Since we are going to study Genesis, Fr. Marvin Deustch gave us a very nice special talk about how to understand the Bible's literary forms (Please see his homily below) . It it very important to us in Bible study, fundamentalists believe everything is literal. But we need to clear understand that there are different kinds of literary forms:
- language of appearances - such as: The World of The Hebrews (see figure below)
- the parables - The "parable" is short and takes place in a familiar situation
- uses of allegory (story) - The "allegory" is lengthy and contains a large number of characters.
- history (history novel)
- poetry
This week, we are going to start our journey of Genesis. Arthur is going to lead us. Please see our meeting information on the right.
See you all and God Bless.
The Creation Story
Genesis 1:1-19 - 5th Monday in Ordinary Time
Fr. Marvin Deutsch, M.M. Feb.5, 2007
Genesis 1:1-19 - 5th Monday in Ordinary Time
Fr. Marvin Deutsch, M.M. Feb.5, 2007
Friends in Christ,
As we all know, there is a great conflict going on in our country today about the origin of the world , how all living things came about, including ourselves, the highest of all earthly creatures. There are many in our materialistic, secular world today who deny there is a supreme being who had anything to do with it, but rather it all happened by natural selection, the survival of the fittest etc. Some people wanted to insert into the school textbooks that evolution was only a theory and intelligent design should be taught as an alternative. This idea was thrown out by a judge in a state supreme court who claimed he did all the research on the subject and to teach creationism in our public schools was a violation of the separation of Church and State.
One of the problems that predominates today is the literal interpretation of the book of Genesis which totally contradicts science. So, do Catholics have to believe for example, that the universe was created in 7 days, or that the earth was created before the sun , or the stars were placed like lamps in the sky? So very briefly, let's take a look at what the Bible is actually teaching. First of all, the book of Genesis contains many religious teachings of basic importance. In the reading for today's mass, Genesis 1:1~9, a most important teaching is contained in the very first sentence. "In the beginning (when) God created Heaven and earth..." This sentence presupposes that God existed before his creation, that he was totally distinct and transcendent, that he is a pure spirit who had no beginning. It also implies that he created all things from nothing.
The language of Genesis is very simple, like someone was telling a story to children - the dome which was the sky, how light came about, how dry land was formed , how the stars were placed like lamps in the dome. I don't think very many would accept this as a scientific teaching. So how do we explain it? protecting our principles that God did it all? Actually the answer is not complicated. The author, or the authors of Genesis used the language of appearances; they spoke the way things looked. For example, If anyone of us would walk outside and want to explain the creation of what we saw out there , we most likely, especially if we were talking to uneducated people, would use the language of appearances. The sky looks like a blue dome. The sun appears to be traveling around the earth. If fact, we even talk about sunrise and sunset, when the sun is not rising or setting at all. It is the earth, which is spinning on its axis causing the change of time. But even in our newspapers, the words sunrise and sunset are the ordinary ways of speaking and writing. This does not contradict science. It is the language of appearances.
In fact, the opposite is true; the more we get into science, the more we understand that the fantastic order and minuteness of the interchange in nature is so marvelous that it is totally impossible that this could happen without a supreme intelligence. What science is doing is probing the mind of God. Almost every day there is something in the news about the danger to the planet of global warming. With CO2gas being trapped in the atmosphere, the earth is warming up. How much? In the last 50 - 100 years, it has gone up 1 or 1 and a half degrees. The worry is, that in the next 50 years, it may go up 3 or more degrees causing catastrophic changes in the atmosphere, which would last for hundreds of years. Doesn't that tell us something about how the earth is so finely turned , that even altering the temperature a single degree causes weather changes that disrupt the order in nature so necessary to our well being.
Some years ago I was reading an interview of an English scientist who was a specialist in the study of enzymes. He said that they have discovered over 700 enzymes in the human body, which regulate everything from the heart beating, the digestive process, producing cholesterol and you name it. He said that for this to happen by chance would be like trying to roll an unloaded dice and have it come with the same number a thousand times in a row. He said he did not believe in a personal god who cares about us, but he did believe in a supreme intelligence because without intelligence the order, design and pure remarkableness and interdependence of nature would be totally impossible.
How about evolution? Does the Church deny this possibility? No it doesn't, but it does deny evolution without intelligence. Our famous teacher of yesteryear, J. Ryan Hughes, used to say - of course evolution is possible. It is just God using a longer brush. Then he would say, Write it down, man. You won't find that in the textbooks.
So today in our mass we begin reading from the book of Genesis, which will continue in our daily masses for a couple of weeks. This is not a book of science, but it is a book of truths, basic truths that tell us who created the world and all that is in it, and why we are in the human condition we are in - that is the result of sin. It tells us why we are here and to whom we owe everything that we have and all that we expect to be.
Have a good day and God bless you
Fr. Marvin Deutsch, M.M.
