Introduction to Creation

1Why this topic matters

Stand in Nyungwe Forest at dawn, or look at the stars on a clear night in Bugesera, and you may ask: "Where did all this come from? Why am I here?" Long before Christianity and Islam reached Rwanda, Rwandans believed in one God, Imana, whom they also called Rurema, "the Creator". In this unit you will study what Christianity and Islam teach about creation and about why human beings were created.

2Key terms

• Creation has two meanings: (1) the act of bringing something into existence; (2) everything that has been brought into existence: the universe, the earth, plants, animals and people.
• Creator: the one who creates. For Christians and Muslims, God alone is the Creator of everything.
• Creation out of nothing (in Latin, creatio ex nihilo): God did not use any material that already existed. People can only make things from materials God has created: a carpenter makes a chair from wood, but did not create the tree.

3What Christianity teaches

The Bible opens: "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." (Genesis 1:1). God creates by his word: "God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light." (Genesis 1:3). The New Testament teaches that creation came from nothing visible: "By faith we understand that the universe has been framed by the word of God, so that what is seen has not been made out of things which are visible." (Hebrews 11:3)

4What Islam teaches

The Qur'an calls Allah "The Originator of the heavens and the earth! When He decreeth a thing, He saith unto it only: Be! and it is." (Qur'an 2:117). The Originator is the one who brings something into being for the first time; to decree is to decide with authority.

5Creation points to the Creator

Both faiths teach that the order and beauty of the world are signs of a wise Creator. "The heavens declare the glory of God. The expanse shows his handiwork." (Psalm 19:1). The expanse is the sky. The Qur'an says: "Lo! In the creation of the heavens and the earth and (in) the difference of night and day are tokens (of His Sovereignty) for men of understanding" (Qur'an 3:190). Tokens are signs.

6Creation, faith and science

Scientists study how the universe and living things developed; they estimate that the universe is about 13.8 billion years old. Many Christians and Muslims teach that there is no conflict: science explains how nature works, while scripture teaches who created and why. Believers read the "six days" of creation in different ways. Some take them as ordinary days; others take them as long periods, pointing to texts such as "one day is with the Lord as a thousand years" (2 Peter 3:8) and "a Day with Allah is as a thousand years of what ye reckon" (Qur'an 22:47). In religious studies you need to describe these views, not to judge between them.

Worked example

Question: What do Christians and Muslims mean when they say God created "out of nothing"? Support your answer with one text from each faith. (4 marks)

Model answer: They mean that God did not need any material that already existed; he brought everything into being simply by his will and word (2 marks). The Bible says the universe was "framed by the word of God, so that what is seen has not been made out of things which are visible" (Hebrews 11:3) (1 mark). The Qur'an says that when Allah decrees a thing, "He saith unto it only: Be! and it is" (Qur'an 2:117) (1 mark).

Practice