Scripture

“You alone have been made in the image of the Reality that transcends all understanding, the likeness of imperishable beauty, the imprint of true divinity, the recipient of supreme blessedness, the seal of the true light.”

Genesis teaches that God does not simply bring about Creation and steps back, but remains intimately involved with his Creation.

Days 1-6. Grasping and glimpsing the Divine in Creation through an analogy of being (analogia entis).

Within this reading there are three words to focus upon: Said, Light, and Called. What is the power of speech, what do we mean by light, and what does it mean to name something?

“God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness.” A short discussion on Theodicy and Evil as Negation.

“The earth was without form and void/ and darkness was upon the face of the deep/ and the Ruach Elohim moved over the face of the waters.” Let your mind’s eye see what the passage is saying about who God is, who we are, and how we relate.

This week we will be looking at the first three words of the Hebrew Scriptures: Bereshit bara Elohim (“In the beginning God created” or literally “In the beginning created God”) 

Tonight, we will read the creation story together, discuss the text from a reader-response perspective, and look at its overall structure.