John Davies brings his extraordinary gift of teasing out of Bible texts their meaning for today to the first 3 chapters of Genesis - the record of our beginnings. He explores what the creation accounts tell us about our identity, our place within creation and how we are to live in relationship to our Creator, to each other and to all created things, considering: * the universe as a process of increasing complexity * the sun, moon and stars as created things, not having occult powers * the real point of the science vs creation dispute: does it give hope to the poor? * the valuing of creatures in their own right * God the creator of sexuality * the tree of life - a gift, not to be grasped at * the first theologian - the snake, raising questions about the character of God * tragedy and the need for cover-up, learning to pass the blame, even on to God * curse and blessing, work and family roles, divine protection even in exile from Eden * reconstruction in Christ