Saturday, April 10, 2010

Did God Create Water?

Point to ponder: I was recently reading from the first chapter of the book of Genesis as found in the Old Testament. It struck me that in no way does it sound like God created water. It speaks as if water was already there. God created the heaven and the earth, says the opening verse. In the following verse, it speaks of “the Spirit of God [moving] upon the face of the waters.” Granted, this may be water that God has created, but that is not made evident by anything Genesis says. Rather, after God creates light and divides it from the darkness, thereby creating day and night, God goes on to create a “firmament in the midst of the waters” (my emphasis). Again, this sounds like the water is already there. He then gathers the waters while causing dry land to appear—an interesting discrepancy. In the tenth verse, God calls the dry land Earth, but he does not call the waters Seas—instead, he calls the gathering together of the waters Seas.

I’m not saying there’s something deep and significant about the idea that water has always been around. Many in the Judeo-Christian tradition would reject this, I’m sure. But I find it interesting. I especially find it interesting because so many believers of the Bible are adamantly opposed to going beyond what the text says, though I think pretty much everyone does this (including these people).

Food for thought … at the very least, a light snack.

14 comments:

  1. I had a similar thought yesterday morning. It says Jesus is "the Alpha and Omega", but makes no mention of whether he's the Mu and the Nu... though in *that* case I think there's textual evidence, unlike the question of water.

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  2. I think that is very interesting. I'm not sure what the significance is either, but it makes me wonder how it all happened.

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  3. I wish you were here so we could just sit around and talk about these kind of things. It's a very intrigueing thing to think about.

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  4. You would think there must be some elements that are eternally existent, especially if God and his Kingdom live in a physical world. The idea that Nothing is what always exists is very perplexing.

    Also, does it not say,in Genesis, that the waters OBEY Him. So would that suggest that they have always been 'there'.....wherever that would be ?????

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  5. Good point mudder. If they "obey," what will do they have. I love the scripture that says the earth will be celestial because it fulfills the measure of its creation... as if it too is a soul.

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  6. I agree with you. In the second verse, God was hovering on the face of the waters (KJV), and it seems to imply that, water already exist before God even create Heaven and Earth. Could earth is just a rugged planet with no life but just water and dust on it at that time?

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  7. You know what guys.... When I read this I asked the same question. Was the water here before God created the earth? Then I thought about it after reading these different opinions. What came to mind is that it’s not for any of us to figure out how God does anything and to do so, would be for us to put our thought process on his level....it ain't going to happen folks!!! It is difficult to understand that our finite minds cannot comprehend the infinite. What we all must understand is that God created all of this because of his deep love for all people. That's all we must know for sure!

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  8. I believe God gave us intelligence for a reason. I think the individuals here, like myself are simply trying to get closer to God by asking questions. I found this fascinating myself "God was hovering over the waters" I will be reflecting on this for some time.

    I agree with you that "God created all of us because of his deep love for all people".
    But studying the Bible and finding things that make us stop and ask questions I believe this is pleasing to God. I also do this because of my love for Him.

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  9. I have the thought that the water is included in "the earth" in "in the beginning god created the heavens and the earth."
    I get the idea that verses 1-2 in Genesis 1 are part of the first day. Verse 3, where we mostly think the creation week started, just says "and." Then, @ the end of verse 5 it says that "there was evening, and there was morning, the first day." It seems to me that "the first day" includes verses 1-2.

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  10. Reading the bible with flesh eyes never works, you will never understand the bible this way, it will be like reading a novel. You have to read the bible through the spirit and pray to God for revelation, understanding, and the truth. If you read through your flesh eyes you will only see ink and words on paper like a novel, it will also be contradicting, God makes no mistakes, therefore, you have to read the word of God through the spirit.. There is a reason why we are as intellegent as we are. There is a reason why we are the only thing on earth that can talk. Theres a reason why we are the only thing on earth that have spirits. God has designed us this way.

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  11. as christian and strong believer of God, the creation story in the bible becomes so challenging in that it perhaps raises some questions....and therefore it's a myth since no one cannot trully explain how God created...and it is a MYSTERY to all of us...[Nick Kizito,Kenya].

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  12. Peace children of my Father. Hav also asked myself the question under discussion last week .i hav an opinion that God created water on sabbath day as He created other things from the 1st day- 6th n the day b4 1st is sabath that's why i think water might hav been created on sabath which cud also be one of the reasons why sabath is a holy day b4 our heavenly Father.peace

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  13. The earth is 70% water when God created the earth it is just as when He created man having then breathed life into each ..yes I understand this sounds vague but He does not say I made the eye or the heart nor the foot ..in the same context we should understand God works in completion as a whole and for the better part to the greater good. May God richly bless you, seek ye 1st the kingdom of God

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  14. Genesis 1:1 says, "In the beginning God created heavens and the EARTH". That means creation had already started before he created light. People may say god created only light on the first day. That is true in simple sense as before the first day, there was no day-night counting system. This indicates that first he created the heavens and the earth then he started creating the things in them. That is why bible does NOT say, "in the beginning God created the light". So now, coming to the main confusing point "WATER": Let’s begin with a simple question: “WHERE DO WE FIND WATER?” Obviously it is on earth. That means water was included in the creation of the earth as it is the main feature of it. Again bible does NOT say, "In the beginning the spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters" but it only says "the spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters". One obvious point is that scientific theory proves that THINGS CAN NOT COME OUT OF NOTHING. That means God is the only creator of it.

    I may not be exact but if he could create all other things, why exclude waters, which is only a feature of the earth?

    Thanks for reading and sorry for the long notes. God bless you all.

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