However, most other Christians (liberal Christians) believe that the account of creation in the book of Genesis is a myth or “dumbed down” version of how the world was created, and that it was written for earlier peoples who didn’t have the scientific knowledge to understand the actual processes behind the creation of the world. These Christians believe that when the Bible says that the world was created in “six days”, a “day” may be a loose term meaning a geological period, or 100 million years, for example. Liberal Christians often fit scientific ideas about the creation of the world into the creation story. They day that when God said, “Let there be light”, this is the point at which the Big Bang created the universe, and when each of the different types of animals was created on a different day, this is the process of evolution developing new forms of life. However, they believe that God put both of these processes into motion.
Christians also believe that God made humans specially. When God created the animals, he simply commanded that they came into existence, and they did. However, he actually sculpted Adam “in God’s image” from the dust of the earth, and “he breathed life giving breath into his nostrils, and the man began to live”. Christians also believe that when God made the earth, they were given the special responsibility of being in charge of the rest of creation and were told to “have many children” in order to populate the earth. They also believe that the sun, moon and stars were put into the sky by God to light the earth and show time (although the early Christian idea that the earth was at the centre of the universe was disproved by Copernicus). Christians believe that when God had finished creating the world, it was perfect.
Whether or not the exact details of the Genesis creation story are true, the story teaches some important points. The story illustrates that God is powerful. Not only did he create the world from nothing, but he only needed to command things and they appeared. “God commanded ‘Let there be … ‘ and it was done”. As well as creating the world, Christians believe that God is sustaining it, and that everything on earth depends on him. The fact that things were created separately in a certain order, and “God was pleased with what he saw,” suggests that creation was planned.
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