Thursday, September 5, 2013

Origins.

Creation of the World XIII - Mikalojus Ciurlionis


In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth... and then came the music of Ainur. Okay, maybe that's not exactly how Genesis goes. But it is how Tolkien's version goes. Tolkien did a great job retelling the Creation narrative. Few authors can even come close. So this blog post is going to look into how he did it, and use it as a reference for describing Creation.

Firstly, he did it allegorically. However literal you believe the Creation account is, it's impossible for a mere human, who is not divinely inspired, to write about. It would just blow our minds. If we try to give a literal rendition of the Creation account, we're either going to start sounding like pagans, or cheap rip-offs of Genesis. Cheap knock-off's of scripture are not going to honor God in any way.

Secondly, he approached the Creation from a different angle. Tolkien took it from the perspective of Music, but there are quite a few ways to approach the Creation account; they are as numerous as facets of Creation itself. The best way to look at it is to view it from a different aspect. Why? Because distancing your words from Genesis also helps the readers theologically. It helps them to understand this as your interpretation of Genesis rather then Genesis itself.

Thirdly, he understood the theological ideas behind Genesis. Every Christian knows the events of the Seven Days. Not every Christian is familiar with the telos, or purpose, behind it. It establishes God as the first and foremost among Creation. Contrary to the creation legends of the ancient world, there is not cosmic stride. No Ahriman, no Tiamat, no cosmic force of chaos stands in God's way. The Lord is sovereign over all things. All that is Created is Created by His Sovereign Will. God's Creation is  ordered, as opposed to the pagan legends where all randomly springs out of primordial chaos. He loves symmetry, and all will be well again one day.

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