Genesis 1:1

          “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” Every author knows the opening line of a story is critical to its success. The opening sentence must hook the reader and draw him inside the world between the covers. Therefore, it must tell the reader something important while conveying the promise of greater things to follow. No book has done that as well as the Bible. Considering the author, this comes as no surprise to me.

          I’m no biblical scholar. I’m not a “successful” author. According to the leaders of my profession, my two years of college puts me a single step above a trained ape. But, I’m a reader. I read for pleasure; I read to inform myself; and I read as part of my spiritual life. I may not be a literary genius, but I know what I like and I like the Bible.

          Because a book is considered a classic does not mean it’s worth reading. Mandatory reading lists are full of books that failure to engage the reader. If a book does not kick start your thinking; put it down. This bit of advice applies to the Bible as well. Reading the Bible with an open mind is the best approach. However, it’s perfectly acceptable to read the Bible in an adversarial mode. It’s indifference one needs to worry about. We should read books outside our comfort zone as a means of expanding our tastes and point of view. In the same manner, everyone should try brussel sprouts. Nevertheless, if one feels compelled to spit out what you’re reading rather than swallow it---by all means do so.

          This approach may sound like a poor way to win converts to Christianity. I’m sure it is, but I’m not trying to make converts. That’s not my job, nor is it the job of any Christian. The Holy Spirit converts men; Christians testify to their experience. That’s what this little piece is about—my experience, as a writer and a reader, with Genesis 1:1.

          I do not come from a Christian background. My father was an agnostic and my mother was a forced to go to Sunday School Baptist. We never attended a church service as a family. I went twice with a neighbor when I was in fifth grade, but my dad put a stop to that when he found out they were “holy rollers.” It’s safe to say the first time I pried open the covers of a Bible, I was not a Christian. I’d heard Genesis 1:1 quoted. I’d heard a lot of things about the Bible, most of them from people who had read it as often as I did. By the time I opened a Bible for myself, I was surprised to find the quote right there on page one. I got three words in before the questions started.

          “In the beginning;” in the beginning of what? Stories begin “in media res” in the middle of things. Events which led to this moment have already happened. What the author wishes to tell us is about to unfold. Therefore, in the beginning was obviously not the beginning of God or whatever might constitute the environment of God. A few lines further assured me that we were not talking about the beginning of time; the solar system, the earth or mankind. None of those things existed, “in the beginning.” Aha, a mystery, the hook was set. I was reeled in and floating on the ether waiting to see what was about to begin. It was something for which my level of Bible knowledge had not prepared me.

          The simplest answer, as often is the case, was the right one. A story was about to be told. I wasn’t sure I’d like the book. There was no dust jacket on the Bible with a picture of the author, a blurb about the story and an excerpt from the New York Times’ review. In fact, most reviewers I knew were as in the dark as I was. If I wanted to really know the story, I was going to have to read it for myself. Reading a book yourself is always the best choice. But, for those who can’t or won’t, here’s a hint—it’s a love story.

          “In the beginning God…” There was God…boom…just like that. There were no arguments or backstory to explain God’s existence. No evidence is presented that this was the one and only God. There was no big bang, just God speaking the heaven and the earth into existence. I was almost certain that the heavens and the earth were real. Why couldn’t God be just as real?

          God’s existence and this story are a take it or leave it proposition. It was written that way and remains so. Do not expect the Bible or Christians to prove or explain God before you read further. The text says God is; that’s all you get. If you can accept that and read on, a relationship may ensue between you and the Holy Ghost that will provide the proof you seek. The text will come to life; signs may follow, but they will not be necessary to distinguish fact from fiction.

Jesus told sign seekers, “A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas.”  The proof of the Bible is not in the signs and wonders it describes. It is in the person the book introduces and in the state of the reader’s heart and soul. The proof is in the love the words inspire.

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” Why? For the same reason He does everything in the story---for you.