.) Origen refused to accept that light and darkness existed before there were a sun and moon and stars. He refused to believe that the maker of heaven and earth couldn't find Adam and Eve when they hid from him. Origin believed that these absurdities - as he called them, were hints that God wanted these stories to be read in an all together different way, 'not as history but as Truth in the semblance of history' as he put it. Truth embedded in metaphor, parable, poetry and fiction is true even if not factual.

I resonate with the idea, articulated by Nancey Murphy, that the literal adherence to Intelligent Design [AKA Creationism 2.0] is tragic. Vast numbers of people have come to the conclusion that evolution and Christianity can't both be true. When they find their way into science classes and recognize the validity of the evolutionary theory, they think that in order to respect their intellect, they must reject religion.　

Science is concerned primarily with natural causes for the things it observes; it is all about the when and how, but not about whom. The whom, and the nature of our special relationship to God is what the creation stories were trying to communicate, not the specifics of how.

"Tell me and I will forget. Show me and I will remember. Involve me and I will understand." —A Chinese Proverb

Guarantee

If you will think about and meditate upon the reading each week and ask yourself, What does it say? What are the messages being communicated?

This type of inquiry involves thinking about and meditating upon what is read. It may mean recognizing that a passage does not mean what we want it to mean, or what we have been told it means, no matter how many years we may have thought other wise.

I guarantee that you will get more out of this group if you will write your reaction and thoughts. In the act opf writing your thoughts will become solid and you can work with them to transform them. There will be at a minimum one question, one application every week that will have a direct impact on your life.
If you tag along with us and stay up to date on the discussion by the time we reach the end you will have a grasp of the whole Bible story and how it all fits together. Also, we will have a greater perception of God, the power of prayer, thanksgiving, the meaning of your own life and peace.