ChristianChristian Name originally given to disciples of Jesus by outsiders and gradually adopted by the Early Church to designate all members of the church. doctrineDoctrine Belief (or system of beliefs) accepted as authoritative., based on the first two chapters of the Book of GenesisGenesis First book of the Old Testament. and amplified by the theologians, stated that God created ‘heavenHeaven The dwelling-place of God and the angels and eventually all those who will live with God for eternity. and earth’ ex nihilo, out of nothing. When the physical world had been formed, Adam and Eve were created ‘in the image of God’, without sin and able to communicate directly with God. Their mandate was to rule as stewards over the natural world.