St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-04-04
ACCOUNTS OF CREATION.
Rev. III. M Simmons Contrasts
Them With Reference to
Woman


At the First Unitarian church yester-
day morning, Rev. Ii. NJ. Simmons dis
sected the two accounts of the creation,
in the. Bible, while speaking on 1.-The
Creation and Rank of Woman The
following is an abstract of his sermon:
1.-TWO entirely different accounts of
creation are Joined at the beginning OF
the book of Genesis. One fills the first
chapter and three verses of the next.
and always calls the Creator 'God'-or
'Elohm' in the Hebrew-thirty-fi
times. The other fellows call the
Creator Iord'-or Jehovah in the
Hebrew-twenty times. if we include
the story of the fall. The author Of the
first is therefore called by scholars the
ElohiSt, and that of the second the Je-
hovist. The second account is sup
posed to have been written i'll the
ninth century, B. c., and the first con-
siderably later while still later edi-
tor or author joined the two as we have
them.
The two accounts are still more diff
ferent in their tone and contents than
in their language. The first account IS
elevated and advanced in It's thought OF
God, representing Him as a creative
spirit working through commands aad
as if through law-'eJ the waters bring
forth, let the earth bring forth the living
creature. The second account is much
more primitive and childish; represents
God making things like workman,
says he formed the ANIMALS 'Out of the
ground, formed mar out of the DUST
took out one Of mans ribs and made it
into woman. walked in the garden in
the cool of the day could not see Adam
and Eve when they hid from Him. and
for them did Jehovah make coats of
skim
The two accounts show equal con
trast in the order of creation. L he first
says the earth started under water and
had to be dried; the second, that 1t
started dry and had to be watered. The
first account says man was not made
until ali entertainments; the second says
he was made before them all.
Equally different are the two ac-
counts Of the creation Of woman. In
tine first. she is created along with man,
| in the equality of one species, and in
created He them In the second, her
creation is separated so widely from
his. that the creation of all other
| living things takes place be-
tween them, and she is made out of
and inferior to man. The second also
makes her weak and wicked, yielding
| to the Serpent'S temptation, and so
bringing evil to both, and Gods curse
upon the earth. For the two accounts
are contrasted also in their moral view
of the world. The second sees little
good i'll nature. and treats mans natural
| instincts and appetite for knowledge as
bad. But the first sees nothing but
good in nature, tells us seven times that
| I'D co hot nd nc
God saw everything that he had made,
and behold it was very good 1t sees
human nature as best of all and says
that God not only made man woman in
his own image but babe them use all
their gifts freely and 'Su bdue' the earth
and gain dominion over all things in it..
The first account knows nothing OF a
fall.
but the second account has domi-
mated religious thought-partly because
it is more picturesque and poetic, and
abOunds in those primitive fancieS that
please people of all ages, and partly be-
cause its more austere thought has APP
pealed to religious feelings. Now, how
ever. the second account is falling into
neglect and the greater beauty and
truth of the first is seen. Today we
hear little of the fall, and still less of
woman bringing it, or of her creation
from mans rib. We see again that
both were created together and equally
in the image of God. Indeed. seeing
woman'S work in refining and blessing
lite. many would give her the higher
place. The old Manichean legend that
Adam was made like a beast. coarse
and rude, and that Eve gave him his
upright position and spirituality, is
truer than the story that she brought
the fall; or, rather, since the fall has
proved rise. shall we not still say that
woman was foremost in bringing it. In
her quicker perceptions and warmer
sympathy and devotion. she has often
been first to pluck from the tree whose
fruit was to he desired to make one
wise;;' and ever, as Goethe sang, the
eternal-womanly leads us on :"