Jesus Creed

But is this true? Is creation in the Old Testament depicted as the result of a cosmic battle?

This is an important question. A portrait of God as cosmic warrior will have significant implications for our understanding of the role of humans as the image of God. As Middleton poses the question:”If the imago Dei refers to human rule of the earth, what sort of rule is envisioned?” If creation is depicted as a combat between good (God) and chaos or evil, this will set the tone for the human exercise of power as well. Humans, as the image of God, are charged with holding back the forces of chaos and evil … in combat from Genesis 1 onward.

More than this … Middleton argues that creation-by-combat leads to an ethic that is centered on the benefit of a particular society – Babylon, Israel, Christendom, America.  “The world that is founded by primordial combat is thus the world of some particular group with their own limited interests.” (p. 251)