To help us examine some of the oldest beliefs we hold about our relationships to each other, we begin at the beginning. Our creation story as recorded in Genesis is mythic in its portent and power over the Judeo-Christian mind. It imbues all creation with purpose and meaning. Some of these meanings are derived from our human frailty and limitations. If we look closely, we find the story fraught with misconceptions and troubling words—beguiled, rule over, rib—imperfect translations with missing pieces. Shifts in perception and values, specifically about gender equality, color the lens through which we interpret and internalize Eve’s discerning and her understanding of her choices. Our relationship to each other and all of creation, how we reach for the divine in the wilderness of mortality, hinges on that internalization.
To open the fabric of the narrative, I share a portion of our creation story from my vantage point as a woman. It is a glimpse into how I have come to read the story, a suggestion of what it may have been like to see as Eve—humanity’s female archetype—and to see the Mother in the Garden of Eden, how She influenced the choices made there. I anchor my interpretation in various scriptural accounts, from which I call on my intuition and my spiritual guides to work as a compass inside me. Creating a retelling of the creation story is an exercise in engagement with scripture as living writ. These sacred tellings are resources for our interaction and growth, but we bring meaning to them; their meanings are not fixed in time.
The creation story is so familiar that sometimes we are not able to hear it. With this retelling, notice the questions that arise in you, and ponder how your faith journey meets the creation story and how we might make room together for more truth.
When the world is formed, it is empty and desolate (Abr. 4:2). Chaos prevails, and the Gods move over the waters, listening. Listening blooms power so that when They speak, the words in Their mouths are full of love. Purpose finds its way to Their tongues, and the words become song: “Let there be” becomes light. And because the Gods comprehend the light, They can name it and shape it. And discern it from the dark. All its properties and purposes. And this is how day becomes a companion to night and everything They speak comes into being.
