“In the beginning God created…” (Gen 1:1)1
The first thing about which the Bible tells us is the creative power of God. Throughout the Bible, we read many statements that further reveal to us the mystery that is the Lord Yahweh. I do not think “God created” is necessarily the most important of these statements; but it is one that I think gets a bit neglected by Christians today (I’m sure those on the side of evolution who have debated with creationists will argue that Christians have, in fact, not neglected this verse…if that is you, stay with me.) Many Christians do use this as proof of
God is creative
“creationism.” And using it as a shield (or hurtling it as a dart) they repeat it over and over to a group who never believed it as truth in the first place; all the while they miss what the verse tells us about God. I have no problem with someone defending their beliefs, but I think that often in so doing the Bible becomes simply a weapon and not the revelation of God that is it. So, for the most part, the characteristic of God we should be gleaning from this verse if often neglected: God is creative.
I believe that creativity is one of the characteristics of God that all humans possess (the ability to love is another), and that visual arts is merely one of the many creative outlets we can use. I also believe that everything created only exists because God created the possibility.
God created the possibility for every great work of art.
God created the possibility for every great work of art. (Some of you may debate the greatness of the following example) God created stone. God created friction. God gave man the ability to see the world around us. God gave man the ability to imagine perfection. God gave man the ability to implement tools in order to carve or sculpt. Thus God created the possibility for Michelangelo’s David.
I find myself constantly making a connection between God creating light and my passion for photography (light is a very integral part of photography). I find myself able to be creative simply because “in the beginning God created.”
- I do not wish to start a debate on the origin of the earth. For this post it is really not necessary that you agree with my standpoint. I am simply seeking to show how creativity relates to God according to my own beliefs. [↩]