Explain how the Bible portrays the creativity of God.

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Explain how the Bible portrays the creativity of God. (25 marks)

When read in sequence there are many contradictory statements between Genesis chapter one and two. The origins of the world and order of creation are for example different. Although within the same holy text, the two chapters provide contrasting theories on creation. This creates problems with understanding the nature of God and how uniqueness and powerful he is. These contradictions mean that there are varying views and understandings even between people within the same church. They are also often the basis for the doubt held by many believers and are used to question the foundations of the religion as a whole.

Many Christian beliefs are based around the idea of creatio ex nihilo, creation from nothing. Yet the very first lines of their ancient text contradict this. They imply that in fact God was "hovering over the waters" before beginning the creation of the earth. 1f water was already inexistence then God did not create from nothing. Some Christians believe this statement to be a metaphor to help us understand. The waters represent the unknown and unseen, the concept of complete nothingness is too difficult to understand so waters are introduced.

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Some point to the phrase "the earth was formless" to show that perhaps creatio ex nihilo is incorrect. God doesn't create the world but molds it into a more recognisable form; he changes from being a creator to being a designer. Many argue this makes the concept of God less impressive, for if God is not the only eternal thing he is no longer unique and this anthropomorphises him, this comparison to human form lessens his supremeness. The earth is not God's idea but more his interpretation. A potter can only form things to a certain extent with clay placed ...

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