Genesis 1, and Freedom (part 1)

“Only the one who obeys a rhythm greater than their own is truly free,” claimed Nikos Kanzantakis (my paraphrase). Freedom, one of history’s great rally-cries, is positioned here in terms of ‘obedience’. Certainly, this is contrary to the common conception of freedom.

The issue of freedom leads us to ask some of life’s great questions. What does it mean to be free? How can one become free? What do we need to be free from? Is freedom a right, or a privilege?

All freedom movements, in addressing questions such as these, articulate the following: an identity, an ethic, and an embodiment. An identity is an answer to the question of what it means to be human. An ethic is an endorsed or proposed way of life. An embodiment is a set of habits, designed to form this identity and ethic within us.

We can find each of these articulated in Genesis 1:1-2:4a. It is a freedom text, with its own bold claims and unique assertions about these issues. Why does it explore these things? Because the question of freedom goes to the very heart of life and existence, and is central to the author’s concern. How does it explore them? See Part 2.