Introduction

“In the beginning.” “Once upon a time.” “Before you came along.” We’re all familiar with stories of origins—stories that tell us where we come from, whom we belong to, and where we can find a place in the world. In this, our third in the IMPACT series, we’ll explore stories that are central to the Jews, Christians, and—to a lesser degree—Muslims today. As we read through Genesis, we’ll meet characters, cultures, and customs that seem ancient and archaic, yet we’ll also peer through these sacred stories to explore who and whose we are.

Because I’m well aware that reading Genesis can draw us into the snares of hot-topic issues (creationism, homosexuality, violence against women, etc.), I’d like to provide a few words of guidance as together we seek God’s word in Genesis:

• Read more for truth than for fact. To respect these biblical texts on their own terms is to admit that they were not written as science or history in a modern sense. 
• Read more for the moral of the story than for exemplary moral standards. The Genesis stories offer poignant, and utterly honest, insights about the relationship between us humans and our God, not a rule book about how to live. 
• Read these “insider” stories by keeping the “outsider” in view. Here, we’ll find a tribal perspective that’s always interacting—often quite fruitfully—with the “other.”

My prayer is that, on the way, you’ll gain new insights into who and whose you are!

Yours in Christ,

Suzanne