A Creation Story

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the Lord God gathered the light in heaven, and the darkness he gathered on earth. The lights he called sun and moon and stars, and the darkness he called land and sea. And the sun was bright, and warmed the heaven and earth, and the Lord called the time when the sun ruled over the earth day, and the time when the moon ruled he called night. And the land was rich and fertile, and the water was good and clean.

And the Lord God delighted in the earth, and said, “Let the land and the sea give life to every living creature.” And he called the creatures forth from the mud in the sea, to swim in the water, and crawl on the land, and fly through the air. And the creatures of the earth crawled forth from the mud in the sea, and some swam in the waters, while others crawled on the land, and still others flew through the air. And trees and grass, and all plants bearing fruit, grew on the face of the earth, and the sun warmed them with its radiance, and gave them light and life.

And the Lord was overjoyed with what he had created, and made man from the dust, to share his joy and to live abundantly on the land. God gave all the beasts and plants, the earth and the sea, into the man’s care, and made for him a garden in Eden to live in, with all the trees bearing fruit. And the Lord God blessed the man, and commanded him, saying, “All this I have created I give to you, to share with me in the joy of my creation. You shall enjoy a long, abundant life, and dance with me the dance of eternal happiness, and drink with me from the cup of unending goodness.”

And in this garden which he had planted the Lord God put the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and told the man that he may eat the fruit of any tree in the garden, but that he may not eat the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, for in the day that he eat that fruit, he shall surely die. And the Lord God made a companion for the man, to share in the goodness of what God had created, and the companion was called woman. And the woman came to the man, and they were joined together and became one flesh. And the woman asked the man, if they may eat the fruit of any tree in the garden, and the man said to the woman, that they may eat the fruit of any tree, but that they may not eat the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, for in the day that they eat that fruit, they shall surely die.

And the serpent came one day to the woman, and asked her if she may eat the fruit of any tree in the garden, and she said to him, that the Lord God commanded them to eat the fruit of any tree in the garden, but that they may not eat the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, for in the day that they eat of that fruit, they shall surely die. And the serpent said to the woman, “You shall surely not die, for if you eat of that fruit, your eyes shall become open, and you shall become like God.” And the woman looked at the fruit, and took some to her husband, and they ate. And their eyes were opened, and they looked about them and saw the garden, with all the trees and the beasts, and the hills bordering the garden to the east.

And the man said to his wife, “The trees of this garden will be good for timber, and we can cut them down and sell them for a profit. And look at the beasts in the field, we can hunt them for their hides and their tusks, and oil from their flesh, and the fish in the sea and the birds in the air, and likewise make profit from selling them. And the hills are rich in ore and minerals, and we can strip them and mine the earth under them, and drill for the oil that comes from the rocks beneath and the gases that dwell in the spaces between, and sell the ore and minerals and oil and gas, and likewise make a great profit from selling them. And we can amass our wealth, and take dominion over other gardens on the earth, and cut their timber, and mine their hills for ore and minerals and oil and gas, and sell them for an even greater profit. And we can establish industries on the banks of the river, so that the water may carry the wastes away that the industries produce, and the breezes over the trees can carry the smoke and gases from the fires that we will use for producing the goods in these industries, and make an even greater profit. And in time, we will have the use of the whole earth to ourselves, and the seas as well, and can travel into the heavens and take over the moon and stars. And we will have more wealth for ourselves than God, and he will have no power over us.”

And the woman saw that her husband was speaking with knowledge, and she knew that it was the will of the Lord God that she be submissive to her husband, and obey him in silence, for it was her husband who had told her such. And she agreed that they should take those things out of the earth that would afford them the greatest wealth. And they cut down the trees and sold them for timber, and made a great profit from selling the timber. And they hunted the beasts of the field for their hides and their tusks, and for the oils from their flesh, and the fish in the sea and the birds in the air, and they made profit from selling them. And they stripped the hills in the garden and mined the earth under them, and drilled for the oil that comes from the rocks beneath and the gases that dwell in the spaces between, and they sold the ore and minerals and oil and gas, and likewise made a great profit from selling them. And they amassed their wealth, and took dominion over other gardens on the earth, and cut their timber, and mined their hills for ore and minerals and oil and gas, and sold them for an even greater profit. And they established industries on the banks of the river, and the water carried the wastes away that the industries produced, and the breezes over the trees carried the smoke and gases from the fires that they used for producing the goods in those industries, and they made an even greater profit. And in time, they had the use of the whole earth to themselves, and the seas as well, and they traveled into the heavens and took over the moon and stars. And they had more wealth than God, and were very proud indeed, for they thought the Lord had no power over them.

And the Lord God came into the garden, to share with the man and the woman in the joy of what he had created. And he saw the trees of the garden cut down to the stumps, and the hills stripped and bare, and he saw the carcasses of the dead beasts lying in the field, and the dead fish floating in the sea and the birds which had been hunted out of the air, and he saw the industries on the banks of the river, and the water which was brown and green with wastes from the industries, and clouds of smoke rising from the chimneys. And his heart was sore grieved, and he called to the man, saying, “Where are you?” And the man said to the Lord, “We are here in the garden, playing tennis behind our $10,000,000 house which overlooks the ocean.” And the Lord God said to the man, “Why have the trees been cut down to the stumps, and why are the beasts lying dead in the field, and the dead fish floating in the sea and the birds hunted out of the air, and the hills stripped and bare, and the water of the river poisoned and clouds of smoke rising over the trees?”

And the man was proud, and said to God, “We have cut down the trees and sold them for timber, and made a great profit from selling it. And we have hunted the beasts in the field for their hides and their tusks, and the oils from their flesh, and the fish in the sea and the birds in the air, and have made profit from selling them. And we have stripped the hills in the garden and mined the earth under them, and drilled for the oil that comes from the rocks beneath and the gases that dwell in the spaces between, and we sold the ore and minerals and oil and gas, and likewise made a great profit from selling them. And we have amassed our wealth, and have taken dominion over other gardens on the earth, and have cut their timber, and mined their hills for ore and minerals and oil and gas, and have sold them for an even greater profit. And we have established industries on the banks of the river, where the water carries away the wastes that the industries produce, and the breezes over the trees carry the smoke and gases from the fires that are used in producing the goods in those industries, and we have made an even greater profit. And in time, we had the use of the whole earth to ourselves, and the seas as well, and we traveled into the heavens and took over the moon and stars. For you yourself, O God, have said to us, that we shall enjoy the fruits of creation, and live abundantly on the land. And we could not live more abundantly than when we had taken the riches out of the earth and accumulated great wealth for ourselves. And now have we more wealth than you, O Lord, and you have no power over us.” And the man was very proud, for that he and his wife had amassed more wealth to themselves than God, and they believed, that he has no power over them.

And the Lord God said to the man, “From where did you accumulate this wealth that you speak of?” And the man said to God, “We have created this wealth, it is called money. We have made it to show how wealthy we are, and how much power we have over heaven and earth.” And the Lord said to the man, “I have given you heaven and earth, which I have created, so that you may share in my joy what I have created. Why were not you satisfied, with that which I have created, that you must create to yourself this wealth, which not I but you have created, in the pursuit of which you have cut down the trees, and stripped the hills till they were bare, and killed the beasts in the field, and the fish in the sea and the birds in the air, and spilled poisons into the water and the air, and otherwise have destroyed that which I have created?”

And the man said to the Lord God, “I saw how good the land was for making profit, after the woman gave me to eat fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.” “Why have you eaten of the tree, of which I have commanded you, you shall not eat?” And the man said, “The woman gave me the fruit to eat.” And God said to the woman, “Who gave you the fruit of this tree?” And the woman looked around, but she did not see the serpent, who had said to her, that she should not surely die, if she eat the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. And she said, “The man told you that I had given him the fruit to eat, but it was he who said to me, that we should cut down the trees, and strip the hills bare, and kill the beasts in the field and the seas and the air, and poison the rivers and the clouds with industrial wastes, and he bade me obey him, for he said to me, that is the will of God, that a woman obey her husband, and be silent and submissive before him. And so I obeyed him, and was his helpmate in accumulating the wealth which we have accumulated for ourselves, for I believed it to be your will.”

And the Lord God cursed the man and the woman, saying, “Because you have done this, you are condemned to live your life in what you have created. I gave you the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land, and the plants bearing fruit and the beasts which crept forth from the mud in the seas, but you, Man, have taken that which I have wished to share with you in my joy, and destroyed it for what you have judged to be of the greatest value. In my sadness for creation I would restore it to that glory which I put into it at its beginning, but you would only destroy it anew.” And so the Lord God left the man and the woman in the garden, with the trees that had been cut down, and the hills that had been stripped bare, and the carcasses of the dead beasts in the field and the fish floating in the poisoned sea and the birds which had fallen from the sky, and the rivers filled with wastes and the clouds of smoke, and took up for his dwelling place a remote cloud above the smoke and gas which had filled the air over the earth.

And the man and the woman were filled with pride, for they had proved that they had power enough to remove God to the heavens, and take over the earth for themselves. And in their tongues they continued to give glory and honor to God, but in their hearts they no longer rejoiced in his goodness, but trusted only in their own power and in their own wealth, for with all their power and wealth they believed they had no need for God. No longer did they dance with the Lord the dance of eternal happiness, and drink with him from the cup of unending goodness, for they said to themselves, “It is not good for us to dance and to drink, for dancing distracts us from our quest for wealth, and drink confuses us, and we cannot manage the great wealth which we have accumulated to ourselves.”

And it came to pass, that the woman bore sons to the man, and they learned from their father the means of accumulating great wealth and profit, and they moved into other gardens, and cut down their trees for timber, and stripped their hills for ore and minerals and the oil in the rocks and the gas in the caves, and hunted the beasts of the field and the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, and built industries by the rivers, and poured their wastes into the rivers, and clouds of smoke and gas rose into the air. And the rains came down from the clouds in the air, and the land and the ocean were poisoned from the smoke and the gas that rose into the air, and nothing would grow on the land or in the sea, for the ground was no longer rich and fertile, nor was the water clean. And the sons waged war against each other, and destroyed the land in quest for dominion.

And the Lord God watched this from his throne in the clouds, and the Lord God said, “The times are coming when the heavens and the earth will no longer sustain life, for the man has poisoned the land so that it is no longer rich and fertile, and the waters are no longer good and clean.” And the Lord God said, “The man who depends on the fruit of the trees and the beasts of the field, and the fish in the sea and the birds in the air, to give him life, will kill all the blessing that I have given to him, so that he may accumulate much wealth for himself.”

But the wealth was no aid to the man. Once he killed the trees of the forest and the grains on the earth, and had brought the beasts of the field and the fish of the sea and the birds in the air to extinction, no wealth could buy these creatures back. And the man was left alone among the forests where all the trees had been cut down, and the hills which had been stripped and mined and left barren and bare, and the fields where no beast dwelt nor plant grew, and the rivers whose water was too poisoned to drink, and the man said to himself, “The Lord will deliver us from this earth, which has become barren.”

And the Lord God looked down upon the earth, and on the man, and he said, “The man has become too proud in his thoughts,” and he did not deliver the man in his time of need. And the man said to himself, “The Lord God is powerless to deliver us from the earth, yet we can deliver ourselves, with the great wealth which we have accumulated for ourselves.” And the man and his sons cut more trees, and stripped more hills, and hunted more beasts, and built more industries, and polluted more rivers, and accumulated more wealth for themselves. And they were proud, and said to themselves, “This wealth which we have accumulated to ourselves will deliver us in our time of need; we have no need for God.”

And the sun shone down and scorched the barren earth, and the beasts and vegetation wasted away, and there was no sustenance to be found on the earth, or in the sea. And the man and his sons spent their wealth in acquiring food and clean water, and their wealth was spent away, and the earth bore no more fruit to feed the man and his sons. And the man and his sons saw that their wealth would no longer provide for them, and in their desperation they cried out to the Lord God, saying “Surely the Lord our God will deliver us in our time of need.” And the earth became more barren than before, and the man knew hunger, and there was no relief. And the man said, “The Lord God has abandoned us in our need.” And a voice came from heaven, and the Lord said to the man, “I have not abandoned you; indeed, you have abandoned the Lord your God, and put yourselves in his place, and placed your trust in that which you have created, instead of placing your trust in him who created you and gave you life.”

And the man cried to the Lord, saying, “Deliver us, Lord, for we shall surely die so long as the earth remains barren.” And the Lord said to the man, “I have given all there is in heaven and on earth to give, to you and to your sons, and you have wasted the fruit of the earth to pursue that which you have created. Nothing remains that can deliver you and your seed; your deliverance you have devoured for your pride and your vanity.” And the man said to the Lord, “We will surely die if you do not deliver us.” And the Lord said to the man, “You in your wealth which you have created can deliver yourself.” And the man called his sons to himself, and he said to them, “The Lord our God will not deliver us, but he has said to me that we might deliver ourselves with the wealth which we have created.” And the sons said to the father, “The wealth which we have created is all spent, and nothing remains on the earth to give us life.”

And the man cursed the Lord, saying, “Cursed be the Lord our God, who has abandoned us to death. We have been faithful to him, and have called upon his name, and have given glory to him, and he has rewarded our faithfulness in leaving us to die on this miserable earth.” The Lord heard this, and he answered the man, saying, “When have you been faithful to me?” The man said, “Lord, we have honored your name as you have commanded, and I have taught my sons to honor the name of the Lord.”

And the Lord God said to the man and his sons: “Your faithfulness to me has been vanity; the honor which you have bestowed upon me has been nothing but empty utterances. You have said that you honor me, when in truth you have honored yourself and your great wealth. You have not trusted in the goodness of the Lord; but you have destroyed that which the Lord has created, to serve and honor that which you have created. It is well that you curse that to which you give honor and glory, for that has indeed abandoned you; but that to which you give honor and glory, is not the name of the Lord your God, but the wealth you have created and accumulated for yourself. Your wealth has proved unable to deliver you in the hour of your need, and all you need for life you have destroyed for your god, which is that powerless and empty wealth. Listen to me: I had commanded you, saying that you may eat the fruit of any tree in the garden, but you shall not eat the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, for when you eat of it, you shall surely die. When you ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, you acquired the desire for wealth which you have created, and contempt for the beauty of the earth which the Lord your God has created. And when you cut down the trees of the garden, the first tree which fell was the Tree of Life.”

And the man wasted away, and perished from the earth, and all his sons likewise, for their great wealth was not enough to redeem them from their trouble. And the heaven and the earth passed away, for they had become poisoned and barren and could no longer give life. And the Lord God sat alone after that in the darkness.

2001