Explain how the bible shows God as a creator. (25 marks)

A creator is defined as a person or thing which brings something into existence. “In the beginning1God created the heavens and the earth.” God`s position as creator of the universe is a prerequisite to faith in him within the bible. Indeed the first two chapters of Genesis or ‘beginning’, detail God`s creation of the world and bible does not argue Gods existence but assumes it as a matter of faith. It is the differences in the interpretations of creation which split the first two chapters of Genesis, suggesting either the Priestly tradition or an older version from the Yahwistic tradition, the difference between deism such as Aristotle’s god or theism. The first suggests no active participation in running the world, the second the opposite.

However first we must analyse the differing representations of god within the first and second chapters of Genesis. The first presents God performing ‘creatio ex-nihilo’ or ‘creation from nothing’, the second being the bringing of order out of disorder or cosmos from chaos. In this two differing concepts of God as a creator are formed, exemplified perhaps in the language used within the chapters. Genesis 1 states “God made the wild animals according to their kinds” and “"Let us67 make man in our image”, the key word here being “made”. This is in contrast to the “God formed11the mane from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath15 of life” from Genesis 2. The key difference is the choice of words, either ‘made’ or ‘formed’, such is this difference that the Hebrew words that ‘made’ and ‘formed’ are translated from are two completely different words, the first basically means "to prepare," whilst the second is translated means "to form, fashion, frame." It could be argued this is schematics if not for other scriptures pointing out these are different words, Isaiah 45:18, "For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it;" This means in one he could be likened only to a creator, the other a craftsman. In fact there are specific scriptures which liken God to a craftsman, Job 38 states, “…who laid its cornerstone?” As Ahluwalia said, “God gives the world its shape and adds its details with all the care and skill of a master craftsman.” In this he could be likened to Plato`s Demiurge, shaping chaos to design, the key differences being the lack of Forms but instead original design and the Judaeo-Christian God`s…