Day 1 - Put God at the beginning

No matter what scientific explanation you come up with for
the origin of the universe, says St Basil, you'll go far wrong
if you don't put God at the beginning of it.

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”

I stop struck with admiration at this thought. What shall
I say first? Shall I demonstrate the vanity of the Gentiles?
Shall I praise the truth of our faith?

The philosophers of Greece have tried very hard to explain
nature, and not one of their systems has remained firm
and unshaken. They are enough in themselves to destroy
one another. Those who were too ignorant to rise to a
knowledge of God could not allow that an intelligent cause
presided at the birth of the universe - a primary error that
trapped them in sad consequences.

Some fell back on material principles and attributed the
origin of the universe to the elements of the world. Others
imagined that atoms, and invisible bodies, molecules and
tubes, unite to form the nature of the visible world.

It is because they did not know how to say, “In the
beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” Fooled by
their inherent atheism, they thought that nothing governed
or ruled the universe, and that everything was given up to
chance.

To keep us from this error, the writer on creation, from
the very first words, enlightens our understanding with
the name of God: “In the beginning God created.

- St Basil, Hexameron, 1.2

In God's Presence Consider ...

In a world where science has made so much progress,
what does it mean to put God at the beginning?

Closing Prayer

Father, you alone are eternal, and you alone live in
unapproachable light. I thank you that you have made
me in your image; have mercy on my sins, and save
me through your Son Jesus Christ.