The first chapter of the Pentateuch recounts God's creation of the world in six days. According to the Torah, the world was created by ten divine utterances: "Let there be light…," "Let there be a firmament…," and so on. The popular American writer Herman Wouk writes in his book, "This Is My God":
The first chapter of Genesis pierces the darkness of ancient mythology with a ray of light—a light that still illuminates the earth, so that we can hardly even imagine how bright that light was when it first shone. Words resounded throughout the world that a natural order reigns in the universe, that it was created and set in motion by a higher power.
There were no humanoid gods. Animals were not gods, and gods were not animals. There was no sun god, moon god, love god, sea god, or war god. The world and humanity did not arise from grandiose incest and sodomy among celestial monsters. The sun, moon, wind, sea, mountains, stars, rocks, trees, plants, animals—all are parts of nature, and they contain no inherent magic.
The gods and priests who demanded that children be killed and burned for their sake, that hearts be torn out of living people for their sake, that disgusting orgies be performed for their sake, and countless sacrifices be offered for their sake—all this was meaningless, stupid, useless, and doomed. The nightmares of humanity's childhood ended. Day had dawned.
The biblical account of creation freed humanity from idolatry. It took a long time for this truth to triumph, but eventually, even the enchanting Greek and Roman gods and goddesses yielded the battlefield. The book of Genesis is the dividing line between modern thinking and primordial chaos.