Is there a G‑d who created the world, as stated in the Biblical record of creation and throughout that book? This is a logically contradictory question that paralyzes thought; it is an ill-formed question.
We cannot conceive of anything coming into existence without having been created by something or someone with prior existence. It would have to create itself, and this is paradoxical. How and when could an object create itself if, before being in existence, it was nothing, unable to create anything? Similarly, it did not need to create itself after it was in existence with the power to create, for it already existed.
If the single smallest particle of matter cannot create itself; cannot come into existence unless created by something preceding it in existence, how could the earth and the whole universe have come to existence without a Creator preceding them, One Who caused their creation?
The question concerning world-creation is how and through what agency it came into existence, since there really should not be any universe in existence. There was no possibility for it, or for its beginning, no matter how small or how far back. This is the only possible conclusion to which we may come.
The theory of evolution leads us back through a line in which natural forces changed one form into another, back to the smallest particle thought to be the beginning of all matter. No scientist, no evolutionist, could suggest the possibility of such particles coming into existence by themselves. Later studies of Eddington, Jeans, Shapley, and others have even led them to believe that there is some power that began everything. They do not call this power G‑d; the name is unimportant. That there is a supreme power, which is the original Creator, is what is important.
Evolution may have begun ten billion or a billion quadrillion years ago, but there would have to have been a beginner and a beginning, even if that beginning, remote and scarcely imaginable, consisted of but a mass of elementary particles. Even if the earliest particles could follow fundamental principles to create the “big bang” they could not have come into existence spontaneously. Even if we were to assume continuous cause and effect, there must have been a creator, preceded by another one, ad infinitum; we cannot accept the notion that something can create itself.
To date no scientist has created the matter and energy of our universe from nothing. Such a discovery would indeed revolutionize both science and metaphysics, and would mark the discoverer as one of the greatest scientists of all time..
The two alternatives for the universe to have come into existence are either that there is no universe, or that at the root of its origin there must be One Creator without a beginning; One Who was without creation Himself, One Who is eternal, without beginning, without end, outside of time and space.
The creation of our universe could only have been possible if there is an eternal Creator in existence, One Who is Himself without beginning and without end. We call Him G‑d, as we humans must have a name for everything. We can well imagine such things as eternity and infinity from our own conceptions of time and space, though we do not understand them clearly. Without such a Creator there is no possibility for our universe to exist; unimaginably, it would have had to create itself.
We do not maintain the idea of “G‑d” because it is convenient, or because of religion, but because our logic forces us to come to it as to the end of a blind alley, whether we like it or not.
We are compelled to accept that there must be such an eternal G‑d, without beginning or end, because without such a Creator, a universe could not exist.
This is the reason the question of whether or not there is a G‑d Who created the world, is itself a contradiction. Anyone who doubts the existence of G‑d the Creator should be given the response: “Prove that the universe could have created itself!”
Thus there is no alternative to the conclusion of One Creator at the origin, eternal and without beginning.
There is a G‑d; the universe had a beginning, and the beginning started through creation, when something was brought into existence out of nothing. At some time there was nothing in existence except the One Creator, then the Latter made a creation—whatever its beginning was—and thus the universe was started.
There was a beginning, there was a creation out of nothing, and there is a Creator Who created that beginning!
The universe does not run endlessly back. It had a beginning; it is not an endless evolutionary development of one thing into another from yet another ad infinitum; its origin was created out of nothing; the Creator Who could have done such a thing must be an Eternal Being, who had no one preceding Him, and Whom we call “G‑d”.
The Biblical account of the creation starts out with three words giving the clearest expression to these three points of creation: “Beginning”, “Creation”, “G‑d”. The first three words in the original Hebrew text of the Bible actually mean in translation: “Beginning, created, G‑d”; to be made sensible in English according to the rules of Hebrew grammar and word order:1 “The beginning was created by G‑d.” Any other version is unfaithful to the original. Literally, put into English it would read: “The beginning created G‑d.” This is protected in the original by the Mosaic code of intonation signs that make it impossible to mean, “G‑d was created by the beginning”. Hence the proper translation must be as above: “The beginning was created by G‑d.”
The first word means origin: the beginning of all beginnings. The second word means creation out of nothing: it is used throughout the Bible only in connection with G‑d’s six days of creation. It is never used with any of G‑d’s works of transformation in which He is said to make something out of something else. It is never used with a work of man, which must be a transformation of something already in existence. The third word, meaning G‑d, is the synonym which in Hebrew expresses the G‑dly Spirit of Law and Order; the standardizer of nature; of all laws under which it is to function. Thus the first three words of the Biblical account of the creation give the three main elements of creation: the foundation of all science.
Science may describe the nature and laws of creation and their further functioning in accordance with G‑d’s laws; it cannot deny the Biblically given origin and still remain scientific. It is scientifically impossible to suppose that the universe could have come into existence without a beginning, without being created out of nothing, or without a Creator, Himself eternal and without beginning. Such suppositions would be illogical and anti-scientific.
Once we acknowledge that the universe had a Creator, Himself without beginning, He surely must measure up to His task of world-creation and it is He Whom we call G‑d. It is He Whom we shall now try to define following the Biblical conception of Him.
Just as we are using ordinary human logic to conclude that the universe could not have come into existence by itself and must have had a Creator, so too we can use logic to arrive at some idea of what sort of G‑d He IS. In other words: we may be able to understand what kind of Creator G‑d must be in order logically to be the Creator of the universe.
The most important point to be understood is that G‑d the Creator of the universe cannot have had a beginning. Any object or power with a beginning cannot be the G‑d of Creation since there would have to have been some prior Creator.
Thus we cannot accept anyone or anything created, which had to have a beginning, as G‑d,. It is the first and original Creator, the beginning-less Creator, whom we seek. We must draw a sharp line between G‑d the original Creator and everything else; that which was created and thus had a beginning.
First we’ll eliminate three created things with beginnings; not one of them could be G‑d!
1) Any physical matter. Since matter is a composite of atoms and elements, the latter two precede it in creation. They form physical matter; thus matter is created stuff and has a beginning.
2) Any unit, even of one element, or of one form of energy, such as fire, electricity, radium, etc.— The reason is given in the next definition.
3) Anything limited in time, space and power. If some thing does not cover all of eternal time, all of endless space, and all existing forms of energy, it is limited. There is time, space, or energy beyond it; thus there is a boundary or distinction, which limits and forms a beginning for it.
Applying these exclusions, G‑d cannot be material. He cannot be a particular form of energy and He cannot be limited in any other way. There can be nothing outside Him. He is all the spirit, all the wisdom and knowledge, all the powers, imaginable and unimaginable, and He is also the eternity of all time and all space. He is eternal, omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. Anything less could not be G‑d.
G‑d is “Unity”. He is not One in the ordinary sense of the word, but “Unity” indivisible and containing everything.
Our minds give us little conception of such unity. It contains many different qualities such as wisdom, memory, understanding, judgment, will, inventiveness, speech, foresight, fear, talent for music and arts, and other qualities and spiritual powers, yet it is an indivisible and perfect unity; a spiritual unity combining all qualities in one.
Our minds are a small and limited spark of divinity while the source, G‑d the Creator, is a unity unlimited, embracing eternity, endless space, and all powers.
In saying, “One G‑d”, we must not imagine that the expression means simply that there are not two or three G‑ds. It is an all-embracing term, and is used in the sense of One which is everything. He is each second of time, all eternity. He is not limited to a certain form, sitting in a certain place and ruling all creation from there. That is not the G‑d of the Bible.
We must encompass in our minds all time, all space, and the entire universe:—all is “One G‑d.” There is no particle of spirit, matter, space, or time that is not part of G‑d. 2
Nothing less could be G‑d. Not one second of time, not one millimeter of space, and not one atom of creation can be outside Him.
The name “G‑d” has come to be understood even by intelligent and religious people as limited in space and separate from time. They think of G‑d as the most powerful Supreme Being, sitting somewhere in heaven and existing eternally, but such a concept is erroneous.
“I am” is what G‑d calls Himself in His book. It is the very best conception for man to form of G‑d, and with which to signify His name.
“He is”. He is everything, everywhere, all eternity, all endless space. He is the absolute unity of all. He is the whole universe including the wink of your eye, the word on your tongue, and the pus of your wounds. This might sound blasphemous concerning the Divine Name, but it will become understandable and acceptable after the discussion of the creation of the universe, which follows.
According to the higher interpretation of the Mosaic shorthand code of signs in the account of the creation, the universe was created in the following manner:
G‑d, Who is before the endless space, compressed a part of His own volume, whatever that is, creating a void in the midst of Him. G‑d’s Will placed Itself in that void and created the universe by transforming Itself into everything that comprises the universe.
This is the higher conception of the Biblical expressions: “And G‑d said ‘Let there be this’. And G‑d said ‘Let there be that’. The Will of G‑d transformed Itself into powers, elements, atoms, creating material substances out of nothing.
Thus the universe, the planets, the atmosphere, the earth, everything on it, the natural laws, cause and effect, and whatever occurs in the universe is nothing but the Divine Will transformed into what exists. Although the universe occupies billions of light years in space, and solar systems move in it with the swiftest rapidity, it is like a speck compared with the divine volume, since the highest mathematical figure dwindles into nothing when compared to His endlessness, which is beyond calculation.
Nothing but the Divine Will prevails within the space divinely apportioned for the universe. Everything is the Divine Will: a human being, a mouse, a beautiful face, an ugly ulcer of the stomach; all are the cause and effect of nature, which is itself the Divine Will. It is not something separate acting under orders, but Itself. Everything in existence is a physical transformation of the Divine Will. A man is a part of the Divine Will transformed into a man; a mouse is a part transformed into a mouse. All other particles in the universe, good or bad, are an organic part of the Divine Will.
Since the Will of G‑d is an integral part of G‑d, everything is actually G‑d, because G‑d is everything. The pus of a sick man’s ulcer is thus also a part of G‑d, because it is a transformation of the Divine Will into what it is; the Divine Will is here too part of G‑d himself. The pus is a part far removed from G‑d through a long chain of transformations, but it is nevertheless a part.
In order to more clearly understand how such divine self-compression and transformation of Divine Will in the void are to be taken as the actual fact of creation, recall that human beings are, to an extent, capable of performing an analogous process.
Imagine a great and beautiful mansion, with large and richly furnished rooms, balconies, trees, terraces, and fountains. One sees it in one’s mind, observing its every detail, visualizing the structure in all its grandeur as if it were real and before one. How does that mansion come into being, what is it made of, and what finally happens to it?
Your mind, a living spirit millions of times larger than your brain, compressed itself, creating a void in its midst. The void was large enough for your will to transform itself into the mansion, while the rest of your mind stood contracted for the time being. It watched the will building and beautifying the mansion. It gave practical advice in the work and enjoyed the structure while it stood intact. The mansion and everything in it was nothing other than your will, which was itself part of your mind; more exactly the mansion was your will transformed into a mansion. Every inch of the apportioned void in your mind was occupied by your will; it was your will that turned itself into the mansion, while the rest of your mind stood compressed from the operation.
As soon as your mind decides that it no longer wants the mansion, your mind re-expands. The will is again united with the rest of the mind, the void vanishes, and the entire structure disappears as if it never existed.
G‑d created the universe in a similar way. In this, the all-powerful Divine Will turned itself into what it visualized: physical elements and matter instead of imaginary stuff, in contrast to our human will when it built its imaginary mansions.
The universe and everything it contains: planets and their contents with all the associated creation, change, and destruction, is the Divine Will in existence. Just as human will is the material from which an imaginary structure is built, so too is the Divine Will is the material of which the universe is constructed: real and not imaginary. When the Divine Will wishes to have light, It transforms Itself into light. When It wants water or plants, It transforms Itself into oceans and forests.
It would not be the Will of G‑d if It could not do that!
At any moment pleasing to Itself, the Divine Will, could turn Itself back into Its state of pure Divine Will, and the universe would vanish like a motion picture when the projector is turned off. In the next moment It might start constructing a new universe.
The Divine Will is an inseparable part of the Divine Unity just as the human will is an inseparable part of the human mind. The Biblical Divine Unity can be conceived properly only by embracing everything in our mind: His Will; things endless in space and time; limitless powers of space and time; limitless powers of His many other faculties, unimaginable in extent.
G‑d is the Unity of all. The entire universe and the limitless void surrounding it is a small speck within His volume. It is a part of His Will turned into what we call “reality”—liable to vanish in a moment if it should please Him. Such is not a dreamer’s fantasy or blind Biblical belief traditionally upheld; it is the only logically possible truth.
Anything less than or different from a perfect Unity of all and everything could not be G‑d the Creator.
That is the Biblical conception of G‑d. Those who wish to understand the Bible’s many seemingly impenetrable verses must first understand that the Bible has its unique conception of G‑d given here. It has its own idea of life and after-life, its own code of moral laws for man, and its own philosophy of reward and punishment.
This has been securely incorporated in its text, even if sometimes concealed within the Mosaic codes of interpretation. Unless one learns this, one cannot understand the book: one has no moral or logical right to criticize it; one makes himself ridiculous, if not contemptible, by undertaking to interpret it.
Luckily for the Bible, as we have noted, it can no more be misinterpreted than nature itself. Interpret one verse falsely, and a thousand other verses throw the lie back in one’s face, refusing to co-operate further.
A sample was given from the first ten verses of the Bible in the common translation quoted above. The first verse, wrongly translated, becomes unintelligible in itself and makes a confusing mess of the nine verses following. They go wild, are full of questions, discrepancies, and contradictions, making the entire subject empty babbling, meaningless and nonsensical.
Given the fundamentals of Biblical thought discussed thus far, the account of Creation that follows will be seen to be smooth, clear, understandable, and rational.
* * *
Realizing that there is a G‑d Who created the universe and everything in it, our first thought is: “What should man’s attitude and duty to the great G‑d and Creator be?”
Must we believe in Him, honor, love, worship, fear Him; do all or none of them?
This question corresponds roughly to the question “How should I be a good citizen?” The Biblical answer is: “If you want to please your government, obey its policemen.”
To obey and observe the law instituted in nature by the Divine Will is all that man must do; nothing more is essential, but one should not do anything less.
As long as the Divine Will, which transformed Itself into the universe, remains in that transformation, everything in the universe is subordinated to that Divine Will, to stay where it was placed, to behave as it was intended to behave, and never to distort its harmony through misbehavior.
The law of the Divine Will is compulsory for the unchanging activities of the planets, elements, and dumb animals; only for man is it voluntary, left to man’s free choice.
The planets never fail in their duty, never change their course or schedule, never misbehave, and have no responsibility if anything in the universe becomes wrong, distorted, or out of order. All the forces of nature, even the seas and oceans, follow their natural activities and the places allotted them. They cannot harm or disorder the universe or the earth, except through external forced cause.
The dumb animals are led by their instincts. They live as the Divine Will transformed into their nature dictates. They cause no direct disorder in the harmony of the universe.
Man alone can choose to follow the law of the Divine Will, as he pleases. He, alone, is given freedom to act rightly or wrongly, hence all creation depends upon him and was created for his sake. He causes any disorder on the earth or in heaven, and he is the one responsible for their remaining in good order.
We can compare the world to a computer, with man as its programmer. The computer is subject to cause and effect. It has no free choice, while the programmer does. The proper or improper performance of the computer program depends on the programmer. If he programs the machine properly, tests it carefully, does not misuse it, and does not damage its instructions, the program will work as it was intended to. If the programmer is careless, lazy or crazy, and introduces erroneous instructions into the program, it can go out of order naturally, may not correctly perform its function, or may cause damage to the process it is designed to control.
This leads to the conclusion that the purpose of creation is to provide for the free play of man’s choice: to produce self-defining spiritual beings under conditions that help the orderly operation of the world. Divine spiritual sparks in the form of men are sent to a corner of the material universe, this earth, where they are tested, refined, and expected to grow into spiritual torches in spite of physical influences which prevent this brightening and sometimes even conceal the original spark.
To accomplish this purpose successfully, they must choose to obey the law of the Divine Will. Failing in part, they bring natural calamities on themselves as warnings to make good. Failing completely, or refusing to make good after many warnings, they bring final destruction on themselves.
Heaven and earth, which were created for man’s sake, also function according to his behavior, good or bad. They function normally and bring him blessings as long as he obeys the Divine Will; they become abnormal, creating chaos and destruction, when he deviates from that Divine Will.
The Biblical view of righteousness and reward, sin and punishment, is clearly established as pure cause and effect. A man’s good and righteous deeds improve some element of the universe and such deeds return as reward in his life or his after-life. Evil acts damage some element of the universe, and return as punishment. This is as natural as the good results of a well-designed and tested program, or the poor results of an ill-constructed one.
This is quite different from the view that reward and punishment are conditional on being or refusing to be obedient, or for simply believing in G‑d and singing His praises. The Biblical view is that a man’s fate in life or in after-life is unaffected by worshipping G‑d, praising Him, loving Him, and believing in Him, or by neglecting to do so, but rather through whether or not he abides by the law of the Divine Will, expressed through nature.
Man is not sent to earth to have his willingness to keep shouting “Hooray for G‑d!” tested, to be rewarded or punished accordingly. His coming to earth is not some trifling pastime for G‑d’s amusement at man’s good or evil behavior. It is not to pat him on the back and say, “Good Boy! You behaved yourself nicely!” or to give him a spanking for being evil, and enjoying his groans. He is sent here for a serious purpose known to G‑d alone. Successful performance of G‑d’s purpose comes through advancing spiritually under tempting, trying, and difficult-to-overcome conditions; no real spiritual advancement is obtained in any other way. Man’s reward is his success in achieving this; his failure is his punishment. Man thus creates his own reward and punishment; he does not receive them in exchange for obedience or disobedience.
For example the Biblical story of Adam and the forbidden tree is not as it is given in common translation, which seems to describe G‑d’s testing of Adam’s obedience and then punishing him for failure. Far from it! Understood in that way the story sounds ridiculous, as we will see. Rather, he was not to eat of the forbidden fruit because it would interfere with his attaining the desired qualification, rendering him useless for G‑d’s purpose in creating him.
The accurate translation, as we will see, excludes the question of obedience entirely. It was not a command, to test Adam’s willingness to obey G‑d; he was not punished for disobeying, though he was disobedient. It was a straightforward matter of cause and effect.
Eating of the forbidden fruit was, by the nature of the fruit, a dangerous thing to do because punishable by natural results, as is eating poison. Adam would have received his punishment even if he had eaten of it without having been prohibited; without disobeying a divine command. He was warned for his own good about the danger of the tree and was given free choice to do as he pleased: to eat and be punished, or to refrain and avoid the punishment. When he chose to eat of the dangerous tree it was not simply an act of disobedience, but rather making the wrong choice and suffering the consequences.
The Biblical text reveals that Adam was given a friendly warning, not a command. Hence he was punished not for disobedience but for his foolishness in not heeding the warning. (Gen. 2:17) Further, the Bible gives accounts that are either a natural event or a moral lesson for all mankind at all times. The story of Adam concerns all men of all time. Every human has the same experience. We have free choice in life and free will to conduct ourselves as we please, and through the story of Adam we, too, are given the divine warning not to eat of the forbidden fruit. Man’s conscience is the divine policeman within him who attends to the job of warning. He does not demand any action in G‑d’s favor, but warns man against harming himself: against doing dangerous things.
It is every man’s most important duty to himself and to the Divine Will, to obey this internal policeman. Man is created to serve G‑d by doing his duty to himself.
Believing in G‑d, worshipping Him, or honoring Him is, according to the Bible, by no means permissible and sometimes even objectionable if the one doing it ignores the policeman’s warning and acts contrary to such advice. One cannot justifiably abuse and insult the government’s police for fulfilling their duty and at the same time continue to shout, “Hooray for the government!”
Worshipping or fearing G‑d is not an end in itself that the Divine Will demands of man. Worshipping and fearing G‑d might be agreeable to the Divine Will if it prompts man better to fulfill his general duties. From such a point of view even man often rightly demands to be worshipped and feared.
A king, military superior, employer, or one’s parents will approve and sometimes encourage honoring or fearing them; they do so only the better to secure your obedience. None of them will be pleased or satisfied with being honored and feared if dutiful performance of their will and set ordinances is disregarded.
In contrast if you are a law-abiding citizen or an honest worker, it will not occur to your king or employer to reprimand you for failing to praise him, or neglecting to visit him socially. To the contrary, not every citizen is allowed closely to approach the king. Not every worker can “honor” his boss with a friendly visit when he wishes. One cannot become too intimate with either just because one thinks oneself great and praiseworthy. There must be something more to justify intimacy.
How much less can one hope to become chummy with G‑d, the Creator of the universe, the Omniscient and Omnipresent Almighty, in whose great magnitude the whole universe is less than a speck? Man becomes blind just by looking at the sun, which is but a dot in the universe and one of the millions of such divine creations!
The closest approach one may make to G‑d is to study the Biblical knowledge that G‑d is the One Unity of all things finite and infinite, of all powers and results; that there is nothing that is not G‑d; nothing that is not part of His Unity.
How many of us know even this? Millions hold such a cartoon view of G‑d that their worship is blasphemy. The Divine Will rejects such worship and fear not because it could grieve G‑d, but because it is debases man’s own intelligence, which is a spark akin to the divine. This is the most shameful part of idolatry. Man takes the highest honors he has to confer, the greatest fear he has to display, and offers them to a wooden idol, an animal, or even a plant. If this grieves G‑d, it is the grief of a father seeing his grown son acting like a baby.
At best worshipping G‑d is voluntary, while understanding and observing the law of the Divine Will, intended solely for the good of man himself, is obligatory. Hence man must obey the divine policeman within him; by so doing he will act to please the Divine Will. As explained above, man is sent here for a serious purpose: to become useful in the universe. In order successfully to fulfill his mission he must comport himself as prescribed. This is his main duty; singing “Hallelujah” is of no importance unless it can help to keep him straight and fulfill his chief mission: to behave according to the Will of G‑d.
According to the Bible, to fulfill his mission and as proof of that fulfillment, Man must keep the world in good order; and he is thus responsible to the Divine Will both for himself and for everything in creation: the earth, the heavens, and the planets. As the only intelligent creation with free choice, he is the one either to keep the universe intact and in working order, or to throw it out of gear and create chaos and destruction. If the former, he is a success and has fulfilled his mission from the Divine Will; if the latter he is a failure and will be destroyed or remodeled, whether or not he has been singing praises to G‑d. Like a manager in a branch office, he has to make good or be replaced by someone else; if no one else can make good, the office will be closed entirely. It is futile to praise the head office in letters or speeches.
Thus the Biblical idea is that when one man fails, that man is destroyed; when Sodom fails, Sodom is destroyed. When all mankind but one family fails, all mankind and everything on the earth except the one family are destroyed. If mankind should fail to the very last man, the whole earth, the whole solar system, or the whole universe, would be destroyed. Where the failure is slight, those who have failed are subject to correction rather than destruction; we call such correction punishment, though its purpose is repair, not suffering. The process might be painful just as a surgical operation can be painful; the purpose is to cure and the pain is a side effect.
To please G‑d, man must obey the Divine Will, incorporated in the universe and demanding of him: “Make the universe a success. Do not spoil it or destroy it, either individually or collectively, neither the whole nor any part thereof!”
