3.

GOD CREATES ORIGINAL HARMONY

God originally created people in harmony with God

God teaches that:
God knows and loves each human person
God understands every human person completely
no one can hide anything from God, the Creator
people owe obedience to their Creator, on whom their lives depend
people need to recognise God, their Creator, as more powerful than any power or
force in the earth or the universe.
God originally intended everyone to be close to God. The creation stories teach,
for example, that:
God personally creates the soul of every human individual
each individuals life is a personal gift from God
God loves each person in a special way
God creates each individuals soul to live forever with God
everyone depends upon God for every breath and movement
all people are created to work with God in the development of creation including
the development of a relationship with God
their own personal development (as they are part of creation)
the development of others
the development of the earths environment and resources.
Each person will grow in happiness if they love God in return. They do this by
worshipping God, by praying and by behaving in ways that are in accordance with Gods
will for them.
Alternatively, no one can be completely happy for very long unless they relate personally
with God. Nor can they be truly happy if they disobey God.

God originally created people in harmony within themselves

God understands every person completely. No one will ever be able to understand
themselves as completely as does God.
All who relate closely with God grow in self-understanding. They realise that they:
are sacred
are unique in being created in Gods image and likeness
have within them the power to love, to do good, to forgive and to behave like God
in many other ways
can reflect God in different ways as men and women
are loved completely by God, irrespective of any external characteristic, including
height, size, rate of growth or disability
need to exercise self-mastery
have sexual gifts given by God.
People grow in happiness as they behave in ways that show they appreciate these things
about themselves. Alternatively, if they do not appreciate these things, people will not
love and appreciate themselves as they should.

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163

3. GOD CREATES ORIGINAL HARMONY

God originally created people in harmony with each other

God originally created people for close friendship. This was founded upon their
recognition that:
each human being has been created by God
people are sacred to God
all people should recognise the sacredness of others
women and men are equal in dignity
human beings should see each other as persons, and never make judgements about
others because of their physical appearance
marriage was created by God
God made men and women capable of sexual intercourse for the purposes of
expressing married love to each other
conceiving children.
When people relate with others in ways that reflect these understandings, true friendship
and peace grow in families, societies and between nations. These lead everyone to
happiness. Alternatively, if they treat others in ways that fail to respect Gods original
creation, there will be tensions, violence and even wars and much unhappiness.

God originally created people in harmony with creation

People affect and are affected by the rest of creation. God originally intended
each to be good for the other. For this reason, God created people as being:
capable of enjoying creation
capable of using vegetation and the earths resources to provide for their needs
able to care for the earth
able to develop the goodness in creation
able to work with God towards the further development of creation
capable of understanding the good in every aspect of the universe.
When people treat creation with the proper respect intended by God, they
contribute to the happiness of present and future generations. Alternatively, if
they treat creation without respect, they harm human relationships with:
God
self
others
creation.
Gods purpose for creation is to call people to love their Creator, who loves them
first. In each of the creation stories, God wanted people to:
relate with God
experience the inner peace and happiness that a personal relationship
developed with God and behaving like God, brings
experience the love and goodness people give and receive from each other
understand and enjoy everything that is good in creation.

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COME FOLLOW ME YEAR 8