Sidetracked

Basil’s primary interest is not in the events behind the text, and his understanding of the creation of humanity shows this. I have suggested that Basil is asking his listeners to be like Moses. This is synonymous with the restoration of humanity returning to paradise, which means a life “unenslaved to the passions of the flesh, free, intimate with God.”

Returning to paradise is the restoration and goal of the human life, and this is what the creation story ultimately shows. Consoling ourselves with material things keeps us from paradise. This is why the story of creation is “an education in human life” and why the story of creation should be read with an eye toward that end. The history behind the text does not concern Basil, but the theologia behind it does.—Early Christian Readings of Genesis One, page 324

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That's the final post from this book. If you've been following the posts, you'll have noticed that it is more how to read the church fathers in general than it is about Genesis 1. And it once again reinforces the idea that our questions are different from their questions. We are focused (as a culture) on the material and physical; they were more concerned with the spiritual, nonphysical side of things. And they knew those nonphysical things were just as real, if not more real, than the physical. I suspect we would do well to rediscover that truth! But that's just an
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