Sunday, April 17, 2016

Stripped of Deity

14 And God said, "Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to vie light on the earth."  And it was so.  16 God made two great lights--the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night.  He also made the stars.  17 God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness.  And God saw that it was good.  19 And there was evening, and there was morning--the fourth day.  Genesis 1:14-19  NIV

In all the views of what we are to take from day 4, one thing is certain;  unlike other creations accounts of the era, Genesis strips the sun, moon, and stars of any imagined or proposed deity.  There is no sun god.  No superpowers are manifest in the moon or stars.  These things are set in place by the one, all-powerful creator God to serve humanity by giving light and marking time.  They are not given names except for greater light and lesser light which emphasize their function.  The amazing stars get only five words.  Stunningly different!

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