{"id":77,"date":"2024-07-07T23:16:43","date_gmt":"2024-07-07T23:16:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jennimckinney.com\/?p=77"},"modified":"2025-11-07T23:29:46","modified_gmt":"2025-11-07T23:29:46","slug":"genesis-1-creation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jennimckinney.com\/?p=77","title":{"rendered":"Genesis 1: Creation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Overview<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first chapter of Genesis introduces the account of how God created the world. It is a very easy chapter to read but contains a plethora of scientific nuggets. These 31 verses itemize what was created on which of the six days at the beginning of time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Controversy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The creation account used to be considered by mainstream scientists in the western world as irrefutable truth, the basis of all scientific inquiry. Then came the 1700s, a period non-Christians have named \u201cThe Enlightenment,\u201d during which philosophers emerged as the dominant influencers of the culture, reminiscent of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, the Greek philosophers of the 300s BC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thinkers of the so-called Enlightenment era began to push back against the claim that kings and rulers were especially anointed with God\u2019s power, a concept known as \u201creceived authority.\u201d Although these monarchs acted in ways that were not God-honoring, they justified their actions by claiming immunity as God\u2019s anointed. Understandably, this created discontent among the people, which the philosophers of the day capitalized on. Instead of calling the rulers to account before God, the philosophers put God on trial for the conduct of immoral rulers, finding Him at fault. Then they made a concerted effort to remove God from all spheres of life outside of the religious arena.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following this era, in the 1800s, Charles Darwin began his scientific studies. He wrote in a letter once that \u201cI do not believe in the Bible,\u201d so it is not surprising that he crafted an alternate theory for the creation of the world and put forth his hypothesis of evolution. Ever since, there has been a schism in the scientific community between those who believe in the Biblical account of creation and those who believe in the theory of evolution. Dozens of books and articles have been written about the scientific support for the creation account, and interested readers can start their deep dive at www.AnswersinGenesis.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Night-Day Sequence<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, aside from the question of origins, what can we learn from a quick scan of this first chapter of the Bible that can be applied to modern day life? Among the many options, let\u2019s focus on the night-day sequence. Verse five states the following: \u201cAnd God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day\u201d (King James Version). That last sentence is unusual because it seems backwards. Why isn\u2019t the first day itemized as \u201cthe morning and the evening\u201d instead?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ancient Hebrew people also noticed that the creation account referenced a day as consisting of the evening and the morning (not vice versa) and so they observed sundown as the end of one day and the beginning of the next. In fact, modern Jews today still begin their religious holidays at sundown, not at sunrise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Jesus was alive on earth, the Jewish people maintained this night-day sequence, as evidenced by the account of Jesus\u2019 crucifixion. It was at the end of the day, around 3pm, that Jesus appeared to be dead. At sundown, the holy day of Passover would begin. Since an Old Testament law (Deuteronomy 21:22-23) prohibited leaving an executed person on a tree overnight, a Roman soldier at the scene pierced Jesus\u2019 side with his sword (John 19:33-34) to verify that He was indeed dead. When this was confirmed, His body had to be removed from the cross and buried \u201cthat day,\u201d meaning, before sundown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, wherever you are in the world, a new calendar day technically begins at midnight. Nevertheless, modern culture revolves around the idea of a day as a morning and then an evening, sunrise and then sunset, light first and then darkness. This informal re-ordering of the times directly opposes the creation account in Genesis 1, which outlines a different order: darkness first and then light, night first and then day. Since God is deliberate in everything He does, we can assume He purposefully ordered the darkness to come first and the light to come last. But why?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One hypothesis is that God intended the act of creation to mirror the miracle of physical birth, another type of creation: darkness in the womb, light at the other end of the canal. This principle also mirrors spiritual birth, as darkness turns into light at conversion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consider the order of the words in the following verses:<\/p>\n\n\n\n