Q.
How do we reconcile the two different “creation stories”?
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Both of these stories cast our God as Creator, an important designation.
Both are centered on the creation of humanity and our importance in the
world. In the fi rst, God gives us dominion over the world and everything
in it (Gen. 1:28–30), an incredible responsibility that should speak to us
now as much as, if not more than, it did to those who fi rst told and heard
this story. It also helps to set up the idea of the Sabbath, an important part
of the Jewish faith.
In the second, the creation of humanity comes before the creation of any-
thing else. Also, out of the second story comes the genealogy that will lead to
Abraham and even later, to Jesus, setting up the personal relationship that we
have with God.
We are given a story that shows us creation on a large scale and that high-
lights the power and goodness of our creator, and we are given a story that
centers on humanity, the beginning of our relationship with that creator. Both
have important places in our beliefs.Christian Piatt
Who is...
?
Christian Piatt
In college, I was the lead singer for several rock
bands and had hair down to my waist.A.
In Genesis 1, man and woman are created at the same time. In Gen-
esis 2, however, God creates Eve from the rib of Adam. Although
both stories address the questions of how we got here, the fi rst is a
broader, more “cosmic” approach to the issue of creation. And while the Adam
and Eve story is in many ways more accessible for readers, it also has some
pretty clear agendas.
First, the Adam and Eve story tries to explain the nature of sin, describing
metaphorically how humanity has screwed up since day one and how God
allows us the ability to make choices on our own, good or bad. But the story
also places the man in a superior role over women, which makes sense given
the patriarchal culture in which this story would have originated.
Finally, the story deftly combines these fi rst two items basically to blame
women for leading guys astray. Though both sexes pay a price for their short-
comings, it’s the women who have to endure the pains of childbirth as pen-
ance for tempting males in their fall from grace.