Divine Creation in Genesis 1 and Human Civilization in History

In the beginning, there was order.

Not chaos vanquished by violence, not domination established through conquest, but harmony birthed through divine speech. Genesis 1 does something no other ancient creation narrative dared: it imagines a world spoken into being, not seized—a cosmos shaped by wisdom, not warfare.

This is not a myth. It is a radical theological manifesto.

And its implications stretch far beyond the Garden.

A World Built by Word, Not War

Ancient Mesopotamian creation stories, like the Enuma Elish, frame the world as the prize of violent gods. In contrast, Genesis 1 offers a revolutionary vision: God speaks, and the universe responds. Light, sky, land, and life unfold not from bloodshed but from breath.

Humanity, made in the image of this Creator, is called to mirror that blessing. “Let them have dominion,” not as tyrants but as caretakers, as partners in sustaining the peace, order, and flourishing initiated by the divine.

This isn’t a call to rule the earth like kings of old. It’s a call to cultivate it like gardeners of justice.

Civilization: The Great Divergence

But history tells another story.

As John Dominic Crossan’s book Paul the Pharisee states, humanity’s movement from egalitarian tribal life into hierarchical civilization was a turning. Crossan argues that civilization introduced systems of inequality and control: elite over poor, male over female, and ruler over ruled.

The empire fractured the divine image.

From Egypt’s pharaohs to Rome’s Caesars, human civilizations mimicked the gods of Mesopotamia, not the God of Genesis. They built cities with slave labor, hoarded wealth through conquest, and justified it all as divinely sanctioned. Creation’s peaceful blueprint was overwritten with power and oppression.

Creation and Civilization in Collision

And yet, Genesis 1 remained.

Its vision lingered like a protest in the sacred text—a divine dissent against the normalization of violence and hierarchy. Crossan sees this tension as crucial: the Bible doesn’t erase the harsh realities of civilization; it exposes and critiques them from within.

Genesis 1 is the first thread in a larger biblical framework consistently resisting domination. From the Exodus liberation to the radical economics of Jesus and Paul, scripture calls humanity back to its roots of relational justice.

The question Genesis 1 poses is not merely “How did we get here?” but “What kind of world were we meant to build?”

The Human Mandate: Image-Bearing as Responsibility

To be made in God’s image (Genesis 1:26-27) is not a license to exploit—it’s a commission to co-create. Crossan reframes this not as a privilege but as a responsibility. Dominion, in its original context, echoes stewardship and service. Like God, humanity is called to bring life, not death. To organize society in ways that bless, not break.

This is where creation theology becomes political theology.

Because how we view our origin shapes how we live our lives. If we believe the world began in violence, then perhaps violence seems necessary. If creation began in divine peace, peace is essential.

This theology challenges every form of injustice that distorts the image of God in humanity, such as patriarchy, racism, economic exploitation, and environmental degradation. All are betrayals of the original design.

Crossan calls us to see the Bible as a map back to divine intention.

Read more in Paul the Pharisee: A Vision Beyond the Violence of Civilization by John Dominic Crossan to explore how early Christian theology offers not just salvation for the soul but liberation for societies.