Meaning and Context: Creation

By Rod Martin, Jr

For nearly 3,000 years, the Judeo-Christian account of creation has remained a puzzling story of seemingly conflicting details. After a lifetime of comparative religious study and scientific research into the structure of miracles, bestselling author, Rod Martin, Jr. has tackled the story of our beginnings in the context of the whole Bible, his experience with spiritual action, and the purpose for this entire physical universe.

Instead of attempting to finalize the meanings of scripture, Martin has long realized that God needs us to be perpetually humble—meek and vigilant. The author bases this idea on the fact that no one is omniscient, and, thus, every one of us will always have more to learn; and humility is the only way we can learn. Too many come to a subject with preconceived notions that block learning.

Accordingly, Martin offers these essays on the creation story as alternate interpretations which aim to provoke us to reduce ego to zero so that we can view scripture as spirit.

Meaning and Context: Creation offers a brief discussion of each verse, and then separate essays to look at the overall story from different, thematic viewpoints, including,
• Blueprint and Construction—Comparing God’s handiwork to earthly construction projects.
• Dual Nature of Man—Analyzing God’s two creations of “man,” both the spiritual and physical sides.
• Mirror of God—A look at how the traits of God are reflected darkly in the structure of physical reality.
• Perfecting—The purpose of everything that God has created.
• The Arrow of Heaven—Truth is spiritual in nature, so physical words can do little more than point in the general direction of that Truth. This is part of the humility we need to maintain.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tharsis Highlands
• Release date: Feb 28, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005736491

Rod Martin, Jr

Rod Martin, Jr. was born in West Texas, United States. He has been a Hollywood artist, a software engineer with a degree summa cum laude, a writer, web designer and a college professor.Rod Martin's interests have ranged from astronomy to ancient history, physics to geology, and graphics arts to motion pictures.He has studied comparative religion, worked as a lay minister and spiritual counselor, and taught ethics in college.While doing graphic arts in Hollywood, he also studied electronic engineering. In 1983, as Carl Martin, he published his first novel, "Touch the Stars: Emergence," co-authored by John Dalmas (Tor Books, NY). He continues to write science fiction under that pen name.Later, switching careers to computers and information technology, Mr. Martin worked for Control Data, Ceridian Payroll, Bank of America, Global Database Marketing and IPRO Tech. He also created "Stars in the NeighborHood" 3D astronomy space software.He currently resides in the Philippines with his wife, Juvy. He has taught information technology, mathematics and professional ethics at Benedicto College, in Cebu. He continues to teach online and to write books and blogs.

Book preview

Meaning and Context: Creation

Digging More Deeply Into Genesis 1:1–2:7

Rod Martin, Jr.

Guided by humility to the Holy Spirit, by the gift of logic and critical thinking, and by the hunger to receive the knowledge for which we ask

Smashwords Edition

February 2022

Published by Tharsis Highlands Publishing

https://tharsishighlands.wordpress.com/books/

Copyright 2022 Rod Martin, Jr.

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof in any form.

Acknowledgements

Cover design by Rod Martin, Jr.

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

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Other books by Rod Martin, Jr.

Spirituality and Religion

The Bible’s Hidden Wisdom: God’s Reason for Noah’s Flood

The Logical Christian

Enemies of Christ

Proof of God

The Science of Miracles

Four Elements of God

Spirit is Digital, Science is Analog

Trinity Treason: How the church betrayed its flock with the only unforgivable sin

Climate Basics series

Climate Basics: Nothing to Fear, by Rod Martin, Jr.—an Amazon #1 Bestseller

Deserts & Droughts: How Does Land Ever Get Water? by Rod Martin, Jr.

Shining a Light Series

Dirt Ordinary: Shining a Light on Conspiracies, by Rod Martin, Jr.

Favorable Incompetence: Shining a Light on 9/11, by Rod Martin, Jr.

Thermophobia: Shining a Light on Global Warming, by Rod Martin, Jr.

Science & Logic

Pangaea Sister Sites: Jurassic Link to the Modern World, with Paleomaps by Dr. Christopher Scotese

Mission Atlantis: Scientific evidence of Plato’s lost island empire

Perfect Zero: From Science to Spirituality

Dumb Genius: How intelligence is sometimes its own worst enemy

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Contents

Introduction: The Importance of God’s Word

Part 1: The Creation Story

The Verses of Genesis—1:1–2:7

Part 2: Digging More Deeply

Chapter 1: Blueprint and Construction

Chapter 2: Dual Nature of Man

Chapter 3: Mirror of God

Chapter 4: Perfecting

Chapter 5: The Arrow of Heaven

Appendix

Notes

References

Glossary

About the Author

Other Books

Connect

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Introduction: The Importance of God’s Word

The Word of God is good, but that Word is not written in ink. The physical symbols on paper can only point in the direction of Divine Meaning, and there, only with failing accuracy. For the destination is not a physical one.

We must change ourselves in order to come to God. In doing so, we will be perfecting that which God has created. We will be maturing as His children. When we come to God, we are perfecting the instrument which will be hearing His words.

Christ said that it would not be easy. He told us that the way would be narrow and difficult.

Warning!

We must remain humble to God’s Truth and not to the interpretations of men. Even when we think we have scripture all figured out, there is more yet to learn.

Anyone who insists on their own meaning, or on the interpretations of another, is already lost, for they have chosen the broad and easy location which leads to destruction.

As Christ said, the first shall be last. Those who remain certain in their understanding are looking toward the master of this world. Certainty is not itself the enemy; but certainty misdirected is evil.

We must approach life—and especially our quest for spiritual understanding—with utter humility and a deep hunger to know more. Certainty that we have Truth, before we possess it, only darkens the landscape around us, narrowing our focus so that we do not see other evidence. Certainty that Truth exists and that God will give it to us if we know how to ask—these lead to the light of spiritual awareness.

Humility is the attitude required by scientists, but forsaken by most of them, to one degree or another. And it is required of all who love God, for we cannot get closer to Him without humility to His Truth.

It should be abundantly clear that no one yet knows God’s full Truth. Yet, so many become lazy and arrogant when reading scripture—certain in their tiny, superficial understanding—a 2-dimensional understanding in a 5-dimensional reality. This is not to imply that your current author has it all figured out, either. Far from it. But one thing has become abundantly clear: We need to remain humble in all that we think we know. Even our understanding of the most basic of ideas may have a shade of darkness attached to it, and thus imperfect under the eyes of God. Thus, everything we know, or think we know, is merely a temporary location on the journey. Remember: Christ said that the way was narrow and difficult—not an easy location for sitting down—thinking that we have already arrived.

This book is meant as a solvent and lubricant to dislodge from the student of scripture all of the barnacles of misunderstanding so their ship can continue forward uninhibited. The intent, here, is not to remove some barnacles only to replace them with a new set, but to free the individual to pursue the narrow, difficult path ahead.

Is there a greater truth to be found in these pages? There may well be, but it is only a relative truth. After nearly three quarters of a century, your author has learned that certainty in knowledge can blind us, but certainty in our ability to learn, through God and Christ, can empower us. Even after more than seven decades, your author continues to discover new ways he has been wrong.