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There are three main ways of interpreting Genesis 1–3. These interpretations are sometimes categorised as literalist, conservative and liberal.

Some Christians are literalists. This means they believe the Bible is the actual word of God. They also believe that Genesis 1 and 2 are true and accurate descriptions of how the world was created and should be taken literally. Literalists reject scientific theories such as the Big Bang and evolution.

Some Christians are conservatives. This means they do not think the Bible was actually written by God – instead, they believe that the writers of the Bible were inspired by God’s actions. They interpret Genesis 1 as fact but believe each day was actually an era that lasted millions or billions of years. They might see Genesis 2 and 3 as a poetic explanation of how evil came into the world.

Some Christians are liberals who interpret the Bible metaphorically. They accept that the Bible will have contradictions within it, as it was written by humans and so is imperfect. These Christians will accept scientific theories about the origins of the universe, such as the Big Bang theory. What is important for these Christians, is the message of the Genesis account of creation, which is that God created the world, and gave humans a special role, status and purpose in it.

Role of the Word and Spirit

Genesis 1 states that the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. For Christians, it was the Spirit of God that created the universe out of nothing. This is important because it shows that God is omnipotent and the source of all life. It also shows that the concept of the Holy Spirit has been part of the universe since the beginning of time.

The account of Creation is mentioned again in the Gospel of John. John starts his Gospel with the words, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1).

John uses ‘the Word’ to refer to Jesus, showing that Jesus was present at the Creation of the universe.

When looked at together, these two accounts are very significant for Christians because they indicate that the Trinity has existed since the beginning of time.