Post-Thesis Musings Part 2: Reimagining Our Beginning

Trish Lambert

*The following is PART 2 of Trish Lambert's post-thesis reflection ... Read PART 1 - HERE.

Given our hypothesis that the biblical narrative is identity constituting and that, since a proper understanding of the beginning leads to a more coherent and healing apprehension of all that follows, perhaps we need to revisit our beginning with fresh eyes.

And so we read: In the beginning, God created…heaven and earth, light and dark, humanity and the natural world, male and female (Gen 1.1-27). I find it curious that culturally these merisms–opposites employed to signify and cause one to imagine the endless variation contained within the implied totality–have somehow become simplistic binaries. By exalting one and demonizing the other, no consideration is given to the spectrum of multifaceted entities that come between nor is any dignity and value accorded that inbetweenness, as if these statements somehow sum up the totality of God’s creative intent. Particularly when paired with Creator’s evaluation of “good” and the later “commands” to be fruitful, increase, fill, subdue, and rule (1.28) they then form the basis for narratives that condone violence, justify systemic and structural irregularities, and legitimize individual and social obsessions with–and judgements about–purity and perfection. If you think about it, this seems a lot like securitization; the manipulation of stories by elite mnemonic agents in pursuit of ontological security through a narrative whose conclusion, winners and losers, ideal and aberrant, has been predetermined.

But what if this understanding has been predetermined?

Jersak (2022) explains that eisegesis is a way of reading a text that inserts one’s own presuppositions, agendas or bias. What if this is what social and cultural routines and rituals have conditioned us to read? If so, this socialization can and must be unlearned as this lens constrains not only our conception of self-God-world, but also our pursuit of peace through justice.

One of the many challenges posed by literalism is that it pretends the ancient can be plainly read in the present, sidestepping the obvious concerns about its manufacture, leading to many misleading and harmful conclusions. Thus, readers and storytellers fail to understand the creation story as a countercultural work of prophetic imagination, written to introduce shalom into a world governed by chaos; a myth translated (by humans?) into a vernacular too dynamic and contextbound to capture the nuance contained within ancient words, resulting in narratives that reflect a particular timebound perspective or agenda. A cursory lexical analysis reveals that “fill” could be better represented by replenish, nourish, inspire. The septuagint translation adds the notion of complete or fulfill. “Subdue” privileges the more cosmic, capricious rule of fickle gods (or authoritarian Kings) conquering and exercising dominion over an enemy to the more democratic, compassionate governance of those who walk among, establish relationships with, learn from, and co-labour alongside people as equals. Rather than a command for procreation, be “fruitful” may enjoin activities that capacitate the bearing of fruit, perhaps those enumerated in Gal 5.22-3: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, all of which are inhibitors of violence.

In her book, The Very Good Gospel (2016), Lisa Sharon Harper elucidates from the Hebrew language and cosmology the essence of the goodness, shalom or peace that Creator observed and validated following the creation of all the world (Gn 1.31). The Hebrew tov locates this goodness, not in the objects themselves, but in the space between entities. Me’od qualifies it as abundance or flourishing. Thus, from the beginning, Creator observed and validated peace or wellbeing as residing in the inbetweenness, as being produced and sustained by relationships.

If shalom exists in the space between created things, in the liminality of relational interaction, can it not also be assumed that shalom exists in the space between the elements forming the merism? This implies that the culturally despised possess the same value and dignity as the exalted AS do all the forgotten or unacknowledged iterations in between. Not only does this extend legitimacy, dignity, and value to every part of every being–even those considered to be outside the gender binary which simply occupies the infinite points on the spectrum of humanity–it forces us to broaden our capacity to imagine what can be and how flourishing can be more fully experienced…and baptizes that responsibility in the waters of divine intention. Everything is saved and sustained through relationships. Blessed are the shalombuilders for they will be called children of God (Mt 5.9).

What if?

What if we read this passage as pronouncement? A parallel to Matthew’s account of the annunciation of Jesus’ birth, God incarnate, the Word made flesh wandering and dwelling among us as equals, modelling and calling forth new ways of being and doing that nourish and inspire; that enable creativity, learning, and the growth of fruit with the hope that one day the shalom of the beloved creation will not only be restored, but be brought to completion or fulfillment. As prophetic utterance intending to evoke and nourish a more benevolent world order to counter the chaos and violence of the old governing stories, this passage could be read as a proclamation announcing God’s character in a world previously perceived to be ruled by fickle and capricious gods; proclaiming freedom, indeed granting permission to create, embrace, and enable all beings to thrive without qualification. Literally can it be read: Look at this! Divine perichoresis incarnate in the beauty of creation and the shalom that holds it all together. Love has created this for love cannot exist on its own. Receive this gift. It’s yours. Live creatively and abundantly in and with it!

What if Creator saw all that had been created and declared it flawless in its beauty, abundance, and goodness, intending its limitless, heretofore unrealized, potential to be inspired and capacitated through the blessing of human creativity and collaboration? Then “command” becomes permission, encouragement: “Wander! Discover! Live in and with every created thing in ways that nourish, inspire, and capacitate flourishing! Live interdependently, as equals, but honour diversity. Be mindful of the journey. Seek and be attentive to hidden beauty. Learn and teach new ways of being, relating, and doing, and in this way, bring my beloved creation to completion or fulfillment. Remember, nothing created is despised or accursed, for it is my breath that enlivens all things. And so I am with you always.”

This annunciation gives coherence to the narrative identity of God as Love, expresses confidence in his faithfulness and merciful tolerance, bestows dignity on all elements of creation, and fulfills the great commission through the agentic responsibilities of seeking, learning, teaching, living, and restoring Creator’s Garden of Eden cum Kingdom of Heaven. All of these are necessary preconditions for a perception of ontological security and serve as a deterrent for violence. The universality of redemption births love which drives out fear. Ontological security is the seed of hope from which germinates peace.

If this is how the story begins, how does this change what follows?

How then shall we live?

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Trish Lambert is a 2025 graduate of the MA in Peace and Justice (Peacebuilding, Public Theology, and Inner Transformation) programme. Her interests lie at the intersection of spiritual formation, theology, and shalombuilding. Originally from Petrolia, ON she now resides in Midland, MI. A lover of beauty, books, and furry creatures, she has also earned a BA in Religious Studies (1993) and a Master of Theological Studies (1996).