by Most Rev. Father Muron Aznikian THIS PUBLICATION WAS MADE POSSIBLE THROUGH THE GENEROUS DONATION OF Mr. & Mrs. JIRAYR & AURA KILADJIAN IN MEMORY OF THEIR PARENTS Mr. & Mrs. KRIKOR & NEVART KILADJIAN MAY THEIR SOULS REST IN ETERNAL PEACE 3 4 ESSAYS ON BIBLICAL CONCEPTS AND SOCIAL ISSUES Authored by Most Rev. Father Muron Aznikian 5 6 INTRODUCTION Have we ever compared the Bible to the US Constitution? We revere each of them, but there is more to it. For the Bible, we have a priest- hood which studies and interprets stories and commandments, giving us a set of values. For the US Constitution, we have a Supreme Court which studies and interprets the words of the American Founders, giv- ing us a body of laws. With that in mind, we look to Very Reverend Father Muron Aznikian as our interpreter in this book. Having studied the Bible in his theologi- cal training, Father Aznikian expounds on Biblical history and teach- ings in the many essays which he has written, in order to give us a set of Christian values and an understanding in our confusing times. We live in a fast-changing world, and the change seems to have accel- erated in recent years. Our culture and values are changing, brought about in part by radical advances in technology, in part because of pro- gress in the health sciences, and in part by the loss or gain in personal wealth. Father Aznikian provides Biblically-based answers in his essays to a number of timely topics, one or more of which touch upon the lives of all Armenians families throughout California and the world. Each of us uses different criteria to define his / her culture and personal values. For those who look to the Bible for answers, Father Aznikian's essays are of assistance, as he points to Scripture to elucidate the Bibli- cal perspective on race, social justice, war, peace, cremation, sexual orientation, abortion, and other topics. The essays in this book become a handy, readily accessible desk refer- ence for the faithful. As an example, Father Aznikian writes about the position of the Arme- nian Church regarding cremation, which has become an issue in the Ar- menian community, because of changing values and the expense of Ar- menian burials, exacerbated by the custom of making a big expense for the luncheons and dinners following burials. Yet, the Armenian Church's position is firm: 7 We do not believe in cremation under any circumstances, and will not offer any prayer or religious service over cremated remains. All fu- neral services must be in the presence of the body of the deceased … p. 341 In every family, the question has arisen, “Why does God allow evil and suffering?” Father Aznikian provides a valuable essay which talks about physical evil, moral evil, and suffering, even answering the ques- tion, “Is it good to suffer?” The reasons why a loving God would allow so much evil in the world are a a mystery and a stumbling block to faith for many people. Why do good people sometimes suffer terribly while evil people live lives of ease? These are very difficult things to understand, but the Bible does give some clues. … p. 34 It is fascinating to imagine oneself living two to three thousand years in the past. Father Aznikian has included essays on life in the ancient Ori- ent, giving an overview of the competing faiths in ancient times. It is noteworthy that the faith of the Jews was not dominant among peoples, but with divine intervention and strong, family-oriented values, their faith has endured to the present day and has been a catalyst for the founding of Christianity and Islam. As among the tradition-directed nomadic tribes of the Middle East to- day, in biblical times too, the education and socialization of children was a task left entirely to the parents of the children. … In fact, the He- brew father was commanded emphatically and repeatedly to teach his son. Only in wealthy houses was the education and rearing of children given over to male or female nurses … pp. 50, 51 Enjoy reading the essays and learning about the Christian faith. Van Ajemian Montebello, California September, 2018 8 A COMPARISON OF THE CREATION ACCOUNTS IN GENESIS 1 and 2 THE BIBLICAL MESSAGE OF THE CREATION Outline of two accounts The creation myths are usually etiological, explaining how the world came to be. Ancient myths are neither con- sistent nor systematic. They exhibit marvelous perspectives and details about ancient civilization and social order. The genesis of the natural and social order is usually expressed as the result of the activity of an individual deity who presides over and coordinates the collective efforts of other gods and goddesses. The origins of this deity are sometimes expressed in a supernatural narrative describing how a series of divine generations led to the birth of this creator-god. The concept of Yahweh as a monotheistic belief and view consisted essentially in the following elements: belief in the existence of only one God, who is the Creator of the world, and the giver of all life; the belief that God is holy and just, without sexuality or mythology; the belief that God is not visible to man except under special conditions; the belief that God is equally at home in heaven, in the desert, or in Palestine; the belief that God is so far superior to all created beings (whether they be heavenly bodies, angelic messen- gers, demons, or false gods) that He remains absolutely unique. Creation, according to the first chapter of Genesis, begins with the sentence, “In the beginning God created heaven and earth.” With these simple words, the writer of the Priestly account states a tremendous fact: God made everything that exists, the entire universe. According to Genesis 1:2, the earth at the beginning was in a chaotic condition. It lacked organization and life. It 9 was covered by primeval water about which was a dense darkness. Through the creation and will of God, there fol- lowed in six days a transformation of primeval matter: on the first day God made light; on the second day He fash- ioned the firmament, which differentiated the upper and lower waters; on the third day He ordered the water to re- cede from the land and caused the plants to sprout; on the fourth He placed the sun, moon and stars in their positions; on the fifth He made the creatures living in the waters and in the air; and on the sixth, animals and man. According to the Genesis account, God created the world without effort. God called the universe into existence through the power of His word. God pre-existed the world and matter. The Yahwist account of creation (Gen.2:4b-25) be- gins by describing a dry desert, without plants, into which life is brought through water. Then Yahweh forms a man from the dust of the earth and breathes the breath of life into his nostrils, bringing him to life. Then God plants a garden with all sorts of good trees for the man in Eden, and places the man in the garden “to till it and keep it.” Only then does Yahweh create the animals and the birds, likewise from the dust of the earth. He brings them to man, who gives them names and puts them to work for him. Finally, Yahweh takes a rib from the body of the sleeping man and makes it into a woman who receives the name Eve. God in this ac- count is more human and has a human nature and charac- ter. He is much involved in his creation; there is dirt under his nails, we hear his voice talking to Adam and hear His footsteps in the Garden of Eden. Yahweh is described here in human terms as a potter (Gen.2:7, 19), gardener (v. 8), a surgeon (v. 21), and peaceful landowner (3:8). This narrative does not present a complete account of creation. We hear nothing of the origin of the heavens and the earth. The focal point of the story is the creation of man. But it is noteworthy that this narrative presupposes at the 10 outset the existence of a dry desert land out of which living creatures gradually come into being: man, plants, animals, and woman. This indicates that the story came into being in a region where drought appears as the enemy of life. It should be emphasized also that this account is only slightly systemized, and leaves the impression of recounting an- cient popular conceptions. The Priestly account in Genesis 1:1-2:4, which is relatively late, is completely different. Here, everything is well ordered and reduced to a logical system. At the outset we have a primordial sea lying in darkness, while the wind (spirit) of God blows over it. All is chaos. But God is there. He exists before the creation; unlike Hebrew’s neighbors whose creation accounts start with the origin of the gods and goddesses. In the Priestly account of the creation, God says: “Let there be light;” and it happens according to His word. Thus, day and night are distinguished for the first time and the rest of creation takes place within the next five days. On the sec- ond day, the firmament of heaven is created through God’s creative word to separate the heavenly from the earthly wa- ters (ancient Near Eastern conception of the world is clearly visible: the rain comes from the heavenly ocean).