Article November 18, 2013 Issue

The ant and the sun

Gale Bentley

The Bible begins with two stories of creation. The first, in Genesis 1:1–2:3, speaks of God creating all, and man in His image and likeness. This creation is perfect and complete. The second story, starting in Genesis 2:4, begins with matter. God is included in this record, but is no longer the only creator. Evil enters the picture and shares power.

The human mind embraces this second story of creation. Just look around. Lives are lost to gun violence. Severe weather disrupts or destroys lives. Accidents happen daily. Poverty is prevalent.

When I was younger, I struggled with how any of this could occur in a perfect creation. As much as I wanted the first story of creation to be true, I faced the possibility that maybe it wasn’t. If God’s ideas have existed forever, I wondered, why did we find ourselves plopped into this experience to work through this puzzle? Hadn’t infinity already afforded us enough opportunity to achieve the understanding that this human experience was supposed to bring? Where did the first material belief come from in a perfect spiritual universe? And most important, why does anyone appear to suffer or pass away too early?