The book of
Genesis is the first book in the Bible, despite its late composition date. It is first because
it tells the story of creation. In this narrative, God formed the universe out of the void, then
formed the earth and all the plants and creatures in it. However, having made this creation, God
was lonely, so he created man in his image. Man too was lonely so God created woman as his
companion. The most important theme of the creation story is that creation is good. Neither
Judaism nor Christianity look to a disembodied, ethereal state as better or highercreation is
infused with the spirit of God. It is not evil. We are meant to enjoy (though not misuse) the
material world.
The second great theme of Genesis is humankind's
disobedience and breaking away from God's will. By acting outside of the will of God by eating
of the tree of Good and Evil, humans were expelled from paradise and lived (and live) in an
unhappy, broken state away from God. Human evil proliferated until God...
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