Genesis 1-11 Worldview Essay
Ryan Myers
L28009200
BIBL 105
September 12, 2016
The Natural World
This passage gives a clear origin story for the entire universe. It explains that God is its
Creator. The beginning of the first chapter of the passage tells us plainly that “In the
beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen 1:1). Not only that, but this
passage tells of the creation and beginning of the human race. This means that humans are not
here by random chance, and that we are accountable to an All-Powerful Creator. This also shows
us that, since God created all things on this earth, God owns all things by right, including us. As
shown by the sixth chapter, God not only owns everything, He is sovereign over all of it. He can
do as He pleases with what He has created. For instance, in Genesis chapter 6 God says, “For
behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of
life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die” (Gen 6:17). God uses this as
judgement on sin, and chooses to save Noah, his family, and two of every animal species to
preserve life on earth. This not only shows His sovereignty, but also His love for His creation.
Human Identity
God did not make humans to obey His every command like robots, nor did humans come
about through evolutionary processes. It says in Genesis chapter 1, “Then God said, ‘Let us make
man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and
over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every
creeping thing that creeps on the earth’” (Gen 1:26). The key here is that we were made in God’s
image. This means we can feel emotions, we have souls that are eternal, and we have free will.
Our identity can be found in God. Of course, because we live in a fallen world and because of
our free will, we have the ability to seek our identity in other places like in our jobs, our stuff,
our families, etc. God gave us charge over His creation, but that is not where our identities
should lie. These things are temporary, and we were never meant to seek for our identities there.
God, however, is eternal. If we seek our identity in Him, then our identity will never change, no
matter what happens to the world and the people around us.
Human Relationships
God clearly defined what human relationships were supposed to look like in the first few
chapters of this passage. In Genesis chapter 2 it says, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and
his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh” (Gen 2:24). This is in
regards to marriage. It does not say that a man can “become one flesh” with another man, or that
a woman can do likewise with another woman. God designed the woman to be with a man, and a
man to be with a woman. Also, the reproductive process, according to God’s design, can only be
completed between a man and a woman within the bounds of marriage. God does not mention
any exceptions. This means that any extramarital sexual relations between a man and a woman
are not within God’s design. Neither are relations between two men or two women. Also, God
clearly defines each gender. God does not tell Adam that he can choose whether or not he wants
to be a woman, neither does he tell Eve that she can choose. God clearly defines the boundaries
of these relationships, and they are not to be crossed in any way, shape, or form.
Civilization
The end of this passage clearly states how civilization started, and why they are so
diverse today. In Genesis chapter 11, it says, “Now the whole earth had one language and the
same words” (Gen 11:1). At this point, there was only one civilization, and consisted of entire
population of the earth at the time. They all gathered together in one place to create one city in
which they all would live, but God had a different plan. He wanted them to scatter and populate
the entire earth. In Genesis chapter 11, God says, “Come, let us go down and there confuse their
language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech” (Gen 11:7). God did as He said
He would do, and the people dispersed over the earth. Not only did they scatter and break off
from one another, they took distinct languages with them. This shows that God is ultimately
behind the creation of the languages that we use today in communication. Also, He is the reason
that so many different cultures exist today. If He hadn’t dispersed them, we might be one massive
civilization today with a shared culture and language with slight variation to what it was back
then.
Conclusion/Worldview
This passage greatly influences my worldview with respect to the four themes above: the
natural world, human identity, human relationships, and civilization. Since I believe what this
passage says, I believe that what God says about each of these is true and absolute. For instance,
I believe that God created the universe. I don’t believe in evolution, or that any other explanation
for the origin of the universe is true. I believe that human identity should be found solely in God.
He created us in His image, and He is the only being that will neither change nor pass away with
time. Therefore, I do not believe that we should find our identity anywhere else but in God. I
believe what God says about what marriage should look like, and that anything that is outside of
His design is wrong. I believe that sexual relations outside of marriage, marriage between two
men, and marriage between to women are all outside the boundaries that God has laid down. I
believe that God designed the languages that exist today (even though they have changed over
time), and that it is because of Him that many different civilizations exist today all over the earth.
I don’t think that any civilization or language was the product of evolution or the design of false
gods. God was directly involved from the beginning of all these things. I believe this, and I take
Him at His word.
