CREATION

• Creation of Adam


  A painting by Michelangelo that shows God bringing Adam to life
• Creation of Adam


  • Reflects a number of important Christian beliefs about God's nature and his role as the creator of humanity
• Creation of Adam was painted by Michelangelo on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome in the sixteenth century
• Creation is the act through which God made the universe
• The story of creation is told in Genesis, the first book in the Bible
• Creation of Adam


  • Adam is not yet fully alive, he is waiting for God's touch to bring him to life
  • God and Adam both look powerful and muscular, they are lying in similar positions
  • God looks much older than Adam
• Adam is shown as the perfect man, full of strength and potential


  Reflects the teaching that God made everything 'very good' (Genesis 1:31 (NRSV))
• Creation of Adam


  • God is carried through the air by a group of angels
  • God and Adam are reaching out their hands to each other
• Genesis 2:7 says that God brought Adam to life by breathing into his nostrils, rather than touching him
• In the painting God and Adam are nearly the same size, suggesting that humans and God are equal
• Hildreth Meière's mosaic


  Shows the hand of God in the act of creation
• Hildreth Meière's mosaic


  • Lines extend from God's hand to the edge of the circle (which depicts the edge of the universe)
  • God's hand is large compared to the size of the cloud above it
• Hildreth Meière created a number of mosaics for St Bartholomew's Church in New York, USA
• The creation story in Genesis 1 shows that God is the creator of everything, and that he created humanity in his own image
• Transcendent


  Beyond and outside life on earth and the universe
• Genesis 1 describes God's creation of the universe over six days, using the power of his word to bring things into being
• Catholics do not think that Genesis 1 is meant to be a scientific account of creation
• God is creator


  God is the only creator, who has created everything
• Genesis 1:27 shows that God created humans in his own image
• Omnipotent


  God has the power to do whatever he wants; he can even create things from nothing
• Genesis 1:31 says everything God made is 'very good'; God is so powerful he can make everything exactly the way he wants it
• Then God said, 'Let there be light'; and there was light
• Transcendent


  God is completely above and beyond the created world
• The idea of transcendence also means God is beyond human understanding
• Genesis 2


  Shows that humans share the Spirit of God
• Genesis 2


  Shows that God has given humans free will (the ability to make decisions and think for themselves)
• Genesis 2:7 (NRSV): 'then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being'
• Humans share the Spirit of God; God's spirit gives humans some of his qualities
• Free will


  The ability to decide for oneself whether or not to do something
• Free will doesn't mean that humans can do whatever they like without any consequences
• Using free will to sin

  Results in turning away from God, and this is why evil exists in the world
• Using free will to live in a way that pleases God


  Brings humans closer to God
• In Genesis 1:28, God tells Adam and Eve to 'subdue the earth and have dominion' over every living thing
• In Genesis 2:15, God puts Adam in the garden of Eden to 'till it and keep it'
• Stewardship


  The responsibility to look after the environment on behalf of God
• The world is a gift from God, but God expects humans to protect and care for the world in return
• Genesis 1 states that God made humans 'in his image'
• All humans are equal because they have all been created by God and share in the qualities of God
• Dignity


  Being worthy of honour and respect
• In Genesis 1, God blesses humans after he creates them