I have been writing about "illusion" for the last six weeks within the context of the book of Genesis. I have more Bible study to share later, though maybe not as in-depth as I have been doing with Genesis. Having reached the end of the book, I thought I would suggest some of the themes I have seen as I have studied the book. You will find a link to my posts on this topic at the end. I conclude at least the following.
* God created us to be in a loving relationship with God.
* There are evil forces at work that want to destroy that relationship.
* The primary means of destroying the loving relationship is to trap humanity into seeing a false image of God and flaming the passion within us to be our own gods. We become deluded in our minds.
* Apart from God, there is no meaning and purpose for existence. We either cannot find God because we are cut off from God, or we choose not to find God because of the implications it would have for us. We are between a rock and a hard place.
* Our solution to our dilemma is to create a powerful enough illusion to reinforce our delusions of autonomy. The illusion will also characterize God as someone other than who God is. The most symbolic representation of this illusion project is the city. Enoch and Babel are the most significant examples in Genesis.
* God reaches "down" to us with a promise to restore the relationship between humanity and God. (i.e., Jacob's ladder)
* The plans of God cannot be thwarted, as evidenced repeatedly in the stories of Genesis. God is sovereign.
* While not fully revealed in Genesis, the first signs are present about God's intended means of returning humanity to God's self: Disillusion. God will dispel human illusions so we may see God for who God is and how much God desires to be in a relationship with us.
Are there others? I hope this study has been meaningful so far.
Here is a link to the post dealing with Genesis 12-50:
Tale of Two Cities
Between a Rock and a Hard Place
Magical City
Going West
Melchizedek
Inconceivable!
God Will Provide
Isaac's Failing Vision
God Gets the Last Laugh
Stairway to Earth
Jacob's Prayer
Jacob or Israel
Jacob's "Safe" Option
Jacob Returns
Joseph
For links to posts dealing with the first eleven chapters of Genesis:
[Index]
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