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Genesis 1

1. In the beginning of God's creating the heavens and the earth...

...
Don Harrison found these web images on May 12, 2009 of a music
recording and a book on trigonometry, each drawing a phrase
from the opening sentence of the Bible. Both illustrate how the
words of the Bible permeate popular culture, in which they are
transformed, re-interpreted and given new meanings.

2. when the earth was astonishingly empty, with darkness upon the surface of the deep, and the Divine Presence hovered upon the surface of the waters- {Stone edition, Tanach}

And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
(King James Bible)

A book on "gap theory"—a theory that seeks to harmonize the Bible with geologic time frames— and a movie equating the deep ocean with terror of the unknown are ways in which this biblical verse is expressed in popular culture. Images found on the web on May 12, 2009 by Don Harrison.

3. God said , 'Let there be light,' and there was light.



Whether it is lightbulbs (Let There Be Light, Int Pty Ltd. in Australia) or bringing technology to the developing world, as Sam Goldman does through D.Light Design, this biblical phrase has been a source of--dare we say it--ongoing illumination.

4 God saw that the light was good and God separated between the light and the darkness.




Books and even Japanese Anime games often draw on the light from darkness theme expressed in Genesis 3. These images of commercial products were taken from the web for illustrative purposes.




5. God called to the light "Day" and to the darkness He called: "Night" And there was evening and there was morning, one day.


'Evening and morning' is a phrase with particular resonance for the Church of Latter Day Saints. At right is the first newspaper published by that church in Independence, Missouri during the 1830s. AT left, a novel by Utah writer Virginia Sorensen concerning a woman trying to resist extramarital temptation.

6. God said, "Let there be firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it separate between water and water."


7. So God made the firmament, and separated between the waters which were beneath the firmament and the waters which were above the firmament. And it was so.

The Waters Above is the title of a book probing from a
Creationist's perspective the Noah's Flood Theory.
In his Spring Symphony, composer Benjamin Britten named
one of the segments "Waters Above."

8. God called to the firmament: "Heaven." And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.

John Finley photographed Heavenly Couture May 15, 2009 at the
Westminster Mall in Westminster, California

9. God said, "Let the waters beneath the heaven be gathered into one area and let the dry land appear." And it was so.


SET UP LINE—"Let the dry line appear" ... Could there be
any better way to voice a request for a German rock
group
or for a movie starring Barbara Hershey?

10. God called to the dry land: "Earth" and to the gathering of waters He called "Seas."


Don Harrison found this logo for a pizza parlor in Byron Bay,
New South Wales, Australia on the Internet on May 21, 2009.

11. God said, "Let the earth sprout vegetation; herbage yielding seed, fruit trees yielding fruit each after its kin, containing its own seed on the earth." And it was so.


Rick Elizaga, a graphic artist based in Kyoto, Japan designed the
"earth sprout" logo for the environmental group Green World.
Here's a link
to his work.


12. And the earth brought forth vegetation: herbage yielding seed after its kind, and trees yielding fruit, each containing its seed after its kind. And God saw that it was good.





Glass artist John Hector created this stained glass window for The Church of the Holy Trinity (Episcopal) in South Bend, Indiana. Here's the link. Below artist John Hopper of the United Kingdom creates collages from biblical verses and art works. Here's the link. Both photos were found on line on May 24, 2009.

13. And there was evening and there was morning, a third day.


This graphic art business is located in Hermiston,
Oregon. It offers a full line of services. Here's the
link
to its website.

14. God said, "Let there be luminaries in the firmament of the heaven to separate between the day and the night; and they shall serve as signs, and for festivals, and for days and years;


Flic Luminaries in Wichita, Kansas, carries an entire line of
glowing vessels to light the way for partygoers in the evening.
Here is the link to the company's website. "Luminary in the
firmament" is also a popular metaphor for a person who is
outstanding in his or her profession.

15. and they shall serve as luminaries in the firmament of the heaven to shine upon the earth."


The Jewish organization, Hazon (Vision), used this image to tell of the once every 28-year ceremony April 8, 2009 of the Blessing of the Sun (Birchat HaChama) to mark the sunrise in what Jewish tradition says was the same location as it was on the day of creation. Hazon is an organization whose own vision is "to create a healthier and more sustainable Jewish community -- as a step towards a healthier and more sustainable world for all."

16-17 And God made the two great luminaries, the greater luminary to dominate the day and the lesser luminary to dominate the night; and the stars. And God set them in the heaven to give light upon the earth

The idea of luminaries dominating their fields has been cleverly seized upon by "Literary Luminaries," a novelty company in Purcellville, Virginia, that offers coffee mugs, playing cards, umbrellas and other items bearing caricatures of the people who were big lights in various fields. The illustration is on that company's website.

18. to dominate by day and by night, and to separate between the light and the darkness. And God saw that it was good.



Light versus darkness is a theme that has found applications in many arenas. For example, darkness represents evil, and light good in the Darkness to Light Foundation, which fights child abuse. Numerous books about the Holocaust have compared the darkness of the Nazis to the light of the Righteous Gentiles. In the story of Helen Keller, who was both blind and deaf, darkness refers to ignorance of the world around her, whereas light is a reference to comprehension and self-improvement.

19. And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.



StarStone Software Systems of Lake Mary, Florida, created the computer application above, an astronomical clock for computer desktop, showing evening and morning on the globe. Here's the link

20. God said, "Let the waters teem with teeming living creatures, and fowl that fly about over the earth across the expanse of the heavens."

"Let The Waters Teem With Living Creatures And Let Birds Fly Above The Earth" is the name of a 220 foot wide fiberoptic light sculpture by Jane Haskell that dominates a wall of a baggage claim area in Terminal 2 of the Fort Lauderdale/ Hollywood International Airport in Florida. For more information on the sculpture, click here

21. And God created the great sea-giants and every living being that creeps, with which the waters teemed after their kinds; and all winged fowl of every kind. And God saw that it was good.



Lisa Byrd's studio in Saxis, Virginia, specializes in duck decoys. On her website, the artist explains the name she gave her business: "I wanted to give it a name that would honor the One who gave me my artistic ability - GOD. So I chose "5th Day of Creation Reproductions" because GOD created every winged bird on the 5th day of creation. (Genesis 1:21-23)"

22. God blessed them, saying "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas; but the fowl shall increase on the earth."

This image is from Kip's Reef, a site devoted to saltwater aquaria and which quotes this verse from the Bible. Here is the link

23. And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day


The image abovet comes from the website of Peace Lutheran Church in Neenah, Wisconsin.

24. God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures, each according to its kind: animal, and creeping thing, and beast of the land each according to its kind." And it was so.



TSHIRT AND PAPER ART—For children, Genesis 1:24 is one of the most popular verses in the Bible. A T-shirt offered by the Vision Christian Store in Harlingen, Texas, links the verse to dinosaurs. Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Somerset, Pennsylvania, sponsored a paper cutting art project focusing on biblical verses.

25. God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, and the animal according to its kind, and every creepingbeing of the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.


The book above makes a play on words on this phrase. The
cartoons within promote environmentalism. It may be ordered
on Amazon.

26. And God said, "Let Us make Man in Our image, after Our likeness. They shall rule over the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and over the animal, the whole earth and every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth."


"Let Us Make Man" was the theme of a Black empowerment
conference in August, Georgia, in March 2009. See graphic above


27. So God created Man in His image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

People Magazine used "In His Image" for a feature on boxing
champion Muhammad Ali's daughter Laila becoming a boxer
herself. Here is a link to that article.

28. God blessed them and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea, the bird of the sky and every living thing that moves on the earth."

In the debate between "pro-life" and "pro-choice" concerning
abortions, this biblical verse often is quoted.


29. God said, "Behold, I have given to you all herbage yielding seed that is on the surface of the entire earth, and every tree that has seed-yielding fruit; it shall be yours for food."


This company in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, which sells medicinal herbs,
uses a portion of the passage of Genesis 1:29 as prt of its marketing message.


30. And to every beast on the earth, to every bird of the sky, and to everything that moves on the earth, within which there is a living soul, every green herb is for food." And it was so.


POPULAR PHRASE—Two quite different books share similar titles derived from the language in this biblical verse.

31. And God saw all that He had made, and behold it was very good.  And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.


This graphic illustrating Genesis 1:31 is among the materials distributed to students by Roman Catholic Educator