There are two creation accounts in the Bible: the creation of the world and the creation of human beings. The Bible tells us that God spoke every- thing into being. Concerning humankind, God said “Let us make man in our image and likeness ..."
God created the heavens and the earth in six days.
On the first day He created light. He called the light, day and the darkness, night.
On the second day God created the sky.
On the third day God created the land and the seas. He commanded the earth to produce all kinds of plants.
On the forth day GOD created the sun, moon and stars.
On the fifth day God created creatures of the sea and the birds that fly in the air.
On the sixth day God created livestock, creatures that move along the ground and wild animals.
He also made man in His image.
On the seventh day God rested.
He blessed the day and made it holy. This is the day we observe as the Sabbath (Exodus 20:8-11).
God created both male and female in His own image.
He blessed them and told them to be fruitful and increase in number.
God made them rulers over all He had created.
God made man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man become a living being.
He placed him in the Garden of Eden where there was the tree of life in the middle; the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
A river flowed from Eden that watered the garden.
God saw that Adam was lonely.
He decided to make him a suitable companion, so He caused Adam to fall into a deep sleep.
He took out one of Adam’s ribs and from it formed woman, Eve.
The fall of human beings
(Genesis 3:1- 14)
God commanded Adam and Eve not to eat the fruit from the tree in the middle of the Garden of Eden. They could eat from all the other trees.
The serpent deceived Eve into believing his lies.
Eve therefore, disobeyed the command and she ate the fruit from the forbidden tree.
Eve ate the fruit because it pleased her eyes, she saw it could be good for food and she thought she would be wise.
She gave some to her husband who ate it too. Their eyes were opened and they saw they were naked.
They hid from the Lord among the trees.
Adam blamed Eve for giving him the fruit to eat.
Eve told God that it was the serpent that had deceived her.
Because of their disobedience, God:
Threw them out of the Garden of Eden.
Increased the pain of childbearing in the woman.
Cursed the snake to always crawl on his stomach and eat dust.
Put enmity between man and serpent.
Said that man would toil throughout the days of his life in order to eat
God placed the cherubims and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.
Authority given to human beings over creation
(Genesis 1: 28 - 30)
God gave human beings the authority to rule over everything He had created on earth.
He gave them every green plant for food. The beasts of the earth and the birds of the air were all placed under human authority
Traditional African Stories of creation
Every community has a traditional story about creation. Creation stories tell about people’s origins. Narrate the creation myth of your ethnic community.
In Africa, God is considered the creator. Various communities have different stories on how and why man was created.
The Luhya believed that their God were created the earth and he took two days to finish the work.
The Nyamwezi of Tanzania believed that their God created all things.
However, it is commonly believed that God created man and God was close to Him. God is also believed to have created the whole world and all in it.
All traditional myths teach that God existed at the very beginning of time.
The belief in God’s creation activity is expressed in the various words used to refer to Him like excavator, potter, architect, originator and carver.
God was believed to have shaped human beings while they were still in their mothers’ wombs, hence the comparison to a pot maker.
It was also believed that His creation activity was never-ending as was seen in new births and in God’s continued provision of humankind’s basic needs.
What these creation stories teach us
God created all things.
There is only one God.
God made human beings in His image.
All human beings are children of God. Therefore, they are all equal before Him.
Human beings are in charge of all created things.
God created everything for a purpose; so He is loving and purposeful.
God is a provider. He gave man a beautiful garden with fruits to live in.
Human beings were in complete union with their creator.
God made the Sabbath day a day of rest for Christians.
How we respond to God's creation
(Psalms 104:5 - 9, 24 - 26)
1. We respond to God’s creation by taking care of it. This includes,
Preserving our forests
Cultivating the land
Taking care of the animals
Avoiding harmful practices that can result in the pollution of the environment.
Nairobi City council litter bins
2. It is important to appreciate God’s greatness and love in creating us and giving us all the beautiful things around us. We should therefore, not destroy or harm His creation.
3. God also created weather and water, which have good and bad effects. Water may cause floods and destroy property or even human lives. The weather may be too hot or too cold and lead to famine that may kill animals and human beings.
4. However, God has power over all these. We can seek His help.
5. We can also pray to Him to help us be able to help ourselves.
6. For example, we can use solar power to grow crops in times of drought or channel flood waters to dams for preservation or irrigation.
Solar panels
Sand dam
Traditional African society's views on the use and misuse of God's creation
It was believed that destroying the environment resulted in destroying human life because both were closely linked.
The traditional Africans were linked to the environment through totems.
The environment was to provide human beings with food, medicine, shelter and clothing among other needs. It was used to satisfy these needs.
Moringa oleifera seeds can create natural medicines used to heal a variety of ailments.
Africans believe that the environment is created by God and is sacred.
The environment was therefore taken care of as a sign of respect and to show appreciation to God.
Christian teaching on the use and misuse of God's creation
(Genesis 1:11, 12, 26 - 29, Psalms 8:6 - 8)
Christian teaching on the use and misuse of the environment comes from the Biblical teachings on creation.
Christian teaching recognises the interrelationship of all created things living and non-living.
An example of our ecosystem. What do you learn from this?
Human beings are expected to be responsible managers of God’s creation.
Elephants in Nairobi National Park
We serve God by conserving the environment.
How to respond to the use and misuse of God's creation
(Psalms 104:16, 17)
People should be encouraged to build gabions and terraces and plant more trees in order to preserve the environment.
Terraces in eastern kenya
We should dispose garbage carefully to avoid littering and polluting the land.
City council of Nairobi litter bins
Reminding people that God created the environment and we have the responsibility to take care of it.
Educating people on the importance of conserving the environment by planting trees, which will stop soil erosion and preserve water catchment areas.
Wangari Maathai was the founder of the Green Belt Movement and the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate
Using alternative sources of fuel such as electricity and gas to reduce air pollution.
Power lines
Not overgrazing.
Not dumping industrial waste into water sources.
Controlling mining of minerals to avoid displacing human beings.
We should regard the environment as sacred and therefore respect it.
In summery we've learnt,
The story of creation in the Bible, order of creation.
