Has satan power over God?

Godistruth1 said:

So the description of creation of universe in genesis is untrue?

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I go the route of identifying Genesis chapter 1 (in accord with the likes of the late Conrad Hyers or of, perhaps, Francis Collins) as an ancient, Hebrew/Israelite COSMOGONY rather than as a historical account that is crafted in the way we would attempt to craft a natural history of the world today.

So, in that alternative semantic, historical and literary estimation, I'd say that Genesis, especially in its opening chapters, is 'representational' rather than an ultra-literal articulation and that it barely reflects the epistemic assumptions which would be spewed out in accordance with a Correspondence Theory of Truth.

Godistruth1 said:

Are u saying the account of creation of universe as described in genesis is not true? Many Christians do use genesis to explain how the universe came into existence.

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As I'm sure you know already, there are many different ways of interpreting the Bible and so there are many different schools of thought within Christianity. I would say the account of the creation of the universe as described in Genesis is true in that I can learn about God through the narrative, but not in a literal way. For example, I don't believe the first day of the creation account was a 24 hour period, but I do believe God was in the beginning as Genesis 1:1 says "In the beginning GOD...". A beautiful and inspired way to start the Bible.

You are right that many Christians use Genesis to explain how the universe came into existence. My mother for example believes that God created everything in 7 literal days. While I don't agree with her we can still enjoy discussing it and respect each others way of interpreting the Bible. We disagree on Genesis, but we agree on the interpretation of Job.

Speaking of Job, I'd like to explain the answer to your question in the OP with a bit more detail hoping you're still interested.

The book of Job builds to its climax in Job 41 where God Himself appears to Job. Following this we find Job (and his friends) repenting before God (Job 42:1-9). It's strange that Job is repenting because Job 1:22 talks of Job's innocence, "Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong". So we have to ask the question, why was Job repenting? Of what does a righteous man (Job 1:1) need to repent?

There are two things of which to take note. First, a distinction is made between sinning and charging God with wrong (Job 1:22 "did not sin nor charge God with wrong" -- so charging God with wrong is not necessarily a sin). In other words a person can be righteous in heart (see John 1:47) yet misunderstand Who God is. Second, the word 'repent' means to change the way we think (Strong's number: G3340). We grow in our understanding of Who God is over time and this process can be, though it usually isn't, called repentance. So what was it that Job needed to change in his way of thinking, of what did he need to repent?

We learn of Job's attitude in Job 1:5 where he continually offered sacrifices for his children just in case God was angry with them or they had sinned. We see that Job was afraid of God's wrath and feared for the lives of his family. Now as we make our way through the conversations between Job and his friends we find that Job changes his thinking in this way; while at first he didn't charge God with wrong, over time he does begin to charge God with wrong. For example he says of God, "For the arrows of the Almighty are within me" (Job 6:4) and "How long? Will You not look away from me, And let me alone till I swallow my saliva?" (Job 7:19 etc). These are complaints Job has with God. He begins to attribute all the pain and suffering to God. So is it possible that because Job charges God for suffering that he needed to repent? For distrusting God?

Now this is important—if God had directly allowed Satan to attack Job then Job is justified in blaming God for his suffering and would not have needed to repent. All of Job's accusations would be completely accurate and true about God if God was responsible for Job's period of suffering. God's interaction with Job proved exactly the opposite. When God showed up He brought with Him blessing, healing and prosperity in that everything Job enjoyed was restored and more. Job, repenting for charging God with wrong, shows God was not responsible for Job's suffering.

Godistruth1 said:

Hmm. So what is the benefit of having something like that in the bible?

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Essentially, the purpose of Genesis 1 is to set straight the theological proposition that both you and I agree with: That God exists in Eternity and is the Creator of the World and of Humanity.

This might not sound too important to some people until we realize that this ancient narrative not only theologically described the comprehensive scope of God's creative power, but it also served as a polemic against the mythical errors harbored in the thinking of the surrounding cultures of that time, which usually stated that the Universe came first and from that, various generations of god(s).

So, Genesis is asserting the ontological corrective that God is Sovereign Creator of All, not the reverse. And if you like, you can read a more extensive article by Conrad Hyers below to get the full set of nuances about which I'm referring to. If not, no problem. I don't require that people "believe just like me."

The Genre of Genesis 1 is "Cosmogony" - by Conrad Hyers