Tag Archives: Genesis

Finding God in Silence

By Robin Bates | Published: September 23, 2023

Poet Jennifer Michael gave a talk on finding God through poetry, featuring Berry, Hirshfield, Oliver, and others.

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An Early Poem about Leah’s Lament

By Robin Bates | Published: July 29, 2023

A 6th century reflection on the story of Leah has her finding comfort in God, even though she is “hated” below

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A Fire of Becoming

By Robin Bates | Published: October 9, 2021

Hollander’s poem “Adam’s Task” captures the excitement of naming the animals.

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Sin and Death Enter the World

By Robin Bates | Published: February 29, 2020

I juxtapose the account of the fall, found in Genesis, with Milton’s “Paradise Lost,” regarding the whole as a Lenten reflection.

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Genesis: Story Truth, Not Happening Truth

By Robin Bates | Published: June 11, 2017

The creation story in the Book of Genesis is magnificent poetry that resists the attempts of religious and scientific fundamentalists alike to reduce it to a scientific account.

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The Eternal Doesn’t Want To Be Bent by Us

By Robin Bates | Published: October 15, 2016

Rilke draws on the story of Jacob and the Angel in his poem “The Man Watching.” We grow, he writes, by “being defeated, decisively, by constantly greater beings.”

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And God Said, “That’s Good”

By Robin Bates | Published: January 11, 2015

James Weldon Johnson’s version of the Genesis creation story accords with some contemporary theological theories of God.

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The Deep (Not Scientific) Truth of Genesis

By Robin Bates | Published: June 16, 2013

The Book of Genesis, like poetry, captures truths inaccessible to science.

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My Heart Leapt Up

By Robin Bates | Published: January 15, 2013

A rainbow sighting led to a discussion about how humans often turn to nature for guiding metaphors.

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