ONE FAITH, ONE LORD – Chapter 2

  1. God is the Creator of the universe.
  • Book of Genesis – first book of the Bible – creation story
  • The Creation story is a simple, poetic story of the beginning of the universe
  • God constructs the world over a six-day period, the length of the ancient Israelites’ workweek
  • The Genesis authors were not trying to answer questions of science, but questions of faith
  • Ex: the word DAY does not literally mean 24 hours – the seven days of Creation are simply the framework within which the story is told.
  • The religious truths that are being expressed in the Creation story are:
  • There is one God
  • God alone created everything
  • God created the world and everything in it good
  • God created the world for his glory, out of his love and wisdom, and by his free choice
  • God is all-powerful, all-loving, all-creative, and all-good
  1. God is the Creator of all life.
  • Humans alone are created in the image and likeness of God
  • We all have human dignity – the value and worth we share because God created us in His image and likeness
  • Because we are created in the image of God – we all have a soul – the invisible spiritual reality that makes us human and that will never die
  • It is because of our soul that we are capable of knowing and understanding ourselves, as well as knowing our thoughts and feelings
  • God gives us all the gift of free will – the freedom to choose and to be responsible for our thoughts and actions
  • God gives us free will in order that we may choose what is true and good
  1. God calls us to share in the work of Creation.
  • God entrusted us with the care of creation
  • We are called to be stewards of Creation – those who take care of everything that God has given them
  • It is our responsibility to protect all the resources of the earth
  • To be an effective steward of creation, we must develop our talents and abilities