WOF 023: The Right Way to Read Genesis

There’s a common tendency to read the opening chapters of Genesis as scientific texts. But is this the best way? Or even the right way? Bishop Barron offers guidance on how to properly understand the Biblical creation story. A listener wonders how we should manage the relationship between Church and state.

Topics Discussed

1:05 – The most surprising part about being a bishop
2:29 – How do people often misread Genesis?
5:01 – Why the Genesis narratives cannot be scientific
6:23 – What genre is Genesis 1-2?
7:43 – The main theological insights in Genesis 1-2
9:41 – How Genesis 1-2 points forward to the non-violence of Jesus
11:29 – The objects of creation are not worshiped
14:39 – Why it’s important that the world is created, not divine
16:49 – What it means that man was made in God’s “image and likeness”
18:25 – The first man as the first philosopher
20:24 – How the Church Fathers read Genesis
21:58 – What Genesis 1-2 is ultimately trying to teach us
23:16 – Question from listener: how do we balance the relationship between Church and state?