The opening chapters of Genesis contain many theological elements that are important for Christian faith, such as the fall of the first humans, on which original sin is based, and prophetic elements that herald the undoing of their sin through Christ. However, it is common knowledge that the entire Bible has been increasingly questioned, even ridiculed, during the slow rise of modern science since Galileo Galilei was banned by the Church for adopting the Copernican heliocentric view, thus undermining the Christian faith.
As a response to this crisis, some began to question science, others went in the opposite direction and tried to harmonize the biblical texts with modern knowledge. Still others reduced their historical content to a distorted mythological tradition and attached real meaning only to the New Testament. Yet others argued that they only have a theological meaning. Though, declaring Genesis as scientifically meaningless does not solve the problem because there are clear statements regarding the creation of the universe, the Earth and its inhabitants. Today, this debate is still ongoing, even if it has become less heated and more detached. For my part, I defend in this book the view that there is no real contradiction between Genesis and science. However, both theology and science need to make progress in view of their mutual harmonization.
Contrarily to what may appear to a layperson, science is indeed still evolving permanently such that certain questions related to whether the creation account is compatible with modern knowledge must continually be reexamined. For instance, the creation of “the heavens and the earth” described in Genesis 1:1 is traditionally believed to refer to old cosmologies, conceiving the immediate space above the flat Earth as a solid firmament including the stars and the atmosphere. However, in the 17th century, scientists discovered that stars are much further away than the outer atmosphere. Subsequently, they adopted the view that the universe is infinite and that it has existed since eternity, which is, of course, in contradiction with a solid firmament.
The creation of “the heavens” as a space and home for all celestial bodies would be pointless if it had always existed. According to general relativity elaborated by Albert Einstein in the beginning of the 20th century, however, space is indeed something that is continually being formed since the big bang. In fact, space-time has a very complex structure, such that it is legitimate to wonder whether it has been created in the same way as matter. So according to this more recent cosmology, Genesis 1:1 is not outdated at all.
The opening chapters of Genesis are often said to be divinely inspired texts. In this book, I even go further and assume that the very origin of this text is not from humans, even though the words have undoubtedly been put on paper by humans. The text may have been written based on visions or even dictated word by word like the book of Revelation. John is indeed several times told by an angel to write down his words (e.g., Rev 1:11, 19; 2:1). At the end of Revelation, a warning is issued:
…if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book (Rev 22:19).
Genesis is part of the Pentateuch, the Hebrew Bible, and was decreed by the ministry of the angels and a mediator (Gal 3:19). According to John 1:45; 5:45‑47 and Romans 10:5, this mediator was Moses. Jesus says:
For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished (Mt 5:18).
This suggests that Genesis, which is part of the Law, and Revelation are as accurate as mathematics. Now, it is well known that mathematical equations can have multiple solutions. For instance, to take a very simple example, the equation x2=1 has the two solutions x=1 and x=-1. Each of this solution is valid, but at the same time partial. This means that one single solution does not render the whole picture but only both solutions. Similarly, Genesis can be interpreted in several ways, which each have to be taken into account.
To deepen this further, let us consider the photos that are often made of the Pisa Tower in Italy: a person extends the hand such that, aligned in perspective, he or she seems to prevent the tower in the background to incline further. This is the literal and – silly – view. The accurate view is that the photographer, the person and the tower are just aligned with each other. So what has to be done to disentangle this apparent paradox is to put the tower and the person into their appropriate contexts. This requires us to abandon the two-dimensional frame of the photo and to put a distance between the person and the tower, not only with regard to space but also time.
This is similar to stellar constellations, whose stars all appear to be at the same distance from the Earth when viewed with the naked eye. However, there are significant spatial differences between them and the Earth, so these groups of stars do not really outline animals or objects. Such astronomical differences in space also imply differences in time because the light of a star distanced from Earth for several light years is seen in the past for the same number of years.
Such a picture in Genesis is the speaking serpent of the garden of Eden, who is traditionally interpreted as the Devil, a fallen angel. A literal interpretation does not solve the dilemma that no speaking snakes exist in nature. But it can be elucidated in assuming that the narrative refers to both an individual capable of speech and an animal incapable of speech. So two contexts, in which both the Devil and the animal independently play their role on time-shifted levels, must be distinguished. Therefore, this passage can be interpreted in at least two ways, each of which being valid.
So such multilayered interpretations are all valid when applied to the corresponding context and do not exclude themselves mutually. Any dispute over whether one solution prevails over another does not make any sense as we don’t need to choose one at the expense of others. However, this also means that not every detail in the literal text can be applied to every context, as the single solutions only reflect a part of the overall picture. Only the whole spectrum of solutions renders every detail of the text. Thereby, the opening chapters of Genesis must be understood as a polyphonic symphony rather than a monophonic Gregorian chant. If they are listened to in this way, all apparent inconsistencies with modern science can be solved.
As far as salvation history is concerned, it is multilayered in the sense that it follows recurring patterns. For instance, the Jewish people were deported several times. The first deportation happened in 722 BC as consequence of the occupation of the Israelite northern kingdom by the Assyrians. A second deportation arrived with the Babylonian occupation between 597 and 587 BC. A similar judgment came upon the Jewish people through the persecutions of Antiochus Epiphanes between 169 and 162 BC, as well as through the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in AD 70, which led to their final Diaspora.
All these judgments proceed according to four typical phases characterized by initial peace, sin (apostasy), judgment (deportations or persecutions) and a return to peace. These four phases form together a cycle and only differentiate from each other by their typical character, so not by a more or less equal duration, for the first phase is always considerably longer than the three following ones. With the return to peace, a new cycle begins.
It can be shown that the entire history of salvation, as transmitted by the Bible, follows this recurring pattern, as if its more than seventy books had been written by a single author. Salvation history starts with the angels, who were the first to turn away from God, thus involving the need for their return to God, that is, for their salvation. For similar reasons, salvation also became necessary for humanity. For this reason, the entire past, present and future of salvation history takes place in repeating cycles.
A recurring salvation history offers important solutions. For instance, the flood account gets an entirely new shape. There is not only one flood anymore but several ones. Similarly, there is more than one Adam and Noah. From this can be inferred that the long patriarchs’ ages have several meanings, which allows to calculate dates for our ancestors that accord with the fossil record, that is, 500’000 years ago for the first Neanderthals and 200’000 years ago for the first modern humans. But this is not all. Even the most important cosmologica dates up to the big bang can be calculated using simple recurring mathematics.
Other mysteries related to Genesis, Daniel, Revelation and numerous other topics can be explained through a recurring salvation history. In particular, Marian apparitions must be understood as events belonging to a particular phase of the recurring cycles.
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