Yahweh says “light,” and as soon as the word sounds light appears. God says, “waters divide,” and they are divided. And so on and on throughout the creation week. This is the form of Yahweh’s creating activity: Whatever the word means, that’s what the world becomes. Word made world.
Everyone who confesses creation confesses so much. But what about the form of Yahweh’s words? Over the course of the creation week, Yahweh repeats Himself repeatedly: let there be, let there be, let there be; let the earth, let the waters; blessing, blessing, blessing. Doesn’t that mean that we can go a step beyond “word made world” to say, “poetic word made poetic world”? And when we recognize that the work and words of the creation week are chiastically arranged, doesn’t that mean that Yahweh placed us in a world with built-in repetitions, returns, feedbacks, loops?
The “framework interpretation” of Genesis 1 is correct that the creation account is a poem, a symphony. But they stop there, apparently assuming (with much of the modern world) that “if it’s poetic, it’s only decorative.” On the contrary, the poetry of the creation account provides one of the most profound insights into the nature of reality.
Dear Reader,
Can I be direct with you?
War abroad. Socialists on the rise. AI upending human life. Endless uproar online. The modern attention economy doesn’t want readers — it wants users enslaved to the tyranny of the present.
First Things is the antidote: literary excellence, timeless truths, and a fixed point of reference in a culture that has lost its bearings.
But we can’t do it without readers like you.
Our goal: Raise $150,000 by November 1 to sustain First Things in the year ahead.
Your gift anchors readers in the permanent things.
Make your Fall Campaign gift now using the button below.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Giovanni Del Piero, Director of the Editor’s Circle, at gdelpiero@firstthings.com or 212-627-1985.
The Church in the Age of Therapy
In 1966, Philip Rieff wrote in The Triumph of the Therapeutic that “Religious man was born to…
Canada’s Deadliest Blind Spot
On September 20, the Daily Mail ran a story with the provocative headline, “Our 83-year-old Christian grandmother…
The Faithful Joy of Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen
Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen seem to have had little in common. She favored rhinestones; he wore…