Genesis 

by 

Austin Perris

In Genesis, God seemed to create humans twice: once in his image and likeness and the second from the clay of the earth. What is the exact difference between the two?

The two accounts of human creation in Genesis 1 and 2 serve distinct purposes, but what are they?

The Creation in Genesis 1:26-27

"Then God said, 'Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness...' So God created humanity in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them."

Humanity is portrayed as created in God's "image" and "likeness." This emphasizes a spiritual and moral resemblance, reflecting god-like qualities like consciousness, the ability to create, and dominion over creation.

Humanity is created as "male and female" simultaneously, highlighting equality and interdependence between opposites. I see this reference as qualities rather than "physical" attributes. 

Consider: 

Male  

Analytical                         

Detailed Perception         

Rational Thought 

Cautious                           

Logical                                                    

Right Side 

Female  

Intuitive

Holistic Perception

Emotional Thought

Impulsive

Imaginative 

Left Side                   

All qualities in one spirit, operating in total balance as intended, representing the perfect spiritual reflection of Our Creator.   

"This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness."

                                                                     1 John 1:5 

 

God created us at this time, beings of light made in God's image and likeness.

2. The Creation in Genesis 2:7

 "Then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being."

Humanity is described as being formed from the adamah (ground or clay), emphasizing physicality, humility, and connection to creation.

God breathes into the human, making him a nephesh (living soul). This conveys a more intimate and personal act of creation, focusing on the life-giving relationship between God and humans.

Unlike Genesis 1, this narrative begins with the creation of one individual (Adam), followed by the formation of Eve.

 This emphasizes the importance of relationships and the origins of the community. The account is set in Eden, giving a specific context to humanity's role in tending the garden and obeying God.

The "two creations” reflect two different aspects of humanity's identity, hinting at the possibility that we are the product of two different creators, like the God in the Old Testament, wrathful, jealous, and cruel. And the God of the New Testament: Loving, kind, and merciful.

Genesis 1 highlights humanity's divine purpose and dignity as bearers of God's image, responsible for stewarding creation.

Genesis 2 emphasizes humanity's connection to the earth, dependence on God, and natural tendency toward relationships and community.

Oddly enough, humans are exalted as God's image-bearers yet humbled as creatures made from the earth. This dual perspective captures the profound mystery of being human. We are spiritual light surrounded by a physical body with a soul.

Opposites do promote growth. The positive and the negative, the male and the female, and the physical and the non-physical all promote change that sparks reflection, inspiration, and realization, which can lead to enlightenment, the state of being within the light body, and the image and likeness of the One True God.

We have found that mainstream Christianity has hidden much truth and pointed us in the wrong direction. However, another approach to our spirituality has been uncovered for our investigation: Gnosticism (early Christianity). Christianity before the significant changes were made.

The Gnostics believe the devil corrupted the church, and its teachings led people away from the One True God and trapped souls in the physical world by encasing the light body in the physical body.

This is important because the Gnostics believe the physical world was created by the devil, the Demiurge, and the one true spiritual God created the spiritual world, from which all spirits come and wish to return. 

The Gnostics also believe that the secret to igniting the divine spark is hidden inside each individual. Through correct behavior, diet, meditation, and other spiritual practices, one can consciously enter the light body, realize sacred knowledge (gnosis), and ignite the divine spark to achieve Christ-consciousness.

With this newfound knowledge, one can move forward, becoming one with the spiritual God while living on the physical, imbued with Christ-consciousness, filling the physical body with light.

Considering the object of Genesis 1, the light body, we can see where the One True God created this part of humanity. Because "God is light." And we are made in His image and likeness.

Considering the object of Genesis 2, the physical body, which incarcerates the light body, the spirit, we can see why the devil would create this part of humanity.

One body is bright-luminous and teaming with eternal life; the other is dense and temporary, subject to death and decay.

Are we creations of two separate entities with two separate intentions: one loving and merciful and the other controlling, punishing, and destroying?

You might think that the physical is fleeting and you can manage the physical life until the death of the body frees your spirit, but that which is hidden can hurt you: reincarnation is not something you are taught in Catholicism. 

When the physical body dies, the spiritual body is released and passed on to the spiritual world. However, it must pass through the reincarnation dimension, which captures your soul like a fish in a net before reaching its true destination. Then, your soul is sent back to the physical (pain and suffering) to serve the devil once again.

Catholics do not teach how to avoid the reincarnation trap because they do not tell you that it exists. Like other religions, Gnosticism has a clear and precise method of bypassing the reincarnation cycle and teaches it to all who have ears to hear.

 Gnostics believe in a deep commitment to self-purification, ethical living, and spiritual practice to avoid reincarnation.

 Whether through meditation, selfless action, devotion to God, or asceticism, the goal is to transcend the seductive forces that bind the soul to the cycle of rebirth and ultimately achieve liberation or enlightenment. That state in which the conscious mind is merged with the light body, The Holy Spirit. 

Then, and only then, are you One with God, experiencing Christ consciousness while living in the physical world.

When all is said and done, in Chapter One of Genesis, the spiritual body is created first, with male and female qualities. It existed before the physical body and will exist after the physical body has once again become part of the earth. 

 The spiritual body is made in the image and likeness of the One True God and is teaming with eternal life; it does not die and decay. It remains the most beautiful expression of Our Creator one can imagine.

  We are pure divine light (consciousness) vibrating throughout the expanse of creation, experiencing all there is.

NOTE: Even though the Catholic Church considers Gnosticism "heresy," this doesn't mean it doesn't have information to consider. 

 The definition of heresy is simply a belief that goes against an established or accepted belief of a religious organization, in this case, Catholicism. This does not mean the gnostic view is inherently evil or even untrue; it just does not agree with the popular idea promoted by those in power.

For the video "Your Light Body," click here