Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Jesus Creed

Home
Evangelical
The World is Sacred Space (RJS)

The World is Sacred Space (RJS)

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 10:31 pm by RJS

The World is Sacred Space (RJS) 2015-03-13T22:31:53-05:00 RJS

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

In his new book Seriously Dangerous Religion, Iain Provan begins by sketching the vision of the world and of creation that the authors of Genesis portray. This vision is contrasted with that of other religious views (Hinduism, Buddhism, etc.), with the philosophy and religion of the Greeks, and with the ancient Near Eastern (ANE) religions. Today I will focus on the main points he draws about Genesis.

1. Genesis portrays a world with a beginning. The world is not eternal.

2. The world was created by a person, that is God is spoken of in personal terms.

These are important points that set the image portrayed by Genesis apart from most other views of the world.

It proposes that a personal God created the heavens and the earth. This is only the first of many ways in which, to echo Blaise Pascal’s words in his Mémorial, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob of whom Genesis speaks is not the god of the philosophers (insofar as the term “god” is even an appropriate term for the “One”that these philosophers envisage). (p. 26)

3. Creation is ordered. “The book of Genesis explains [this order] in terms of a personal creation; the Creator has produced order.” (p. 27) In Genesis 1 days one to three give shape to the formless and void creation as the darkness is contained, a space for life is created, and the seas are tamed, while days four to six fill the created and shaped space. “The Creator makes things the way they are, providing both the habitations and the inhabitants that make up our world.” (p. 28)

The Queen of the Night represents an Ancient Mesopotamian goddess, perhaps Ishtar or her sister and rival Ereshkigal or the demoness Lilitu. Babylonia ca. 1765-1745 BC (in the British Museum)

4. Creation is not divine. God is present in creation, he acts in creation, but creation is separate from God. This is distinctly different from other ANE thinking. According to Provan the ANE gods are seen as products and/or substance of creation. They are part of the world not separate from it. Genesis is different.

Creation is essentially separate from God, who sustains and interacts with it from “outside.” The cosmic phenomena of the heavens and the earth are therefore not manifestations of divine attributes, although they are understood to be instruments of God’s sovereignty. (p. 30)

According to the authors of Genesis the “heavenly bodies are not divine managers of the cosmos, but only creatures of God-and impersonal ones at that.” (p. 31) It is significant that Genesis 1 does not use the usual words for sun and moon, which would have been understood by many in the original audience as also the names of gods in the ANE pantheon. Provan takes this one step further, drawing a contrast with the shape of the ANE understanding of the world.

In general, for the peoples of the ancient Near East, “nature” was entirely personal – the very place where the gods were to be found. That which they perceived to be beyond the world was resolutely impersonal and ultimately irrelevant to their lives. Biblical faith, conversely, sees nature as impersonal, divesting it of the many gods who might be worshipped there. What lies beyond the world, however, is profoundly personal and profoundly relevant to life. (p. 31)

5. Creation is sacred. This is seen in both Genesis 1 and Genesis 2. The first chapter presents the world using the metaphor of a temple. The temple in the ANE was not a as much a place for worship as it was a residence of the god. Provan goes into more detail, but his conclusion cuts to the chase.

In Genesis 1:1–2:4, then, we read about the construction of a temple-cosmos. This cosmos is neither merely utilitarian nor solely functional.It is sacred space. (p. 33)

The metaphor of the garden in chapter 2 also describes the world as sacred space. Provan argues that the garden is not intended to portray a place in the world, but rather it represents the whole earth. Because this is likely a novel view for many, Provan walks through his reasons, including the rivers and the trees present in the garden and their parallels in the ancient Near East.

In Genesis 2, then, the whole world is sacred garden space. It is into this space that human beings are placed by God, just as they are placed into the temple-cosmos in Genesis 1. They are located there for a particular purpose: “to work it and take care of it” … From the biblical perspective, then, the work of human beings in God’s world is religious work. We are to look after sacred space—the dwelling place of God—on behalf of the one who created it. (p. 37)

Provan looks at a number of Old Testament passages to understand the significance of the garden – in Ezekiel and Isaiah and Song of Songs. Some of these texts speak of the garden as a recent experience or a possible experience. This is a conundrum if the garden was a place long ago. It is better understood in terms of relationship. Residence in the garden is a state of being in the world. “It is the experience of being in right relationship with God and with creation.” (p. 40)

6. Creation is good. The world that was created by the personal God is not a problem to be overcome, something evil to be subdued. Both Eastern religions and Western philosophies have often viewed the world as a problem to be overcome. Christian thinking has sometimes leaned this way as well. But this is not the view of the Old Testament.

In Hebrew thought, the world is categorically not a problem to be overcome. It is not a mistake. It does not trap human beings in a place where they were never meant to be and in which they do not truly belong. … Its physical, sensual pleasures are not traps set to ensnare the soul. On the contrary, in biblical faith the world is a wonderful place, created in such a way as to be exactly the right place – a good and a beautiful place – for the flourishing of the creatures, personal and otherwise, who have been created by the One who is personal. (p. 45)

The Old Testament perspective on creation is powerful, and distinct from the surrounding cultures. It is also distinct from the views of Eastern and Western philosophies. Provan sees Genesis 1 and 2 as parallel passages casting the same kind of image. In summary, God is personal, relating to the world, but he is not identified with the world. The world is sacred space, a good space, designed for human flourishing. The ancient Near Eastern authors used ancient imagery known to the original audience, but used it consistently to cast a distinctive view of God and his creation.

This isn’t just another ancient story of origins.

Is Eden a place in this world? Does it make sense to view Eden as the whole world?

If so how should this shape our interpretation of the creation narratives in Genesis and elsewhere in the Old Testament?

Is the world still sacred space?

If you would like to contact me directly you may do so at rjs4mail[at]att.net.

If interested you can subscribe to a full text feed of my posts at Musings on Science and Theology.

Bible

Creation

Previous Post

September 16, 2014

How Christians Tell the Story of Judaism (Lynn Cohick)

Next Post

September 16, 2014 Adulthood and Leadership: Collapsing?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Acts of the Apostles Adam Advent Anabaptism Angels Anglican Apologetics Atonement Baptism BCP Prayers Bible Biblical Studies Birds Blogging Bloglossary Bonhoeffer Books Calvinism Christianity Church Church History Coffee Colossians Commentary Recs Conversion Creation Creeds Culture Death Ecclesiastes Economics Education Embracing Grace Emergent Emerging Movement Eschatology Essays Ethics Eucharist Evangelicalism Family Fasting Fathers Fellowship of Differents Footsteps Tour Fun and Whimsical Gospel Grace Happiness Heaven Hell Holy Spirit Irenaeus James Jesus Jesus Creed Job Justification Kingdom of God Law Lectures Lent Liberalism Love and Marriage Mabanteneni Manhood Mary Miracles Missio Alliance MissioLife Missional Missional Jesus Movies and Film New Perspective Northern Seminary OneLife Origins Project Orthodox Parables Pastor's Spouse Pastoring and Leading Pastoring and Preaching Patristics Paul Paul-John Tour Pharisees Pietism Political Theology Prayer and Formation Preaching Problems for Faith Psalm 119 Psalms Public Issues Purgatory Religions Resurrection Revelation Romans Rule of JCreed Science and Faith Sermon on the Mount Sports Ten Commandments Theology Third Way Top Ten Lists Translations Uncategorized Universalism University Ministry Way Out Weekly Meanderings Wisdom Women and Ministry Work Worship Writing & Blogging Youth Ministry

Select a Month July 2021 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 0000

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What does the Hebrew word 'Adonai' mean?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Lord/Master Savior Messiah Holy One